As far back as the 1860s there used be rain gambling or 'barsaat-ka-satta'. This form of gambling was prevalent during the monsoon months and was generally at Pydhonie area in Mumbai where a house was rented for this purpose. This was in two forms - Calcutta Mori and Lakdi Satta.
In Calcutta Mori, wagers were laid as to the amount of rain filtering in a certain fixed time through a specially prepared box filled with sand and the speculators settling on the rates of the wager depending on the signs of rain in the heavens.
While in Lakdi Satta, the winning or losing of the wager depended upon whether rainfall within a certain period was sufficient to fill the gutter of a roof and overflow.
By 1865, the demand for Indian cotton reached a new zenith to 70 million pounds. The increasing business activities led to more speculation and there were about three dozen banks, two dozen insurance companies, five dozen stock companies and eight land reclamation companies in Bombay.
In midst of hectic business activities, the market saw the rise of Premchand Roychand, a young man who came to Bombay in search of employment but went on to become the undisputed cotton and bullion king. He made a fortune during cotton boom and founded Bank of Bombay.
The secret behind Premchand's success was his method of making market conditions suitable to speculators and in the process realizing money from business community through buying and selling shares. His modus operandi was simple, borrow money from banks against the government and public companies securities by promising them quick and substantial return and using the fund in the market to increase the share rates of the same banks. He used his own bank for the same. In between, he started a land reclamation company called Backbay.
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In the start of 1865, for the first time a proposal for developing housing scheme, marketing complex, educational buildings and recreation center in southern Bombay came for which the land was to be reclaimed as Bombay is an island city. This proposal witnessed opening up of various land reclamation companies with a very high share value. The proposal was sidelined because of indecision of British Government and took almost a century in completion. This area is known as Backbay Reclamation.
See what happens afterwards !
In Calcutta Mori, wagers were laid as to the amount of rain filtering in a certain fixed time through a specially prepared box filled with sand and the speculators settling on the rates of the wager depending on the signs of rain in the heavens.
While in Lakdi Satta, the winning or losing of the wager depended upon whether rainfall within a certain period was sufficient to fill the gutter of a roof and overflow.
By 1865, the demand for Indian cotton reached a new zenith to 70 million pounds. The increasing business activities led to more speculation and there were about three dozen banks, two dozen insurance companies, five dozen stock companies and eight land reclamation companies in Bombay.
In midst of hectic business activities, the market saw the rise of Premchand Roychand, a young man who came to Bombay in search of employment but went on to become the undisputed cotton and bullion king. He made a fortune during cotton boom and founded Bank of Bombay.
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See what happens afterwards !
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