This delightful piece was contributed by Darshan Shah, team leader – Blue Point.
After a nerve-wracking session on day one of the just-concluded TL offsite, some of us decided to visit the local market place. With me were two gentlemen who looked like they’d strayed into Matheran from the wild plains of Texas. I am referring to Tapash and Bishi. Having got a great bargain on a couple of cowboy hats, they just refused to take them off. As we were strolling around I located a video game parlour and the gambler within me took instant control. In a flash I had bought chips worth Rs. 50/- to play a game called “seven up – seven down”. My companions were clueless at this stage. Before they could figure out what was going on two ping pong balls were thrust into their hands and they were made to stand in front of a wooden board with holes, each hole denoted by a particular number. Then spun the wheel of luck. We discovered that we could hit the number 7 at will, which was a very rare feat. Within 15 minutes we had won Rs. 30/-. Since the morning, numbers had taken up temporary residence inside my head. They told me that I’d earned 60% returns on my investment of Rs. 50/- in 15 minutes. The parlour, which was fairly empty when we had come in, was now full to bursting. Surely there’s a business idea in there somewhere.
I was very eager to tell Mouli about a new Blue Lotus venture to be named “Blue Casino”.The momentum was carried over to the next day. Accompanying me this time were newcomers Jaiprakash, Arindam, Laxman and Prashant. I opted for the very same game but this time luck wasn’t quite on our side. We won a few hands, yes, but were steadily running out of chips.
That’s when I remembered my own words spoken when conducting a session on Savings and Investment. The words were: ‘do not put all your eggs in one basket’. It was then that I decided to try a different game, “SLOTS”. And this time lady luck shone on us steady and bright. In no time we had Rs. 60/- in our hands and my numerical mind suggested that it was no profit – no loss scenario, the ideal time to quit. I followed the directions of my mind and was happy with the outcome.It is rightly said that in gambling you may lose or you may win, but follow the principles of finance and you’ll always win.
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