Few days in Ahmedabad

First Visit to Ahmedabad

In April, I was residing in Ahmedabad inside IIM A campus for a couple of days. Wonder why!! Trying my luck to get an admission in IIM? Yes and No, yes for applying in one of its program and no for not being serious about it. Nevertheless, I managed to get a leisure trip in and around Ahmedabad. One additional and crucial advantage was the stay in the hostel of IIM A and experience of the life@IIM A for a brief period.

First day, I landed in Ahmedabad and went to have a heritage walk around the city. I started with Sidi Saiyeed ki Jali which is a very famous mosque in Ahmedabad. I stayed there for a while and tried to appreciate the equisite carvings in the net.  Then proceeded towards Swaminarayan temple. The temple is built by the Swaminarayan sect. It attracts large number of devotees from Gujarat. The ostentatious design of walls and gates gives this temple a very affluent look. Also, there is huge ornamentation of figures of deities especially Swaminarayan Bhagvan. Swaminarayan Bhagvan used to stay at this location. From there, I moved to Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad which is less than a km away from the main food square of Ahmedabad, Manek Chowk. Jama Masjid has a huge complex and a large sitting area outside the dome. One can sit inside the dome to meditate and feel the spiritual atmosphere. Next, I visited Kankaria lake in the evening. There is a toy train ride on offer around the lake. This lake is a famous hangout spot for the locals and also a must site for the tourist coming from outside. Although I must confess, living nearby marine drive for almost a year, one does become less excited about lakes and the beautification around. Though I enjoyed the toy train ride and the loud Bollywood music of 80's which was being played nearby by an old uncle's gang.


Second day, I straight away reached Sabarmati ashram. The ashram was the abode of Gandhiji after his return from South Africa. He built  the ashram on the bank of Sabarmati river. The ashram complex has the huts of Vinoba Bhave, Meeraben and Gandhiji and Kasturba. There is a museum and  a book library inside the complex. The museum chronicles the life of this great person from his journey as a child to his becoming a Mahatma. There are many pictures and letters on display along with numerous quotes by Gandhiji or on Gandhiji said by famous personalities around the globe. Replica of the famous charkha made famous by Gandhiji was on sale in the memorabilia section inside the museum. Around 7-8 km away from the ashram is the museum of another great Gujarati, freedom fighter and India's first home minister, Sardar Patel. Sardar Patel museum had numerous sections from his eventful life e.g. Borsad struggle, Bardoli Satyagraha, Ahmadabad Municipality stint as an administrator, India's first home minister and the role in unification of India by merging 542 princely states. Apart from that, museum hosts a 3-D section and film auditorium to showcase the life of Sardar Patel. Next stop after museum was Adalaj ki Vav: a beautiful stepwell which is 5 stories in depth. All and all, the whole day flew so quickly because of the various sight seeing options. By 5 o' clock I reached back in IIM A campus and afterwards most of the time was spent reading in the library.

Third day, I started early in the morning at around 9 o'clock, did breakfast in the campus and headed towards Gujarat science city. GSC opens at 10:30 and I reached half an hour early. I started from Hall of science. Different models were put there to showcase various scientific phenomenon e.g. Light, Sound, Motion, Energy, Space, etc. to visitors. I particularly enjoyed their space section where they provided a motion simulator ride christened as Mission to mars which landed the observers in to one of the gallery where information about planet Mars was in abundance. Second stop I made was in Imax theater where the Hubble documentary was shown. The Imax screen and the documentary on its own became the most mesmerizing experience in the GSC for me. Thoroughly satisfied and drained out after the movie , I went next to Planet earth section. Planet earth module hosts a number of sections from Agriculture to Energy to Biology to Geography to what not. It took me 2-3 hours to cover all the sections; some covering in full details and I must say some in bit haste without covering fully.

In conclusion, after 3 days of sight seeing I am impressed by Ahmedabad, its rich cultural heritage, modern institutes and public sights. It is a must visit in the itinerary of every travel enthusiast.

PS: I was not selected in the program for which I applied. (Not news though..!!)

Juggernaut: Indian General Election Part III

I have briefly discussed about both Congress and BJP in previous posts. Today my focus is on a relative new comer in Indian politics i.e. AAP. AAP is an offshoot of the popular movement against corruption in the leadership of Anaa Hazare. AAP is led by Arvind Kejriwal who was the main negotiator of Anna Hazare camp during India Against Corruption movement. When the movement fizzled out by the apathy of UPA Govt, Arvind Kejriwal started a political outfit to fight the battle against corruption.

