A free, 32-lesson practice of reading Indian markets. Written by one person, for the careful Indian beginner. This page tells you who that person is, and what this practice is — and is not.
My name is Srinivas Padavala. I design and build technology systems, mostly inside Australian financial services.
Earlier in my career, I spent 5 years at Colonial First State Investments, one of Australia's largest investment managers, and then 10 years at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, one of the country's four major banks. I'm currently building systems at the NSW Government, in Sydney, where I've moved out of finance into public-sector technology.
I'm a practitioner of investing, not a financial advisor. I trade U.S. markets myself, following Investor's Business Daily daily. I am not SEBI-registered, and I am not licensed to give investment advice in any country. This practice is what I learnt over years — translated into the version I'd give a careful Indian beginner.
You can find me on LinkedIn — that's the most accurate picture of my professional self.
This practice represents my personal views only and does not represent any past or current employer.
I started investing in markets without a patient voice to learn from. I made the same mistakes most beginners make — chasing tips, panic-selling, holding weak businesses out of hope, mistaking noise for information.
Over years, I found my way to the quiet, disciplined tradition of growth investing taught by Mark Minervini, David Ryan, and the team at Investor's Business Daily founded by William O'Neil. It's the discipline I follow today, every morning, before any market opens.
I wrote Pragya because I couldn't find a version of this practice in plain Indian English, freely given, for the careful beginner. Indian retail investors deserve honest education about markets — without the WhatsApp tip culture, the YouTube finfluencer noise, or the bait-and-switch funnels.
The wisdom in this practice is not mine. The shape, the order, and the quiet Indian voice in which it speaks — that part is mine.
I trade U.S. markets myself, following Investor's Business Daily every morning. I read its weekly market briefings, scan its leadership lists, study the disciplines of Minervini and Ryan, and apply them to my own portfolio.
But Pragya is not about my trading. The deeper craft — chart patterns, base breakouts, precise entry timing — is something I do for myself. It comes after years of practice, not before.
Pragya is the foundational version — the practice I would give a careful Indian beginner, including a younger version of myself. It teaches the principles that make all the deeper craft possible — strategy first, watch carefully, find leaders by relative strength, never act on tips. Once these become a discipline, the deeper craft is something a careful reader can grow into. Without these, no chart pattern matters.
Pragya carries forward the disciplined growth-investing tradition of three teachers and one institution. Their work is the foundation of everything in this practice:
Pragya does not teach their work in full. Their methods include chart patterns, precise entry timing, and technical analysis that take years of practice. Pragya teaches the foundational principles — the part a beginner can absorb and grow with.
The framework that runs through everything Pragya teaches is called CAN SLIM — a seven-letter checklist created by William O'Neil for finding superperformance growth stocks. It has worked since the 1960s and remains the foundation of disciplined growth investing today. Pragya teaches the principles behind it — leadership, relative strength, market direction — without the deeper technical craft (chart patterns, base breakouts, precise entries) that comes only after years of practice.
There is no contact form, no chatbot, no support team. Just me. Pragya is a personal gift.
The practice is here.
Whenever you're ready.