Bull's bottom bugs Bombay brokers

By Karishma Vaswani
BBC News, Mumbai

The statue was unveiled on 12 January

Indian brokers at the Bombay Stock Exchange are calling on the authorities to bring in religious experts to change the direction of a bronze bull statue.

They say the posterior of the bull, placed at the footsteps of the exchange building, points towards the traders which makes it inauspicious.

It has been a tough time for financial markets around the world with bourses being volatile recently.

Brokers in Mumbai have been hard hit with the sharp falls in share prices.

This has left them extremely concerned and worried.

Symbol of optimism

Some of the Bombay brokers are convinced that the root of all their troubles lies with the five-foot-tall bronze bull.

They want the religious experts to consult astrological charts to see if its rear end should point in a more auspicious direction.

The bronze bull - a symbol of this market's optimism and previously soaring fortunes - was put in place on 12 January by the Bombay Stock Exchange's management team.

Unfortunately for them, it coincided with some of the worst falls in Indian shares in recent years.

When contacted by the BBC, the exchange said it had no plans for now to seek astrological advice on the bull.

India Business Report is broadcast repeatedly every Sunday on BBC World.