AAP was launched in Nov 2012 and their first battle was the assembly election of Delhi in Dec 2013. AAP was launched as a political alternative against mainstream parties like Congress and BJP. They employed some remarkable methods to fight the elections whether it is selecting the upright candidates, funding of elections, campaigning by utilising non profit volunteers. AAP was talking about people's revolution against the unimaginative and corrupt political class of India. It was the manifestation of anger among the people for loss of economic opportunity because of the financial meltdown across all over the world including India.

AAP's idea, about Swaraj, corruption free country and empowerment of people so that minimum government would be required, struck a cord in Delhi. AAP formed the Govt. in Delhi taking issue based outside support from Congress. But soon it became clearer that there are many areas on which AAP has to evolve to become a larger political party. Anti-corruption and decentralization can not be the only two planks on which AAP can contribute. In its haste to go for an all out change, AAP has made major mistakes by resigning from Delhi and then subsequently contesting national elections at a pan India level. There are micro level changes which are introduced by the entry of AAP style politics but one has to bear in mind that for overhauling of any institution we need systemic changes which comes incrementally keeping in mind the adaptability of general pubic to appreciate it fully. Sadly, AAP will have to learn this the hard way.

Juggernaut: Indian General Election Part II

Picking from where I left yesterday, today I am going to put my analysis on the prospective BJP Govt and its PM nominee Narendra Modi.

First we need to see the state of BJP before the announcement of Narendra Modi as PM. In my view, BJP failed miserably as an opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha. It could not question Govt on issues like corruption, price rise and women safety. In fact Congress was even successful to lay the blame of non functioning of parliament on BJP. For general voters, BJP was loosing the ground (at least in urban space) as an alternative of Congress to IAC and later to AAP till few months back. But things started turning around with the nomination of Modi as Prime ministerial candidate of BJP. Modi's energetic campaigning has made BJP as the clear frontrunner to make the next Govt along with its coalition partners unless something dramatic is happening which is missed by all the pollsters. In India, Modi is one of the most talked about politician of this era. Nothing is moderate when it comes to Modi. He commands blind adulation from his supporters or intense contempt from his adversaries. There are reasons for both. In his reign, independent India witnessed its worst communal riot where more than thousand people lost their life. Modi never took moral responsibility for the abject failure of state administration during the riots nor did he apologize on behalf of his Govt. Modi looked visibly uneasy over the demand of apology from sections of media aftermath the riots and evaded the question related to communal violence completely on number of occasions. On the other hand, after the riots Modi has put his focus on development of Gujarat. He has provided relatively clean governance in Gujarat by adopting technology and removing red tape. Infrastructure has got a big boost under his watch. He initiated a no of programs to improve the opportunities in agriculture, medium and small scale industries, solar energy, social programs e.g. JyotiGram Yojana, high enrolment of girl child in primary schools etc. In addition to that Modi has mastered the art of marketing Gujarat story across all of India. One thing is clear that both the supporters and detractors of Modi have indulged into passionate arguments with each other without conceding the inherent dichotomy in Modi's personality which is decisive as well as divisive. In election campaigning so far Modi is staying away from hard-line approach and focusing on development and governance but it will be interesting to watch whether he is genuinely having a change of heart or being a shrewd politician. 

Juggernaut: Indian General Election Part I

We all have been surrounded by the din and clamour of Indian general election for quite some time now. Amid all the noise, allegations and counter allegations it is a colossal task to have a sane and unbiased view regarding merits and demerits of political options contesting this time. Here is my small contribution to accentuate the confusion :)

PART I

Gandhis and INC : We are witnessing the lowest approval rating of Congress and Rahul Gandhi in this election. Multiple scams (2G, CWG, Coalgate, Adarsh) have tarnished the reputation of the incumbent dispensation in public eyes. In addition to that, Congress brass clinching to Rahul Gandhi for providing leadership despite evidence of his lack of ability is conspicuous to the middle class voters. Young and aspirational voters loathe dynastic succession of leadership in Congress which according to them is an anachronism in today's time of merit. But I want to discuss few more causes responsible for the bad prospects of Congress in this election apart from these two widely held popular views.

