Deshpande was deeply influenced by her mother who was a graduate of Fergusson College in Pune and was the eldest among daughters and 2nd among 8 children of Narsinha Vinayak Kulkarni, a successful lawyer and his wife Laxmi Narsinha Kulkarni from Dahiwadi in Satara district of Maharashra state.
Deshpande was deeply influenecd by her mother who was a graduate of Fergusson College in Pune and worked as a teacher at Vidyapeeth High School in Kolhapur. She was the eldest among daughters and 2nd among 8 children of Narsinha Vinayak Kulkarni, a successful lawyer and his wife Laxmi Narsinha Kulkarni from Dahiwadi in Satara district of Maharashra state.