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Growing up has numbed my creativity: Shilpa Deshpande

Shilpa Deshpande

Shilpa Deshpande

Hi I am Shilpa. I am from the land of Biryani and hou and nakko…Hyderabad. Being from a city that is famous for its chalta hai attitude, I take pride in doing things at a leisurely  and relaxed pace(unless of course there are work-related deadlines) and my blog(http://shilpadesh.wordpress.com) reflects that attitude where I expound upon whatever that I want to at the pace I want to. After getting an engineering degree I worked in Mumbai for a couple of years, before coming to the US for my masters.

Currently I work and work out, read books and blog in my spare time. I always used to write and indulge in creative pursuits but growing up has numbed my creativity. My blog fills the creative void that my profession has created in my life.

I blog at http://shilpadesh.wordpress.com about news, everyday happenings, my life, movies and anything else that I can think of. My blog is a very non-structured form of expression for me and my readers and am always thinking of avenues of improving it.

Interview

Q: Welcome to Speakbindas. Tell us since when blogging has been a part of your life? Was there any motive or inspiration as a backbone of it?

  • A: Thanks a lot for this opportunity. I feel like a celebrity already. I started a blog in mid 2007 with my sister called The Sisters’ Blog, which we updated for while with whatever caught our fancy. My little sister has since moved on and discovered the joy of facebook/orkut statuses and I moved the blog from blogspot to wordpress domain, where it currently resides.
  • I have always liked being part of a conversation, whether it was formally as part of a debate team in school or informally on back benches in college and it was but natural that I subject innocent readers of my views and ideas on everyday mundane goings on.

Q: What is your blog all about? Which topics you cover there? Is that you alone running/maintaining the blog, or have a team?

 

  • A: I write about whatever I think about everyday. Sometimes I vent my frustrations with people around me, who I cannot otherwise shout at :D, sometimes it is about idiotic statements made by politicians or celebrities or anyone else in the public eye. Other times I write about women’s issues. I also have a weekly bollwood gossip column called Midweek Masala where I collate the week’s filmy gossip.
  • This week I started a weekly poetry post called Poetic Fridays where I post a poem a week, and what it means to me. I am the lone author on my blog, but my readers are as much a part of the conversation as I am. For eg, it was my reader and fellow blogger Sraikh of asaaan.com who gave me the idea for a weekly gossip column, and I promptly put it in action and some readers visit my blog solely for that column.

Q.: How important is it for the blogger to interact with their readers? Do you respond to all the comments that you receive?

  • A: I get very excited whenever I see a new comment on my blog, and try to reply to all of them as soon as possible in as relevant a manner as possible. A blog space is also a space for conversation among readers. Most of my readers are like me, they like to speak their mind, and I enjoy all forms of communication with them.

Q: What are the present statistics for your blog, i.e. number of daily visitors, visitors geographical status etc.?

  • A: I get an average of 100 visitors per day, averaged over a month. Every week I would say my readership goes from 30-170 from Saturday-Friday(it rises monday-friday and falls over the weekend)! (Too much information?)
Shilpa Deshpande in car

Shilpa Deshpande in car

Q: Is blogging for you just a passion or a medium for earning too? Does it help you to earn enough cash to quit a 9 to 5 day job?

  • A: I do not earn anything from my blog. For me it is a medium of expression and all my financial needs are met by my regular job. (although to would love to make writing my fulltime profession, if only people needed average writers!)

Q: Who are your favorite bloggers, whom you read frequently?

  • A: I have a HUGE list of blogs that I read, and which I have added to my reader. It would be unfair to pick just one. In addition to regular blogs I like reading highheelconfidential.com, styleperdiem.com and Shobha De’s blog.

Q: From the secret bucket of your blogging experiences, what tips you would like to share with the fellow bloggers?

  • A: I am not seasoned enough to send out tips to other bloggers but I am going to tell you what I know. Blog from your heart. At first(even later) you might not have so many visitors or comments, but blog for yourself. I have to be honest here and say that I love receiving comments, they are very good for the bloggers’ morale. It is important to network and let people know you have a blog. One way to do that is to visit other blogs, comment on them, etc, , and then see how traffic flows! But most importantly, write with passion about whatever it is that you want to write about.

