Taking stock...

The stock market has always been a mystery to me. Mention the word, and it conjures images of loads of people packed in a room, shouting and frantically making gestures, as if summoning some invisible beast. The giant screens, the arcane symbols and numbers scrolling across them, the entire environment seems intimidating to a novice like me.

Add to that the stock market lingo. Yes this place has its own language, and you will be considered a buffoon if you are not conversant. "The Sensex was up today by 40 points..." sounds funny, until it dawns upon you that it has nothing to do with the act of procreation. Switch to any financial channel today, and you will find experts talking in incomprehensible language, expecting flabbergasted audiences like me to follow what they are talking about. I would love to vomit these sentences the next time I want to impress someone with my financial ignorance!!!

Some other peculiarities of this place

• This place is inhabited by bears and bulls...
• The indices have fancy names (Sensex, NIFTY, Standard & Poor's) and a character of their own...
• These places are extremely sensitive to events and changes occurring around them
  

However, recently I have decided to change things; partly because of having "stocky" people around me and partly being ashamed of my own ignorance; I have decided to take stock (of my financial life...). I have opened an online trading account and you will find my "portfolio" (already starting to use the jargon) burgeoning.

So expect some financial gyan the next time you see me...