Visit to Bombay Stock Exchange

There are two phases in every mumbaikar's life. First, when he's not yet come across the charisma, grandeur and the sheer power to challenge and alter your destiny. And the next one, is when you have visited the Bombay Stock Exchange, and interacted with the very men that made it one of the oldest financial benchmarks of Indian Economy.

Okay, I'm still in a kind of daze, about how I could stay away from the stock markets for so long, especially when all indicators were screaming out loud at even putting in pension funds into the stock market.

The reason I happened to visit the stock market was to attend a course on "Fundamental Analysis" at the BSE Training Institute (19th Floor). The course provides a completely fresh perspective into how stock markets need to be approached. An over-whelming feeling that almost took me over towards the end of this session, I literally felt like an ostrich with his head buried into the ground. The few important pointers I gathered from the course were, always study the true worth (Valuation) of a company, before deciding to invest in one. The markets always come around to respect that figure. Keep a keen eye on what the promoters are upto, Indians are criminals when it comes to integrity, and the course covered a lot of examples of such family businesses. Essar group, Naresh Goyal, Great Eastern being a few of them. Another key perspective, which I guess I was not prepared for, was the depth of insight that one needs to have on the economy to make sound / logical calls.

As regards the venue, what I must recommend to anyone who reads this + lives in Mumbai, is to take this or any other course. The view one gets of south bombay, the financial HQ of India and above all, the opportunity to meet the ex-president / leading brokers of BSE is once in a lifetime.
Left: View atop the BSE, overlooking the Gateway of India, Museum and other such landmarks. (Click for a full-size image)

A few things that have indeed unchanged even after LPG has hit us hard, plus since the FIIs and other institutions come together to challenge the dominance of BSE in the form of NSE are the love of money. The whiff of opportunity strikes you as soon as you enter the building.

My sincere Thanks, to every broker, dealer and member of Bombay Stock Exchange. Thanks for making the place I was born in, so respectable, and so desirable!

Below: Video of the brand new ticker and screen courtesy BSE and NDTV Profit