Picking global cues

In this era of high technology and speedy communication, there is so much information criss-crossing the world that sometimes it becomes difficult to keep pace with changes happening around us.Take, for instance, the ongoing global meltdown. Recently, while on a visit to my hometown Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, I had an interesting experience. During my usual daily strolls with friends in my neighbourhood, I found that people were well aware about the global recession and its impact on the stock market. I came across many people discussing reforms and stimulus packages over a cup of tea. Time had really moved fast, I thought.It was like witnessing one of those feel-good campaigns one saw during the last elections, until one day I found out the amusing reason behind all this. Near my house there is a public call office (PCO). Until recently, this PCO wore a deserted look, thanks to the mobile phone revolution. But things were different this time. I found at least a dozen people flocking the nearby PCO booth throughout the day. It looked as if the happy business days were back again for the PCO.I asked the nearby paanwala (betelnut seller) if the PCO was back in business. He said, “Arrey, ye toh satta lagane walo ki bheed hai” (this is a crowd of those who come here for betting). I asked him what they were betting on since no cricket series was underway. The paanwala’s reply was interesting. He told me that these people came here everyday to bet on how much the stock market would rise or fall. Since it was a weekend and the stock market was closed, I asked him what these people were betting on? Pat came the reply in a matter-of-fact tone, “Bhaiyya, aaj Dow Jones toh khula hai na” (Brother, the Dow Jones is open for trading today).