Deshpande's Adda!

My visits to two different continents within a span of one month gave me a good reason to blog again. So here I am after a lacuna! If you want to travel internationally, and are afraid of planning or maintaining your accounts, then this blog might be useful for you! I am sharing my personal experience, as an amateur traveller, of what I did right and what I didn’t. So here it goes! Who should read it ? If you are a first time traveller OR you are planning a trip with your family/ friends for a limited amount of time OR you are planning an international itinerary I am starting with the longer paras first and then sweet little tips as you go about it 1.    Plan, plan and plan Yes planning your trip beforehand saves a lot of money and effort. It might be common perception that the best moments come unplanned, but don’t take this alibi for travelling International. The earlier your plan, the more you will save. If you plan 6 months in advance (no use pla...

Compiling a list of 10 movies which you have to watch before you leave this planet! Most of the movies you might have already watched, but if you haven’t- hit your torrent or your jugaadu friend for the movies soon! It was difficult for me to come up with a pecking order, so this is roughly in the sequence of influence. Criteria: Released after I was born & have seen it, discussed it, wikied and IMDBed it! o    The Prestige IMDB 8.5 I call it the best of the Nolan movies. Many critics find the plot predictable, but I could not. The movie is a superb mystery thriller with a hint of science fiction. The quotes and dialogues are intriguing and worth remembering. The climax is something which gets full marks. o    Natarang  IMDB 8.4 I saw this Marathi movie in theatre. Atul Kulkarni’s portrayal of Guna, has to be one of the finest roles enacted by any Indian actor. The story is a legend in itself, coupled with Ajay-Atul’s masterstroke musi...

Theres a little of me who speaks A little he, a little she A little of me wants to sleep and dream, rest and bask in the sun A little of me wants to wake up and run A little of me wants to travel the land, visit places, experience and interact A little of me wants to discover my act A little of me seeks the luxuries of the world, wants to live life king size A little of me just wants comfort and rice A little of me wants to climb mountains, swim lakes, cross rivers, get lost in the sea A little of me wants to return home and have a good nights sleep A little of me wants you, your body, with the little pleasure you give me A little of me just wants your company A little of me wants to revolt, disrupt and change A little of me wants but to consolidate A little of me will never settle, till the other little has tested her mettle In places I travel around the globe I seek home When at home I seek the globe Confused am I as always, which path s...

My company, InterGlobe, has a simple yet wonderful blog called 'A Zillion Awsums' ( I know the name is catchy and weird at the same time)! I had contributed towards the blog by penning down my experience of teaching for InterGlobe CSR. Another blog entry of mine has been uploaded. Yippeeee! Here is the link:  https://www.igt.in/a-zillion-awsums/perception_of_the_perfect_job Hope you enjoy reading it! This one is a true story, an anecdote to be precise.

A few days ago a major fashion e-tailer shunned its much hyped and appreciated app-only platform to re-enter into the website foray. It was not very long ago that the decision was lauded by Digital Pandits and technology enthusiasts as a ‘bold’ and ‘decisive’ move. I was not impressed and had a strong feeling that this approach will not see the light of the day. It took little time for the markets and the consumers to prove it wrong. A few reasons cited by analysts as to why the app-only approach will succeed included better technology, customer proximity, availability of customer insights, mobile as the future, customer loyalty etc. etc. Not to forget that success of a strategy depends on end customer and is seldom hidden in data crunching efforts or corner offices of company headquarters! My article points of a few cardinal errors (perhaps assumptions) which were made by the e-retailer. These should be taken in to consideration by every technology leader in a custom...

My business visit to US was my maiden outside India. I am penning down a few interesting thoughts. This being the first of the two blog posts. I now know why the word fuck( -ing ) is so common in Murica! It’s the things in USA that make you use the word so often- especially for someone who is not so familiar with the settings. These are my ‘first reactions’ to random things I saw across The States (though I have lived only in one State- WA). Roads - fucking awesome Traffic - fucking disciplined Beyond imagination. Climate - fucking cold Cars - fucking huge. I mean they don’t drive cars, they drive Rams and Tanks! Toyota Fortuner dominates India's roads- but is akin to a Tata Nano in front of GMCs Volvos and Jeeps o'there!  Uber - fucking delightful. We took 3 Uber rides and I was absolutely astonished by their hospitality. I am dedicating a separate article on one of the rides Lift - fucking swift By the time our office lift zapped into 11 t...

