Invitation drought

In fact, there seem to be more than enough ways to mine Diwali’s traditions for larger economic implications. One major topic of conversation over the last week in Delhi appears to have been whether there have been fewer, and perhaps less ostentatious card parties in the lead-up to the festival. Some card fanatics have gone so far as to claim that they’ve received no invitations at all; other well-known hosts of past card parties have cancelled, saying they’ve been called out of town suddenly.

Yet others have turned down the invitations they have received. One theory doing the rounds is that this is another symptom of the Kejriwal Effect — nobody really wants to be seen throwing down large amounts of money at the moment. Others just say that, after much delay, the economic slowdown might be hitting South Delhi’s pampered and insulated elite.