Being Cautious

Prabhakar Badlerao, who owns a grape farm on 10 hectares in the village of Vadnerbhairav near Nashik, is perturbed despite a bumper yield this year. The rain gods have not been kind during the last year and the 50 year old is wondering whether he should postpone his much awaited SUV purchase by a few more months. "Last season, I spent close to Rs 50,000 buying water for irrigation and another Rs 50,000 on hiring a generator. The monsoon prediction this year is not very encouraging either; you never know, I may have to invest in water and generator again," remarks Badlerao in chaste Marathi, as he puts an anti humidity spray on his crop.

Minutes away from Badlerao's home is Rushi Ruhare's consumer durable store. His sales have halved in the past few months. "Last year, I sold around 20 refrigerators; this year, barely eight. It's not that people don't have money; they are being cautious," he explains.

Up North, in the town of Aakera in Rewari, Haryana, Shravan Singh, who runs a general store, an apparel store and a home appliance store, says sales have dipped by 30 per cent in the past few months. "My Deepawali sales were good, but