Just before the scam in 1992, everyone was hijacked into abandoning their reasoning power, hysteric greed overcoming all sensibility. It led to a belief that stock prices need have no relation to fundamentals! Even the majority of seasoned investors slipped into rationalising that the price earning ratio for the Sensex scrips of 52 was quite justified!

The current experience has been exactly reverse. Scrips were available at a throwaway prices and yet there were only short-sellers and no buyers! FIIs decided to pack up shop and pull out their money.

Gross sales by foreign institutional investors totalled Rs 1602.4 crore during June, the net investment being negativeof US $ 214 million. Gross sales exceeded purchases by Rs 866.2 crore. For the previous month the figure was Rs 883.7 crore. Cumulative net investment has also gone down to US $ 8.82 billion compared to $ 9.04 billion in May.

The negative outflow of FII investment had continued even in the week ended June 26 with the net FII outflow at Rs 54 crore. The month also saw the investors going through the shock of seeing the Sensex losing 850 points from 3,800 on June 1 to 2,951 on June 22.

This period will go down in the memory of investors as the most black month in recent history. Not only the unimaginative budget of Sinha, not only the fleeing of FII funds, but an assault by the bears has caused close to third degree burns in the investor's psyche.

The experience has taught valuable lessons to many. First, to the finance minister who once openly stated that budgets are not made with the stock markets in mind. I wonder if he still believes so, for he has to catch up with his target of downloading PSUstocks to the Indian public. And he has seen how the FII money does flow out!

Investors and the regulatory authority saw what mortal blows bears are capable of striking. I believe this lesson is quite valuable for at another plane this is what can still happen to the rupee in not too far off a date, unless of course we start taking compensating measures right now.

We also saw what life would be without FII interest! And oh yes, Sebi learnt some more tricks, though one keeps wondering when would they have learnt enough to lock the gate before the dark horses run away with booty. In any case their learning experience should help to stabilise the market in future.

All in all it has not been a bad experience if one only looks back at the market recovery that has now been under way. The bears must indeed be smiling and waiting on the sides. Sure the bears will emerge again once the prices start rising. But, in the meanwhile much healing has taken place, with guided recovery of stock prices.

And theinvestor would have learnt one important lesson. And that is`Do not wait for the Godot, if you have to make money'. FIIs may be temporarily out of action but come back they will. Even,if they don't the show will go on. Reportedly, the FIIs are back in fray and lapped up HLL and software scrips.

Yes, ofcourse the provision to cover rupee depreciation has helped in the process. And let us come back to Godot. I wonder how many investors are still keeping away from the market, hoping for a better turn of events. The latest CMIE report points out to a slowdown in the growth rate, likely jump in inflation and what have you, not inspiring at all!

So, is one to wait until the present government comes up with a better budget? Is one to wait to see good figures of FII inflow? Or to see how the bears get into action again? The answer is no. The Indian investor has to learn his lessons. The lesson of not waiting for the Godot.

And those whose have shut their minds to the stock markets following thetrauma of the recent bear slaughter, I will appeal to them to take another look and see what is happening. Starting from June 22, the Sensex has gained by 8 per cent by July 9, rising from 2951 to 3331 points.

And for those who did not quit the markets in disgust, there were rich pluckings. A gain of 11 per cent in Sensex in the period was quite common. But on some scrips the gain was in excess of even 50 percent. And there were a number of scrips where one made gains of around 15 percent.

Let us see how and what happened.

Some investors decided to get back into info stocks. The industry was free of the evils that tug the Indian economy and gained from the weakness of the rupee. So what was actually called for was an alacrity to look for opportunities instead of shunning the stock markets.

And the gains are there now to see. In the period, Pentafour Software, Satyam Software, Software Solutions and Square D Software gained in excess of 50 percent. BFL Software, RS Software, SilverlineIndustries gained between 40 and 50 per cent.

Maars Software, KLG Systel, Rolta and Digital Equipment gained between 30 and 40 per cent. Infosys Techologies gained by 25 per cent. So, no one can complain of lack of opportunities. And infostocks were not alone in providing opportunities. Intelligent investors also pounced on pharma scrips with attractive gains in the short period - German Remedies (21 per cent), Fulford (19 per cent), Parke Davis (17 per cent), Glaxo (15 per cent) are some examples.

Even bank scrips gave reasonable opportunities. SBI on its way to medium term recovery has already rewarded a return of eight per cent, Bank of Rajasthan and Global Trust also rewarded by 18 per cent and 16 per cent respectively, twice the rate of the gain in the BSE sensex. The moral of the story is do not wait for Godot.

There are opportunities to be found by sweating it out. You need to make careful selection of the industry, of the particular company; then you need to be right on your entry and exitprice and should know when to keep nerves, when there is a temporary downturn lasting perhaps a few sessions.

If you learn to play the game right, you can beat inflation which is snowballing. And just forget the Godot.