Even in the still and serene surroundings of his 2,000-acre estate on the Sahayadri slopes in Chikmagalur in the Western Ghats, Ashok Kuriyan can feel the hustle-and-bustle and the pace of the Indian economy. At Balanoor Plantations, the "feelgood" factor has gripped every worker, including its MD Kuriyan. After all, despite a huge rise in input costs, it netted a cool profit of Rs 30 lakh this season, compared to a "no-profit, no-loss situation" in the previous one. "If we had not got the Rs 25 lakh subsidy last year, we would've been in serious trouble," says Kuriyan.