In my view, Congress suffered mostly for the lack of connect and communication with the public. They could not outline the vision of their policies like FSA, UIDAI, DTB etc to the public at large. Secondly, because of the gaping loopholes in the implementation of the policies e.g. MNREGA, distribution of natural resources ex: coal, spectrum, natural gas, huge wealth was amassed by the rogue politicians and businessmen. Thirdly, indictment by institutional bodies like CAG and Supreme court for lack of transparency and accountability resulted in the active scrutiny by media and SC and ultimately led to policy paralysis. Fourth, large public demonstrations in the form of IAC and the poor handling of the situation by Congress which made the public disenchanted with the Govt. Fifth, lack of co-ordination in various areas for example among PMO and ministries resulting in the delay of huge infrastructure projects, among centre and states which stalled passage of crucial bills like GST and DTC, between Govt. and opposition in the parliament which adversely impacted legislative performance. Sixth, negative global economic condition compounded economic problems domestically for the Congress. Seventh, high Inflation increased the price of daily use items substantially and resentment against government intensified in the common public.

Beyond doubt, Congress is fighting its most difficult election and given their campaigning so far it is uninspiring to say the least. My fear is that the mandate for Congress might be so low that they even might end up being second fiddle in the opposition's role. This is almost predictable for lot of us so tomorrow I am going to discuss the prospect of BJP led NDA and their chances of forming a majority Govt. 

Jaisalmer Travelogue

I have been itching to share my journey to Jaisalmer which I could not do during the travelling. Jaisalmer is one of the many beautiful cities in the culturally rich land of Rajasthan. Like other great cities in Rajasthan, Jaisalmer is magnificently known for its forts, Havelis, lakes, stones and last but not the least desert. So here is my itinerary in this beautiful city:

Day 1 : Sand dunes

I started my journey towards Jaisalmer on Thursday 09/01/2014 at 17:30 from Delhi on Delhi-Jaisalmer Express with friends. I enjoy travelling in indian railways despite not having the best of the amenities for you meet new people, play games and enjoy your sojourn in the commotion amongst passengers. We reached Jaisalmer at around 11:30 on Friday and thanks to the sagacity of my friend who contacted one of his acquaintance in Indian forest department, we got forest guest house to stay and a car to pick us from station. Guest house was 10-12 km away from railway station. After having our lunch in the guest house, we drove for desert safari which was pre-arranged by the forest department person. Desert Safari is one of the main attractions for the tourists visiting Jaisalmer. One has to start for the safari at most by 16:00 from the city so that he can reach in the dunes which is 50 km away from the city before the sunset. We reached in the dunes at around 17:15 before making a stop at the Jain temple in the city. Do not confuse this with the Jain temple within the main fort. Having reached in the dunes, we rode on our camels to move deeper in the desert. Cold breeze touching our face, sun rays penetrating the sand covered domes, crest of sands and infinite gaze - it was pure joy to say the least. We rode on the back of the camel for a good 45 mins before getting down and settling for sunset and some cool pics. We spent an hour or so enjoying the panorama then rode back to reach our camp for the cultural program and overnight stay. While riding back, our guide engaged us in camel race which was adventurous though it put a toll on the lower side of our body. Having reached at the camp side, we were served tea and poha while the cultural event was about to start. There was open air theatre where bone fire was lighted and singers were sitting over an elevated platform while the guests were sitting on the mats and cushions on the ground. The event was kick started by singing Rajasthani folk song by local singers. then one after another local folk songs were sung while female artists displayed traditional dance and skills e.g. balancing multiple mud pots over their head or picking a ring from their eyebrow etc.
Then guests were invited to have dance around the bone fire. Dinner was served immediately afterwards and then we proceeded towards our tent to rest ending an eventful day in the hope of an even better day to come.

Tip: Camel guides ask for extra money to extend camel ride. In my view, do not get lured by their offer because most of the spots in the desert which they sell as unique are no different from what you have in your camp package.



