We met six key bureaucrats in Lucknow apart from cross-state meetings with companies like HDFC Bank, HDB Financial Svs, Bharat Financial Inclusion, Cholamandalam Investment & Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Shriram City Union Finance, Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) and Satin Creditcare. We also met unlisted cos such as Sonata, Cashpor Micro Credit and Aadhar Housing (subsidiary of the listed DHFL) and Shubham Housing.We caught up with dealers and distributors of cement, FMCG, appliances and automobile brands and visited the plants of Patanjali and Havells in Uttarakhand (the erstwhile Himalayan part of UP). Overall, we had 150+ meetings over two weeks. We drove 1,600 km through the heat and dust of Uttar Pradesh in Jun-17 to get a ground level, anecdotal understanding of macro, business and political dynamics in Indias largest under-performing state. We were surprised to see citizens optimism on the direction of the economy, even as they expressed gloom on law and order, jobs and business momentum.