Stock Market for Indians - Casino or Investment place?

I am a kind of person who would try everything in life once at least. But most of my new interests last a few days or maybe months. But when I started stock trading, I knew I am in for a long long time in it. I really loved it. This was like a game for me to start with. Very fascinating game. Mind you, it was serious as real money was involved in it. But what excited me most was the way it works and how it throws new surprises at you every day. And the most important thing was the kind of knowledge it gave me about India in general. I started knowing more and more about Indian companies and Indian economy.

But I can't help looking back at how many people told me that it is not good. In my family (like any average Indian family), nobody had ever taken much interest in stocks etc. and the only investment looked into was "safe" instruments like bank deposits and other government run schemes. And I really wonder if anybody would have cared for those schemes also if there was no tax saving clause. When I used to talk to my friends, everybody thinks that stock market is like casino. The words that I never stopped hearing were: "Nobody has made money in stock market". Perhaps that is true. But we just hear stories when someone got bankrupt because of stock markets. Do we really repeat a story to others when someone makes a lot of money in stock market? Also, the reason for some people making huge losses in stocks is when they take loans for trading and then they follow some misleading broker and put a lot of money in some junk company to make quick bucks. Those people never know much about the company they are investing in and they are fooled by some operators in the market.

I have been enjoying trading in stocks for almost 5 years now. I have not done badly. I have seen many interesting times in markets. Indian markets have made new highs and new lows. I have seen from Sept. 11, BJP debacle, to the recent highs of the market. More and more Indian companies are making it big in the world. India is being noticed everywhere. Money is flowing from various parts of the world. But unfortunately Indians have not yet woken up.

With the interest rates going down and with tax soaps being taken away, Indian salaried class people have very few options. People are cribbing everywhere about it. But I fail to understand the disappointment. Indian stock markets are booming. And the things had never been better. Things are changing with a lot of IPO's coming into the market and people starting to gain interest. But we need to look beyond the quick money from stock markets. We need to invest in sound companies and be patient.

I am not trying to tell that everyone should just pick up their bank books and head towards Dalal Street. It is not risk-free and not everyone can afford the risks associated with stock trading. But one should evaluate one's risk profile and find out how much one can invest in such investments. And to start with, one can invest in some good mutual funds as they have been doing really well for past few years. But one should always be aware of what one is doing. I have seen people following the stock brokers/operators and loosing huge money as they do not know where they are actually investing. Do not look out for quick money. Look to invest in hand-picked companies and be patient. And enjoy the Indian growth story. It is really disappointing to see that less than a percent of Indian public's saving is invested back in Indian economy. We are always relying on foreign investors for putting money into Indian markets. Why can't we Indians realize the potential of India and take part in fast growing Indian economy?