Day 2: City, Border and Tanot temple

Next day. we got up early to visit the dunes in sunrise. Red sun rays filled the desert and changed the colour and texture of the scene. We spent an hour in the dunes and returned back to the camp. After the breakfast, we checked out from the camp and decided to visit India-Pakistan border and the famous Tanot devi temple. On our way, we stopped at Kuldhara village which is considered to be haunted by the curse of villagers residing in it at 18th century. The village was completely deserted and abandoned for more than 200 years. Dilapidated houses were giving it a very mysterious and ghostly look. After an hour, we resumed our drive towards main city from where we had planned to move towards border which is 150 km away from city. As soon as we reached the city, we covered one more tourist spot - Gadisar lake. In Gadisar lake, People can do boating and enjoy the scenery and calmness of the scene. The fare was modest and we did boat for half an hour to be at peace: listening the sound of birds and splash of water. Before leaving city for the border, we had traditional Rajasthani food in our lunch esp. Bajre ki roti and jaggery. We started for border at 14:30 and reached Tanot village at 17:00 which was 120 km away from city. For border visit, tourists have to take permission from BSF and they allow permission till 16:00. We were disappointed to have missed the deadline. Arti in Tanot temple starts at 18:00 so we had full one hour to waste. We met one BSF soldier in nearby canteen and conversed with him about the border and the daily routine of BSF soldiers. He told us that Tanot temple is managed by the BSF. In the 1971 war when Pakistani shell and bombs were fired towards the temple, it escaped miraculously and since then BSF soldiers had great respect for Tanot Devi. We observed the arti inside the temple which was attended by a large cohort of soldiers. Inside the temple compound, shells and mortars fired by the enemy were displayed for the visitors. After attending 1 hour arti we drove back to the city to our guest house. The day did not go as planned but we had great time on the road while driving. Next day was reserved for the locations within the city.


Day 3: Forts, Havelis and fossil museum


After having good sleep, we enjoyed the morning in the forest guest house which was located 10 kms away from the city. There was lot of open space and greenery in it. Local labour was hired in it for horticultural work. After having breakfast, we moved to the city in car. Our first stopover was Jaisalmer fort. It was splendid as we entered in it from the main gate. It has its own stories but two stories which made me interesting in it was: It is the only fort in India where people live inside and it is called Sonar kella from the movie of the same name from the genius Satyajit Ray which brought international fame to it. Inside the fort the main attraction was King's Palace, Queen Palace, big cannon mounted at the highest point from where one can see the entire city and the most beautiful of them all: Jain Temple. There was museum inside the King's palace. There were different Rajasthani stones, predominantly yellow stone, which were used in its making. Fossil stone was also widespread inside Jain temple. The palace is built using interlocking of stone without cement or any other adhesive. Jain temple inside the fort is one of the key shrine for Jain community. It was built by the rich merchants from the community in 15th century. Stone work on the walls and roof of the temple is one of the highlights. One can find the stone image of all the 24 hermits of Jains in this temple. Inside the fort, one can also find local artisan shops where camel leather footwear and other local designs can be bought. After shopping from the fort, we went to visit Mandir palace. From mandir palace we went to visit Akal wood fossil park. In this park, fossilized woods were put under conservation which were millions of years old. From the park, we drove to railway station to catch our train.

Overall it was very enjoyable trip and we all had great time exploring this great city. 2-3 days is sufficient to enjoy the locations but our planning was bit faulty that is why we had to rush in the end. We could not cover Havelis for lack of available time hence there will be another trip to cover Jaisalmer along with Jodhpur... :)

I am sharing few pics for reference
Jaisalmer trip pics

Travel history : Lahaul-Spitti Valley

The month of June was full of unsettled desires but I am glad to fulfill at least one of them i.e. travelling to the remote areas of country's beautiful locations and talk to the locals there. So I journeyed to Himachal Pradesh with a friend of mine on 21st of June from Delhi in the afternoon. The heat was at its peak at day time. We only got slight reprieve in the evening. First, we reached at Chandigarh at night. There we settled to fill our empty stomach before moving forward. After much wandering, we founded the Dhabha. We replenished our stocks to our satisfaction and headed to Kullu in the night itself. So far so good. We reached Kullu in the morning and straightaway advanced futher to Keylong in Lahaul Valley. Keylong was 175 km away from Kullu. The route was Kullu->Manali->Rohtang Pass->Keylong. To tell you the truth I am not the sort of person to plan everything beforehand hence I had to rely largely on my friend's iPad and lonely planet guides. Our Idea was to take a stopover in keylong to move to UdaiPur for Triloknath Temple Visit. The bus journey took 7-8 hours. In the meantime my friend took as many snaps as he could and frankly speaking the view was so refreshing that one could not resist the temptation to capture every bit of imagery of that place. We reached Keylong at night on 22nd of June. After spending the night in a warm nice room, we got up in the morning to start our sight seeing. We visited local market in keylong. We went to the Keylong's Museum but that was closed due to bi-election. Meanwhile we were enjoying the climate, the scenery and the our conversations with local people. What I experienced at that place was stillness of nature: calm and serene atmosphere. I was occupied with idle thoughts, enjoying the whole set up and marveling at the beauty of mother earth.

