Making it Count...Part 1

Sri and her boyfriend Gopal were spending the Saturday with Vini and Neil. The four college mates shared their common passion for movies and great food. Neil was an exchange student in their college from UAE, but fell in love & got married to the effervescent Vini and stayed back in India. During the last four years, he was an integral part of their gang and almost as well versed with India as the other three.

After watching "The Dark Knight rises", which Sri thought was just average, they dug into the Chinese food they had ordered. But soon she was up to their limits of her patience, as the guys had been discussing the boring details (nuances for Neil & Gopal) of the movie for most of the dinner. Sensing Sri was getting bored, the ever alert Vini, deftly veered the discussion to another topic: the present difficult times, money and soon the mood got serious. 

Sri glanced onto Vini and Neil who seemed so perfectly in tune with each other. They would always understand each other with even minor nods & glances. Sri sighed, when automatically her brain compared them to herself and Gopal. Now Gopal was a nice person, and she was almost sure she loved him. But in some ways he was still a 10 yr old boy, naughty, naïve, stupid and still stuck with his comics and superheroes. She was sick of the Avengers and the Batman, not to mention the GI Joes and the lot. She suspected he must still have all his childhood toys & comic books stashed at his flat somewhere and played with them each night. Though he was adorably sweet and caring at times, but at other times he drove her crazy that she would have wrung his neck someday.

Neil was saying how he lost a lot of money in the stock markets and for once Vini was admonishing him about being so stupid."Stock markets are always bad" Vini pontificated, "and as Dad says, one must never get involved with them." Both Sri and Neil agreed. Neil's broker friend had initially made him earn good returns on his "Hot tips" but soon Neil was losing more money then he had earlier made, and once even had to take a loan from his parents to pay off his F&O losses. 

Both Vini & Sri had similar stories of most people losing out on the stock markets and were glad they had all their savings in sensible Insurance policies and Bank FDs. The dinner was over and the boys made delicious Jaljeera drink while Sri helped Vini clear the table. 

So far, Gopal had been mostly silent through the discussion. Vini sensed that he had been quiet so far, and asked him if he disagreed with what they had said. 

"Guys, stock market (also known as Equity markets) are certainly something to be careful about, but it is also one of the best places to make money and get that peace of mind only a fat bank balance can give"  said Gopal finally." All you gotta do is follow a few basic principals and in all likelihood you will have given yourself a good retirement money pile."

"Principals like what, huh? Which sector are hot to invest in and which to avoid?? This broker vs that broker? Tell you what its all fraud" opined Vini.

"Beware Vini," Sri warned, "dont tempt my Gopal on the most favourite topic of his, or else he will lecture us all night." 

"I dont mind the lecture Sri," smiled Neil, "I have been looking forward to buying that new LED TV, and a few tips that actually click will be most welcome." They all laughed.

Gopal took a swig of his Jaljeera, and settled down in the sofa for he knew he would be talking for some time now. But first, he brought out his laptop and showed them this Youtube video by Amol Gupte (particularly known for his 2007 film "Taare Zameen Par" starring Aamir Khan).

You can watch it too, while I gather my thoughts so that I can properly tell you what Gopal told the gang that night. 

But all that in a later post.

To be Continued...