Flow With The River

Chapter 1 — The Cousin Who Knew Everything

The WhatsApp message came at 11:47 PM on a Saturday night.

"Abhishek bro, you HAVE to see this. I just made ₹2.3 lakh in 3 months."

Abhishek stared at the message. The sender: Pankaj Rai, his cousin. The same Pankaj who had once borrowed ₹5,000 from him for "emergency" and taken 18 months to return it.

"How?" Abhishek replied.

"Stocks, brother. Some hot Small-cap companies are growing like crazy. I made 80% return in 3 months. I'm telling you — this is the time. Forget index funds. Forget SIPs. Real money is here.”

Abhishek sighed after reading the message but didn’t reply.

The next morning, Pankaj called.

"Bro, did you read my message? I had started with ₹3 lakh in January. Now it's ₹5.3 lakh. In 3 months. Roughly 76% return."

Abhishek was quiet for a moment. Then he said: "Pankaj, what if the market falls 30% next month?"

"Arre, it won't. I've done my research. I've studied the charts. I've watched 200 YouTube videos. I know when to enter and when to exit."

"Pankaj, I —"

"Bro, listen. I'm not saying put all your money. Just put 20%. That's it. ₹50,000. Let it grow. You'll thank me in 6 months."

Abhishek closed his eyes. He had heard this story before. Many times. From many cousins. From many friends. From many colleagues.

The same story. Always ending the same way.

"Pankaj," he said carefully, "I won't be able to invest. But I'm not judging you. Just — tread lightly. You are taking too much risk.”

"No bro. Like I said, I have done the research. I can feel it in my bones that the small-cap companies are going to give even better returns in the upcoming months.”

“Nobody knows if you would be right but I hope you are. Also let me tell you that small-cap companies are much riskier and volatile than large-cap companies. And chasing particular companies, you can never predict what could happen. A 50% fall. Maybe 60%. Maybe more. And when it comes, you'll feel what every stock picker feels: the urge to sell at the bottom. The urge to 'protect' what you have left. And the regret of not having stayed in index funds. You must be remembering the story of Micromax right."

Pankaj laughed. "Bro, you're too scared. That's why you'll never be rich."

The call ended.

Three months later, Pankaj called again.

This time, his voice was different. Tighter. Quieter. The kind of voice that comes from staring at red numbers for 90 days straight.

“Bro." he said.

"Pankaj."

"My ₹3 lakh is now ₹1.4 lakh."

Abhishek closed his eyes. He didn't say "I told you so." He said: "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. Should I sell? Should I hold? Should I buy more to average down?"

"Pankaj, what were your plans when you entered?"

"To make 10x in 2 years."

"And now?"

"To not lose everything."

Abhishek took a slow breath. "Pankaj, that's the problem with stock picking. You enter hoping to be a hero. You exit hoping not to be a zero. And in between, you live in fear."

"What should I do?"

"It depends. If you've made peace with losing — hold. If you can't sleep at night — sell. But either way, learn this: the market is not a lottery ticket. The market is a river. And rivers don't reward the people who try to swim against the current."

"Bro, I'm done. I'm never picking stocks again."

"No, Pankaj. You're not done. You'll pick stocks again. In 6 months, when the market rallies, you'll forget this pain. You'll think you've 'learned.' And then you'll try again. And you'll lose again. That's the human psychology when it comes to stock market.”

"Then what do I do?"

"Stop swimming against the river. Get in a boat. Float. Let it carry you."

Pankaj was quiet for a long time. Then: "How?"

"Index funds, Pankaj. Index funds. The whole market. Not 10 stocks. Not 5 small-caps. The entire market. Boring. Slow. Steady. Unsexy. And life-changing."

"But where's the excitement?"

"The excitement is in 20 years, when you're rich and I'm richer — because we both floated instead of swimming."