iWorld
Next Billion Users head Caesar Sengupta quits Google
NEW DELHI: Google’s Next Billion Users head Caesar Sengupta is on his way out from the company after nearly 15 years, he said in a LinkedIn post on Monday.
“After over 15 wonderful years at Google, I have decided to venture out and start on a new mission. I remain very positive about Google’s future but it's time for me to see if I can ride without training wheels,” he wrote in a note titled 'Thank you Google…'
Sengupta, who was based out of Singapore, led the tech behemoth’s ambitious payments plans, including their grand digital payments bet – Google Pay. Since his recruitment to the firm in 2006, he has worked on the ChromeOS, NBU initiative, Google Pay, payments platform and Google Finance— all important business lines and growth areas for Google— and thanked the teams in his post. He also led strategic investments and acquisitions by the search giant in local companies including Jio Platforms, InMobi's Glance, and Dunzo.
Sengupta's last day as vice president and general manager – payments and NBU initiative will be on 30 April.
He joined Google right after his MBA at The Wharton School. He completed his Masters in science with distinction in research, computer science, at Stanford University, before his MBA.
Though his exact plans after Google are not known, it is believed he will float his own new venture.
iWorld
Mumbai pani puri stall goes viral with water gun filling stunt
Instamart’s Holi activation swaps matka for blasters, video sparks laughs and soggy puri debates online.
MUMBAI: Pani puri just got a high-pressure upgrade because in Mumbai, even street food is practising its aim for Holi. A pani puri vendor in the city has become an overnight social media star after he was filmed firing paani into crisp puris using colourful water guns, part of a playful festive activation by quick-commerce platform Instamart ahead of Holi. The clip, shared widely on Instagram and Linkedin, shows the vendor ditching the traditional steel matka for toy blasters, blasting flavoured water straight into the golgappas with impressive accuracy while a crowd of office-goers, students, and passers-by gathers, phones out, recording the spectacle.
The stunt was designed to spotlight Instamart’s Holi collection of water guns, now shifting from childhood toys to serious adult purchases. Premium models like the German-engineered SPYRA (known for power and range), alongside NERF and Toyshine blasters, are already seeing demand as buyers gear up for the festival with high-performance gear bought with grown-up money.
Netizens had a field day with the video. One user quipped, “There are two kinds of Holi people: The ‘I’ll sit inside’ ones. And the ‘give me the biggest water gun’ ones. Instamart clearly built this for the second category.” Another likened it to “a deleted Holi scene from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani,” capturing the mix of amusement and mock horror over potentially soggy puris.
With Holi still weeks away, the viral moment signals that festive shopping and the playful chaos it brings has already begun in Mumbai. In a city where street food is sacred, watching pani puri get the water-gun treatment might just be the splashiest sign yet that the festival of colours is loading up for a big, wet comeback.
