The Bombay Stock Exchange
When a man with a gun says leave, I generally listen, not that I’ve ever been in such a situation before. I might be slightly guilty of a sensational headline, but the story is as follows.
On assignment to get investors’ reactions to the first Indian microfinance firm’s initial public offering this past week, I was sent down to the Bombay Stock Exchange. (If that sentence means nothing to you, it’s ok. It didn’t mean much to me a few weeks back either and its meaning isn’t critical to the story.) The BSE is the oldest stock exchange in Asia and located in a historic area of South Bombay.
As soon as I walked out of Churchgate station, I spotted the building towering over the others in the skyline. It would be easy enough to find. And it was. As I neared the building, police blockades prohibited any cars from entering the streets surrounding the stock exchange, for good reason. A car parked in the basement of the stock exchange exploded Friday, March 12, 1993 killing 50 people. (In a testament to the Indian “life must go on” mentality, the exchange itself reopened that following Monday.) In this area, they don’t mess around with security. Guards are outfitted with guns, and I even saw a gunman standing at the ready behind a make-shift stand covered with blue tarp.
I had my doubts about getting in, however, and those were confirmed. No one is allowed inside without a scheduled appointment. So much for that. (My editor later told me that the idea was for me to catch people on their way to lunch, so I spent a few hours working out of a café.)
I returned to Dalal Street around 1 p.m. The street had been quiet when I was there earlier that morning, but the hungry investors were out in force now. None of them wanted to talk to me, however. Most stared curiously at me: a white girl standing just outside the stock exchange, notebook and small flipcam in hand. I began pulling people aside. Continue reading →
When we went to the Golden Temple back in November, I also shot a video for Smithsonian Magazine. It’s finally up on the website. Check it out here.
