Akbar, one of the greatest Mughal kings to have ruled India, never had a formal education. He was taught by teachers at home. Also, a lot of his education was by verbal transmission of knowledge. If a great king could learn and be wise on his own, couldn’t we be wiser by reading and gaining from vicarious experiences. I have always wanted to compile a list of books which could complete one’s education. Having realised early in life, through my late father that the route to Lakshmi (the Hindu Goddess of Wealth) for an ordinary mortal was through Saraswati ( the Hindu Goddess of knowledge). And more importantly, that knowledge of any sphere or subject would help me grow and would never be wasted, turned me into an avid reader.
My reading started with Hindi comics of those years, Hindi being my mother tongue, like Lotpot, Deewana, Mandrake, Phantom and Champak. I then graduated to pocketbooks of Rajan-Iqbal, then to Munshi Premchand and Sherlock Holmes and then gradually I increased my range.
I think the 100 books I have compiled (go to the link or Recommended Reading page) should help any person who wishes to grow. There must be a lot of books in other Indian languages/ world languages which must be equally good, but my knowledge of languages limits me to these.
I remember,Mark Twain, “The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can
Dear Sir,
1. Lovely to hear from u.. However,further to this dscn of ours, I have the following query..
2. Recently, I have been following a few other blogs who have been emphasizing the reqmt of buying a quality business regularly.. Even u have advertised the same many times.. But If i see my returns over last 2-odd years that I have been investing, I have found that best returns (Over 96% in one case and 116% in another) have been when I have bought the shares at historically low of 4-5 yrs.. So far, so good…
3. However, when I look at a ticker like Crisil, which I have been tracking since last 2 yrs after missing to buy it sub 1000 level, I have not been able to buy it…It is trading at PE of 54. What if such a business never comes to historically low levels ever again…
4 So what to do, wait and watch while accumulating cash in liquid fund – or go for an SIP for these stocks.. ur take pls… (I try to gather cash and then end up buying some or the other, despite them not being cheapest/ historically low… ALWAYS..)
Dear Anshul
I have been extremely busy. Thus no replies/blogs. Secondly The markets are overbought. Value is hardly there.
You have posted a nice query[. Firstly if you have been watching Crisil and it is at a PE of 54 now, do you really have to buy that one stock?
Look at some other business.
Waiting is the most boring thing to do. But if I give you a choice of losing money vis a vis not losing money what will you chose?
Your choice will give an answer to you. It is better that the money stay in a savings account rather than you investing in an expensive business and losing a portion of it.
Hope it answers your impatience.
In continuation to previous comment, Any other stock u would recommend me to track, with my horizon of 10 yrs or more & expected CAGR of 20-25%
Thanks.
Anshul
Mphasis
Zydus Wellness
VST Industries
ITC
Dear Sir,
1. Pls find att my watchlist which I am tracking and wish to add to my portfolio whenever avlb cheap or gradually over a pd of time.
1. Andhra Bank
2. Axis Bank Ltd.
3. Balmer Lawrie Investments Ltd.
4. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
5. Gabriel India Ltd.
6. HEG Ltd.
7. Indraprastha Gas Ltd.
8. ITC Ltd.
9. Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd.
10. Swaraj Engines Ltd.
11. Tata Investment Corporation Ltd.
12. YES Bank Ltd.
13. Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd.
14. Crisil Ltd.
15. Gateway Distriparks Ltd.
16. Gujarat Gas Company Ltd.
17. Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd
18. IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd.
19. IDFC Ltd.
20. Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
21. Balmer Lawrie & Company Ltd.
2. Its been some time that we have heard from you. I would love to hear your views on them.
3. Thank You
Anshul
Please read my today’s (budget day’s blog). Some of the stocks are there.
Also,you are on the right lines.Most of these businesses have been recommended by me sometime or the other. if one has read my blogs carefully.
I have added a couple more this time. If you have an outlook of 10 years plus, have patience to buy them at the right price. That is our weakness. If you have that, you will make more than 18% compounded.