Q: Do you believe that blogging completes you? If yes, tell us how?

  • A: I think blogging adds a dimension to my personality. I think about every piece of news more objectively because I want to write about it on my blog. It also makes me think about an issue from multiple points of view rather than my own.

Q: What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

  • A: Oh! I don’t know if I have such extreme moments in my life, but I shall twist this question to happiest and gloomiest moments of my blog life. The happiest moments are when my readers say nice things about me. My gloomiest moment was when I got a very nasty and obscenely worded comment that prompted me to enable comment moderation.

Q: Say, you are sponsored to travel to 3 world destinations, where you need not to worry about costs for food, hotel or anything. Which destinations would you pick up, and why? Would you like to take someone along with you? If yes, whom?

  • A: Mansarovar, Inca Trail in Peru. Of course I would like to take my husband along, and my sister too.

Q: Are you into watching movies? If yes, which fills your list of favorite ones?

  • A: I love everything bollywood. I like all Basu Chatterjeee-Amol Palekar movies. Infact I like all movies with Amol Palekar. I like simple comedies like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and Andan Apna Apna.

Q: How has blogging helped you other than money?

  • A: It hasn’t ‘helped’ me monetarily but it has widened the scope of my thoughts. I know think about all issues from a holistic perspective that I did not have before. I also am not afraid to speak my mind.

Q: What would be the one thing you’d change about yourself?

  • A: Nothing. I am normally a very content person. (Or like Aamir says in Dil Chahta Hain “Waise bhiPerfectionko Improve karna mushkil hotahai“)

Q: What is your deepest fear?

  • A: Death. I love what life has to offer and am really scared of being lonely in death.

Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

  • A: I would like my grandparents. This is the first year of my life with no living grandparents, and I hate it. I would like to see them, and ensure they are happy where they are.

Q: Which is your favorite television show? Favorite songs?

  • A: I like Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai. From the current crop I like watching The Big Bang Theory. I like all songs that bollywood churns out(unless they are really really bad).
Shilpa Deshpande at a Public place

Shilpa Deshpande at a Public place

Q: How much money do you have in your purse/wallet right now (including change)?

  • A: None. I have credit cards though.

Q: What is your favorite food? Any particular dislikes?

  • A: I like all food as long as it is vegetarian. Right now I would particularly love some pani puri. I don’t particularly dislike any food, except maybe Suran/Yam.

Q: What’s your take on the technological advancement these days? Does it make people’s life simple or complicated?

  • A: All this social networking spins my head. Do you update your status on Orkut or Facebook or Twitter or blog about what you do? Or all of the above? If you update them all, do you have separate things to say at each site or is it the same thing? How frequently do you want people to know what you are doing? These questions kill me. I am quite content blogging.

Q: What do you think of “blogging is the next BIG thing”?

  • A: Blogging is the “current” big thing. The next big thing could be just thinking and those thoughts manifest themselves into words and appear on a site automatically. Don’t laugh, there might be something like this in the works already!

Q: Any special message you would like to share with your blog readers as well with everyone else?

  • A: I like to think that my readers like my blog. Although most of what I write is for myself, I do keep my readership in mind and try to adapt some of my posts to suit their likes sometimes. I want to thank each and every one of my readers for continuing to read me and leave comments on my space. It is heartening to know that people read what you write. It gives a boost to the confidence. Also, I love you all!

About

Devang Vibhakar is the Founder and Editor of www.SpeakBindas.com. He has interviewed more than 350 people. His effort was recognized by Limca Book of Records, twice. He has been to Scotland as well as Germany as part of vocational & cultural exchange programs and has compiled five books so far. He's passionate about bringing forth interesting stories & interviews of entrepreneurs to avid readers of SpeakBindas. He can be reached here.

3 thoughts on “Growing up has numbed my creativity: Shilpa Deshpande

  1. Hi Shilpa,

    Cool answers you have provided. Thank you for participating.

  2. priyank says:

    yes, celebrity already 🙂 congratulations from a regular visitor to your site. good going. thanks

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