We returned at the Keylong bus stand and revisited our plan there. We decided to move towards Gonda->Sissu->Gramphoo route. Our ideas was to move to Spiti valley from Gramphoo. So we took a stopover in Gonda village. In Gonda village, the attraction was the eight story building which was 600 years old. It was made from wood and stone by the then local king. The building is handed over to ASI for restoration and preservation by the king's descendants. There we met a villager who described to us villagers, their life, impact of climate on their life etc. We were pleasantly surprised to know that the whole route from Manali to Keylong is open only for 4-5 months in summers. After that inhabitants face severe winter when roads are closed and they are completely cut-off from the city. Snow is about 10-12 feet high so they have to clear it to move inside the village or to go to nearby villages. From Gonda village, We climbed back for 1.5 km to catch the main road. One more thing which I forgot to mention is the public transport. See in these parts, roads were cut from mountains so these are one way roads which generally allow only one vehicle to pass at a time. The buses are rare and once the roads are cleared during summers then only bus service is resumed that too once in a day. As we were dependent on the buses, it was imperative for us to plan our fixture with in the constraint of this simple fact. To go from Gonda to Sissu, we missed our bus and we had 2 options either to wait for the next bus or to travel for 15km by foot. Luckily to our rescue, there were 3 Buddhist monks who were going to Manali in Tata sumo. We requested them and got the lift till Sissu. Once we reached Sissu, we had lunch at the only hotel located there. In Sissu, the spot to visit was the hanging waterfall along side make shift camps. We reached in a primary school and the view from there caught our attention. We snapped pictures and soaked in the beauty of that place and decided to move further to our next destination. Fortunately, we were told the futility of our resolve as there was no place to stay in Gramphoo and we decided to stay in Sissu for the night. Now as we had 4-5 hours left in the day, we decided to go to that spot again but this time closer to the camps. I am glad that we did that. Let me tell you why: Brief description of the place and that moment - time was 6 P.M. one has to descend from the main road to reach the camps. At the camp side, there was a lake. The place was surrounded by two mountain ranges: upper Himalayan(Snow clad) and Middle Himalayan(Greener mountains). Near the camp to the east, the mighty Chandra river was flowing. Once we settled beside the chandra river on a rock. The view was exhilarating. There was the sound of wind, sound of river water splashing at the shores, magnificent view of hanging waterfall, scenery of the hills and mountains and to top it all the beautiful sunset between the mountains. We sat there for one and half hour soaking all we could. There was silence, nature and its myriad hues and colors. The whole experience was divine. After this sublime moment, we returned to our hotel, had dinner and slept to catch the early morning bus for Spiti valley.


Next day, we got up on time but still managed to miss the bus. Luckily, We got the shared cab to Gramphoo. At Gramphoo, there is a single Dhabha and an intersection route of two valleys- Lahaul and Spiti. We called up a person from Manali and booked 2 seats in a cab going to Spiti valley last night. So we had to wait around 3 hrs for the cab to arrive. Then we left for Kaza, the main town of Spiti valley. We started around 11 A.M. and reached Kaza at 5 P.M. with the 140km distance covered during this time. In the route, there were two important halts- Batal and Kunzum Pass. From Batal, the track to Chandrataal lake is planned which comes highly in the itinerary of travel enthusiasts. Second stop, Kunzum pass is at 4500m height and there is a temple which is considered pristine and divine by the locals. The view from Kunzum pass is another reason to stop there. Kaza was relatively better populated. Mid-way Kaza, batteries of our mobiles, camera and iPad were drained completely. There was no electricity in Kaza from past few days so we had to rush to the internet cafe where generator was available to power up our devices. I sat on a system to browse and check my email. As I opened my mail, there was one email from IIM Lucknow for admission confirmation in PGP-ABM program. I was shocked to know that to accept the offer I had to reach at the campus after 2 days otherwise my offer will be cancelled. Before that, I had left MDI PGPM after much contemplation but still the attraction of IIM Lucknow's brand was pulling me to consider doing MBA again. My friend, who was on this trip with me, had completed his MBA from IIM Calcutta. So I deliberated with him for an hour or so and decided to let go this offer. Finally, putting all the turbulence aside from my mind, I slept to start the next day with new excitement.

