Buy Rs 100 Share, Enjoy Rs 3,000 Taj Buffet: CA Recalls 'Real Value Investing'

A chartered accountant’s recent post on X has gone viral for its tongue-in-cheek take on what he describes as "real value investing."

In the post, Dhanesh Gianani reminisced about the days when investing in company shares also meant enjoying lavish perks at annual general meetings (AGMs).

Gianani recalled how years ago, buying just one share of Indian Hotels for about Rs 100 was enough to secure entry to the company’s AGM at the iconic Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai. The real payoff, he wrote, was not the share itself, but the complimentary lunch buffet worth nearly Rs 3,000 at the luxury hotel that came with it.

"Missing the golden days where I used to buy 1 share of Indian Hotels worth Rs 100, attend the annual AGM at Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, eat free lunch buffet worth Rs 3,000," the CA wrote on X.

Calling it "Real value investing," he underlined how the perks often outweighed the investment.

The benefits didn’t end with food. Gianani noted that shareholders were also given Taj "stay and food coupons".

He also pointed to the shareholders' meeting of Vikas Proppant & Granite Ltd., where investors were treated to a free one-night stay at ITC Jodhpur, complete with meals.

"One night stay in ITC Jodhpur + meals included for all shareholders, absolutely FREE of cost in 2020," read his post.

Many others shared their own memories and observations about AGM freebies.

When one person asked what had happened to all those perks, Gianani replied that Covid had pushed meetings online, ending the tradition of in-person gatherings.

Another user recalled how shareholders of Trident once received bedrolls just for a handful of shares.

One user also joked that owning a single Burger King (RBA) share now fetches them a free Whopper meal every year.

Others, however, lamented the shift to virtual AGMs and longed for a return to the days of physical meetings with their perks.

Gianani’s post recalls a bygone era of Indian corporate culture, when owning even a single share, sometimes bought for as little as Rs 100, was enough to unlock a series of perks at AGMs. For most investors, these meetings were less about scrutinising balance sheets and more about enjoying free meals, hotel stays and the camaraderie of fellow shareholders. Times have changed, though.

Shares of The Indian Hotels Company Ltd. were trading at Rs 782.40 apiece on the NSE at 11:50 a.m., while the benchmark Nifty50 stood at 24,806.40, down 0.65%.