this story originally appeared in on nov 3 2013 endoctober dhiraj chhabra 33 is at work in his office in gurgaon but work for a change is not on his mind chhabra an assistant vicepresident at air works engineering is feeling the diwali rush the excitement is palpable small myriad details crowd his busy calendar gifts to be wrapped 10 more relativesfriends to be visited drycleaned curtains to be put up sheets to be changed crackers and candles to be bought sweets for puja to be ordered the puja place to be spruced up flowers to decorate the housethe list is long meticulously he jots down all pending chores in the runup to diwali he leaves office early meetings and work can wait this is the biggest festival for our family it holds a very special place for us he says his parents arrived on friday ahead of the diwali sunday and he will be away from work on monday and tuesday to be with them chhabra a meticulous planner started his diwali preparations early as early as september while he wasnt planning any bigticket purchases he and his working wife had saved up to redo the living room the chhabra family bought some new furniture and changed furnishings the working couple had only weekends to get work done over the past 10 days they have visited 20odd relatives and friends he guesstimates carrying gifts sweets and dry fruits i meet some of them only during diwali thats what makes it special he says hope floats a stock market index at an alltime high and the inevitable eleventhhour wave of frenetic purchases cant disguise the uncertainty that lurks beneath the surface as data on eight key core sector industries for september trickled in on thursday the best so far in 2013 to indicate that the economy was bottoming out the mood on dalal street in shopping malls and in corporate corner rooms would have been of to use that familiar cliche cautious optimism after all uncertain politics with a general election due in a few months and a doddering economy the reserve bank has scaled down growth for 201314 from an earlier projection of 55 to 5 inflation is still high and the rupee still not quite out of the woods are manifesting themselves in the market place malls arent bustling dont let the lastminute buying frenzy fool you auto dealers say inventory is high big discounts have met with muted response and it wouldnt be premature to say that the festive season wont provide corporate earnings that extra zing they normally gain in the octoberdecember quarter all these somber tidings would have convinced indians to batten down the hatches and go easy on the festivities right wrong walk into homes from those of corporate head honchos to middlelevel executives to small business owners to bluecollar workers and you will likely be greeted by the soothing fragrance of incense a