Next morning, we planned to visit the Keeh Gompa(Buddhist Monastery) but to our disadvantage there was no bus from Kaza to Keeh. We set out to reach for Keeh on foot rather than wasting 1000 Rs on cab. The distance to Gompa was 15km. I asked for lift from a car driver from petrol pump. He dropped us near bridge as he was going towards Rangreek then we took the lift from JCB to Keeh village. From Keeh we got the lift further for 3 km towards Gompa. Finally walking for a km or so, we reached at the Keeh Gompa. The Gompa was at an altitude of 4250m. We went to the tea room where we were comforted with herbal tea by the in charge of the Gompa. As we were sipping our tea, four college girls from England entered and sat. We all finished our tea and wrote good things in the visitors book. Then incharge took us over to the various halls and explained the history and culture behind each thing present in the Gompa. He was more than kind to let us ask as many questions from him. Near the Gompa, there was a hotel cum restaurant where we had veg manchurian and thupka. We then were planning to move to Kibber village. The hotel attendant suggested us to take a different route than we had thought earlier as the former one was shorter. We followed the road suggested to us and to our dismay we had to follow the footsteps on the mountain and reach at the top of it and then went downhill to reach Kibber. When we started, we were not aware that we would be climbing till the top. Gradually, we started to feel the altitude. The climb was steep and dangerous to the least. We made 15-20 stops to climb to the top. But once we reached at the top, we screamed our lungs out for that feeling was priceless. It was eureka moment for us literally. But our adventure did not end there for there was more in store for us. We stopped at the top for a brief moment and advanced further to reach earliest to Kibber. But as we were progressing, suddenly clouds started gathering, chilly winds were blowing and rain started. We had to take refuge in the nearby small temple, which was in the form of mud hut and completely deserted. As we were stranded there for 2-3 hours, we were making all sort of assumptions eg. what if we had to stay there till morning then how can we lit fire and sleep there or whether we should move to nearby village and ask for their assistance...
Finally, clouds moved further and we witnessed a rainbow. At 4500m altitude we were told that weather changes are sudden. We were feeling cold and hurried towards Kibber. We reached at Kibber in night at around 8 P.M. With some aggressive bargaining, we managed to get a nice room and stayed there till morning. We ordered veg soups at night to ameliorate our dwindling health condition due to exertion and cold. In the morning, we visited a temple in Kibber where all the Lamas (Buddhist monks) had arrived for four days prayer and procession. From there, we boarded a bus to Kaza but halfway through I realized that my ring was left at the hotel. I reached at Kaza and hired a cab for return trip from Kibber at 700/- Rs. Next day I left for Manali to end this memorable journey.

What to do if one plans to visit high altitude places -

1. Keep a BSNL SIM along with you because at such remote locations you will only find state run operator towers.
2. Keep Sun Cream with you for at high altitude, you will get sun burns easily.
3. Keep goggles to protect your eyes.
4. Keep warm clothes to avoid cold esp. at nights.
5. Plan your schedule according to the bus facilities or bring your own vehicle.
6. Keep medicine for AMS for it takes time to acclimatize in high altitudes.

Yeh Jawani hai Deewani

"You can not have everything in life so savor what you have right now." This line sums up the whole premise of YJHD for me. It is a movie that is predictable, confusing at times and does not give everything that you desire from a refreshing romantic take given the premise propagated by the makers. But surely you can enjoy the formula put forth by Yash Raj camp and established by the Karan Johar productions.

The plot is quite familiar. Group of friends go for adventure. A young girl joins them. She meets the charming boy. The boy is cool, confident and fun. The girl is simple, studious and boring. She gets the best time of her life, fall in love with the boy. He goes after his dreams.  They reunite at the friend's wedding and eventually fall in love. To give Ayan the credit, there are many subplots that delve deeper in to the friendship, father-son relationship and happiness in life.  

Despite its predictability YJHD is an enjoyable movie and believe me I have tried to not like this formulaic offering but once you are sitting inside the movie hall you somehow connect to the whole premise. Be it the acting or the dialogues. The strongest point in YJHD's favor is its cast. They all slips into this world so effortlessly that one starts believing into the fantasy. Ranbir Kapoor is gradually strengthening his position into the industry. He is a natural and spontaneous actor. But what truly remarkable is the act put forth by Deepika Padukone. She has startled me completely. Kalki, Aditya and Farookh sheikh brings the best out of characters.