“But he had to take this call. Deepak Parekh was an old friend. He was more than an old friend. He was the chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC), India's lone mortgage company founded by his uncle Hasmukh Thakordas Parekh, a veteran banker. Aditya had known Deepak since his days as a management trainee with automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, his first job after graduation. Aditya's buddy Bharat Shah, later a colleague at Citibank, was Deepak's cousin. Bharat had a group of close friends with a common passion, bridge. These included investment banker Hemendra Kothari, builder Dilip Thakker, Aditya, Deepak and a few others, all power houses who would meet for dinner every fortnight and often go over to each other's homes. 'As a young kid, Aditya used to fix our drinks and stand behind the bar,' Deepak told me.”