Experts and the thali of wisdom

As I write this, the Sensex has taken what the financial media loves to call a 'nosedive,' dropping over 4.5 per cent in the past month. Right on cue, our ever-reliable market experts have served up their familiar thali of explanations, each delivered with the seriousness of someone who knows and understands everything. The current favourite is geopolitical tension in the Middle East. Our market has suddenly discovered that the region isn't exactly a meditation retreat. Our experts are painting vivid pictures of how tensions between Iran and Israel are somehow causing stocks in Mumbai to quiver. Then there's the perpetual bogey of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) selling Indian stocks. The story goes that they've discovered Indian valuations are high - a revelation that must have struck them like lightning on their way to their morning coffee despite these valuations being just as high in past months when they were busy buying. The parade of explanations march