From banyan trees to electronic screens – the authoritative account of India’s stock market over two centuries.
For millions of people; the stock market is the canvas on which are sketched fantasies of riches; of lives transformed. Yet; the history and methods of one of modern India’s most transformative forces remain underexplored till now.
Starting from the early nineteenth century; when a few banias traded shares under banyan trees; to the Cotton and Share Mania occasioned by the American Civil War; to the decades of marking time during the Nehruvian Era; to 1991’s great unshackling that made the market accessible to the public; all the way to the market cycles of the new millennium; Running behind Lakshmi brings India’s stock market into focus.
By combining archival sources with observations and expertise forged through immersion in the markets; Adil Rustomjee provides a wide-ranging account that is equal parts analytical history; financial practice; and market lore. Brimming with pioneers and adventurers; grand rivalries and petty jealousies; scams and scandals; this is the story of a nation and a people told through a lens that’s never been used; but is more relevant than ever.