Cow Slaughter and Beef ban are subjects which are recently trending in India. In the language of the recently aired ludicrous TV Ad of Fogg deodorant- “ye chal raha hai” Hindustan me! So let me jump on the bandwagon and share my 2 cents! Looking from the logic of those who are opposing beef; In India we consider Cow to be a holy animal. Hence killing a ‘holy creature’ (quirky that the list also includes humans) is a crime (read law) and hence consuming Beef (read cow slaughter) is akin to a murder! For whatever reasons- be it political, social, religious, or cultural- the Cow is considered holy. But are we giving that respect to the poor animal? In most cities we find cows roaming around the streets, eating garbage and waste left by diviner-than-them species (read Humans). Their food includes hazardous plastics. Cows are hit by cars and vehicles all over in India. Irony is that I have seen online forums where drivers have asked whether their cars will be covered...

Earlier this week, I came across a fantastic concept that was used in Pricing by priceline group- Name Your Own Price (NYOP). This is a type of reverse auction, where the service beneficiary quotes his best offered price which is auctioned to service provider- who then decides whether to have a handshake or not- simple, nothing revolutionary but definitely full of potential. India is currently booming with app-based startup which are based on buyer-seller model. Be it Aggregators, E-comm sites or be it Hyperlocalization services Most importantly in travel related startups based on vendor-buyer platforms, do you think NYOP can be used as a game-changer in such cases? Let me know your views.

Despite your anguish, despite your aid Despite your efforts, only recognized by wraith Despite the wisdom from crests and troughs, Despite the scorn you got in love; You obeyed  .......and Despite all your rage, you are still a rat in a cage This is an original composition by me! I learned that a modified version of the last line is used in a Smashed Pumpkin Song. This may look like a melancholic composition, but I hope this gives you strength of acceptance! Because there is no bigger realization than accepting reality! 

Short Stories have always inspired me to think and ponder on themes which I usually would never reason out. I must say, I was privileged to study a few short stories in one of the best schools in the country- which goes a long way in shaping who I am now. We had a Short Story in Xth ICSE Board named “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, which was one of my favourites (along with The Lady and the Tiger & War)  For those who do not know what the story is about- it revolves around the protagonist of that name, who often day dreams of becoming someone who he cannot be in real life. He dreams of being a successful medical surgeon, a war pilot facing a firing brigade, a secret agent etc.….whereas in reality he is shown as a subservient persona and often dominated by his wife. Walter Mitty then teleports into his fantasy world where he undertakes roles of great valour and importance, only to be astonished by crude reality every time his fantasy ends.   The story or ...

Post May ‘14 Lok Sabha Election and its consequent results, two things were made crystal clear- firstly there was a strong pro-Modi wave and secondly an equally (or arguable stronger) anti-Congress sentiment in India. NDA winning 332 seats- of which 42 seats were won in the state of Maharashtra- considerable 13% seats of total won.  The importance of the state does not end here. Maharashtra is the richest state in India, with its GDP in 2013 almost 80% more than that of the second richest Uttar Pradesh. The state holds the financial prowess of the nation, with the BMC’s annual budget being more than many Indian states. The party which holds Maharashtra essentially controls a large amount of money pile. For the past 15 years, the state had been ruled by the Congress and NCP alliance (read Aghadi) and the two parties have an extremely strong presence both on field and in the assembly. In 2009 State Assembly elections, the BJP and Sena together were winning almost the same n...

Hi Guys! So this is the end. My almost 3 weeks vacation to Mumbai coming to an end. I am looking for certain topics to pen down, any ideas/themes/topics are welcome as suggestions! Do tell me!

Before Mr. Modi was announced as PM candidate, everyone (including me) has predicted a complete washout of Shiv Sena from Maharashtra. It was evident- as with time, old guns of Sena had started deserting the party. Come 2014 and even just before the elections, it was difficult to predict the impact of “Modi tsunami” on Sena candidates. Looking at specifically results from Thane, Konkan and a few other regions, I can easily say that the "Modi tsunami" was much more than even Sena/BJP could imagine. A few seats in particular: 1. In Navi Mumbai - a tradition bastion of the Naik family- where they have never lost any election: previously from Sena and now from NCP. In the LS election, Sena's Rajan Vichare won from ALL assembly segments- including those of Naik’s stronghold. 2. In Sangli - never ever has any party except Congress even come closer to victory! In 2009, Sena/BJP has supported an independent, since they had little power of contesting here. Today, the...