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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Healing Beyond the Clinic

Dr Kirti Samudra “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” This thought by Mother Teresa finds reflection in the life of Panvel-based diabetologist Dr Kirti Samudra, who has spent decades caring not only for her family but also thousands of patients who see her as their guide. As we mark International Women’s Day, stories like hers remind us that women of substance often shape society quietly through compassion, resilience and dedication. Doctor, mother, homemaker,...

Healing Beyond the Clinic

Dr Kirti Samudra “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” This thought by Mother Teresa finds reflection in the life of Panvel-based diabetologist Dr Kirti Samudra, who has spent decades caring not only for her family but also thousands of patients who see her as their guide. As we mark International Women’s Day, stories like hers remind us that women of substance often shape society quietly through compassion, resilience and dedication. Doctor, mother, homemaker, mentor and philanthropist — Dr Samudra has balanced many roles with commitment. While she manages a busy medical practice, her deeper calling has always been service. For her, medicine is not merely a profession but a responsibility towards the people who depend on her guidance. Nagpur to Panvel Born and raised in Nagpur, Dr Samudra completed her medical education there before moving to Mumbai in search of better opportunities. The early years were challenging. With determination, she and her husband Girish Samudra, an entrepreneur involved in underwater pipeline projects, chose to build their life in Panvel. At a time when the town was still developing and healthcare awareness was limited, she decided to make it both her workplace and home. What began with modest resources gradually grew into a trusted medical practice built on long-standing relationships with patients. Fighting Diabetes Recognising the growing threat of diabetes, Dr Samudra dedicated her career to treating and educating patients about the disease. Over the years, she has registered nearly 30,000 patients from Panvel and nearby areas. Yet she believes treatment alone is not enough. “Diabetes is a lifelong disease. Medicines are important, but patient education is equally critical. If people understand the condition, they can manage it better and prevent complications,” she says. For more than 27 years, she has organised an Annual Patients’ Education Programme, offering diagnostic tests at concessional rates and sessions on lifestyle management. Family, Practice With her husband frequently travelling for business, much of the responsibility of raising their two children fell on Dr Samudra. Instead of expanding her practice aggressively, she kept it close to home and adjusted her OPD timings around her children’s schedules. “It was not easy,” she recalls, “but I wanted to fulfil my responsibilities as a mother while continuing to serve my patients.” Beyond Medicine Today, Dr Samudra also devotes time to social initiatives through the Bharat Vikas Parishad, where she serves as Regional Head. Her projects include  Plastic Mukta Vasundhara , which promotes reduced use of single-use plastic, and  Sainik Ho Tumchyasathi , an initiative that sends Diwali  faral  (snack hamper) to Indian soldiers posted at the borders. Last year alone, 15,000 boxes were sent to troops. Despite decades of service, she measures success not in wealth but in goodwill. “I may not have earned huge money,” she says, “but I have earned immense love and respect from my patients. That is something I will always be grateful for.”

Auto-driver’s daughter to be state’s firs Muslim woman IAS

Yavatmal/Mumbai: The daughter of a humble autorickshaw driver from Yavatmal has achieved what few from a similar background can dream of – cracked the UPSC to become the first Muslim woman IAS officer from Maharashtra – surmounting many hurdles.

 

When the name of Adiba Anam Ashfaque Ahemad figured on No. 142 in the UPSC results announced last week, her father Ashfaque, housewife mom Asiya Anjum, brothers Anique, 23, and Awais, 21, looked heavenward with a silent prayer, ‘Shukr-e-Alhamdulillah’.

 

For, Adiba’s was no mean feat. It fructified with ladles of blood, sweat and tears, sheer focus, determination, plus her family’s solid backing against all odds, mainly financial resources.

 

A labourer-turned-autorickshaw driver, Ahemad, SSC-pass, recalls how after marriage, he had fervently prayed for a daughter to fulfil his dreams.

 

“The Almighty gifted us Adiba… She turned out to be the ideal daughter any parents would be proud of. Always a different type of child, she was passionately studious and deeply religious, offers five-times ‘Namaz’ daily and fasts during the Ramadan month, even today,” Ahemad told The Perfect Voice.

 

Unlike other kids, Adiba shunned fancy dolls or new clothes, never demanded for special food or outdoor treats, and remained satisfied with whatever the parents could afford, added Ahemad in an emotional voice.

 

Starting her education in Urdu medium and continuing it till her UPSC level, Adiba attended Zilla Parishad Urdu Primary School, then a ZP Girls Urdu School, later Government Junior College (all in Yavatmal), finally graduating from Pune’s Abeda Inamdar Senior College in Urdu.

 

After graduation, she was keen to appear for the NEET exams, but her father’s delicate finances made her drop the plan for an alternate career option.

 

“She had been consistently intelligent and among the toppers in her academic years. A family friend, SEWA Foundation’s Nizamuddin A Sheikh inspired her to consider UPSC considering her education track record… Somehow, it clicked and Adiba changed her aim to bid for UPSC,” Ahemad said.

 

Sheikh also arranged meetings with some top serving officers to give teenaged Adiba an idea of what public service and administration is all about and she was fascinated, making it her ambition.

 

Tough preparations

 

The journey started for the grueling civil services exams with preparatory coaching courses in Haj House, Mumbai, then Jamia Hamdard Study Circle, and after clearing an entrance exam, joining the Jamia Millia Islamia University.

 

At JHSC, Adiba cleared her UPSC prelims but failed the Main (2022) by a few points, and lapsed into depression, but emerged with her parents’ counselling to bounce back.

 

The next year (2023), she cleared the prelims and the Main, and the family was delirious that she had made it – but Adiba crashed out of the crucial interview stage.

 

“This time, the whole family was in gloom, believing all was lost and even Adiba wanted to get into some ordinary profession. I had to again bring her on the tracks and goaded her to make another attempt in 2024,” remembers Ahemad.

 

Like an obedient daughter she always was, Adiba concurred for a fresh try, and finally was “blessed with Allah’s benevolence” – clearing the UPSC – and creating history for herself, he said.

 

“She will come home and then go for her training before being posted as the first Muslim woman IAS officer from Maharashtra,” explained Ahemad, his voice full of pride.

 

An excited Adiba briefly enlightened the media about her arduous journey to scale UPSC – ranked amongst the toughest competitive exams in the world – crediting her family for her triumph.

 

Her head in the clouds, Adiba's feet are firmly rooted in her modest origins and she declared that as an IAS officer she would strive to do something for society, especially girls like her who harbor lofty dreams and ambitions but can't fulfil them due to multiple reasons.

 

Many angels blessed Adiba

Never the one to give up anything half-done, Adiba Anam Ashfaque Ahemad had many ‘silent angels’ in her arduous journey from ZP schools to reaching the threshold of IAS.

 

Besides SEWA Foundation’s Nizamuddin A. Sheikh, the family is indebted to all the school teachers and college professors, plus Prof. Jawwad Quazi of The Unique Academy in Pune, for their direct and indirect financial help.

 

When she was in New Delhi, her miffed parents were in dire financial straits and secretly sold off their home in Yavatmal to support her aspirations.

 

However, when she learnt of it much later, she wept uncontrollably and quarreled with her parents for making such a huge sacrifice, but after clearing UPSC, the Ahemads are relieved and joyful.

 

“We have no words to describe our delight. She has accomplished it with her grit, many who quietly helped her en route and Divine blessings,” concluded a happy Ahemad.

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