Senseless over Sensex

HYDERABAD: Malay Lalwani (name changed) eyes appear unusually swollen. He shuffles uneasily on his chair as he sits in his one-room office in Koti, his eyes darting to the door each time he sees any movement there. "I am scared of money lenders knocking at my door,'' the 48-year-old says. Utter the word stock market and Lalwani starts fuming, fumbling and then mouthing a verbal assault on the southward sensex that has left him penniless and in an insomniac state.
Yet, he reluctantly but compulsively logs on to Market Watch everyday, a website displaying the rates of various stocks.But he says his heart thumps at the dipping prices. Having invested in the stock market for the last three decades, Lalwani is among the scores of people in the country left with a broken vertebrae.
The `aam aadmi' who, with the rising sensex, wove dreams of a comfortable living is now left groping for even the basics of life__food, shelter and decent education for children.
"If anyone returns me even 25 per cent of what I have lost I would settle with my family happily somewhere and never ever dabble in stocks again," a heartbroken Lalwani swears like a child punished for breaking an expensive piece of china.
Life has turned upside down for this investor, who was a cement dealer has now borrowed money after the bloodbath in Dalal Street to start a business he feels cagey talking about. But on asking around one finds, its a men's parlour where customers still have to start coming in.
The dream of a prosperous future is unthinkable now and has left him replanning his entire life from scratch. Until a few months ago, he was sitting on stocks that were doing well and he was finally planning to buy a house, a car and an MBA from a reputed international B-school for his son. "All my life's savings have been lost. Now, we are struggling hard to make even two ends meet. Even the education of my children is no longer a priority. Repaying debts is,'' says Malay.
If he was once particular about his appearance, it doesn't show now. His unshaven face and dishevelled clothes tell a story of sleepless nights and stressed out days. "It was just a few months ago, I was planning a world tour. What can I plan now,'' he questions. "Khana mil jaaye to bahaut hai (if I get food now, its more than enough),'' he says. He now thinks twice before purchasing food items, keeping the expenditure to a bare minimum.
But this seasoned investor is surprised at himself for not having acted on time. "I have been investing in stocks since the 1980s and I am used to the sharp highs and lows,'' he says, shaking his head as if he is still trying to understand what has happened over the last few weeks. "This was the worst of my life. The market has crashed in the past too but this time it came down by 60 per cent. This was absolutely unpredictable. We have lost in lakhs,'' he laments. But didn't the initial fall warn him to pull back and avert the imminent threat? Malay says that investors like him are habituated to such dips and surges and was hoping the market would bounce back.
"Due to the industrial growth and inflow of foreign funds, we thought that it was a temporary phase and soon market would recover which never happened,'' he says, adding that he did not expect this turn of events.
Although he wants to start his life afresh, his huge debts keep pulling him down. Nothing that he makes now seems enough. "Playing in the market is such an addiction. Once the person starts making money, it leaves you with a desire for more,'' he explains, adding, "An investor always invests with the hope that his money would grow and will change our life. Our life has changed surely, not for the better but for the worse.'' Yet, he ends the interview on an interesting note, breaking the promise he made a few minutes ago: "If I ever make money, I will get back to the stock market with a vengeance.''