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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.”

Bahubalis at loggerheads

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Ahilyanagar

Mumbai: Two arch rivals in Maharashtra politics have stood before each other to prove their supremacy. A slugfest between Congress’s Balasaheb Thorat and BJP’s Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil has directly entered the arena at Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar). As the selection of candidates is still underway in many constituencies, the fracas between Thorat and Vikhe-Patil has intensified the campaigning.

Political tensions erupted in Sangamner after BJP local leader Vasant Deshmukh made controversial remarks about Jayashree Thorat, daughter of Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, during a rally attended by former BJP MP Sujay Vikhe-Patil.


The incident sparked violence in Sangamner and the surrounding area where an angry mob attacked vehicles belonging to Mahayuti leaders. Congress workers staged a sit-in protest outside the police station for seven hours until authorities registered a First Information Report (FIR) at approximately 5am. The protests even continued on Saturday morning, with demonstrators demanding Deshmukh’s arrest.


The Vikhe-Patil family pioneered the state’s strong cooperative movement. Vithalrao Vikhe- Patil, Radhakrishna’s grandfather, formed India’s first cooperative sugar factory. His son, Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, was a Congress MP, who in his initial years joined a rebel Congress faction with former Congress CM Shankarrao Chavan. Radhakrishna, is Balasaheb’s son. Even he has switched between parties. Radhakrishna was elected as a Congress MLA when in 1997, he joined the Shiv Sena and was inducted as an agriculture minister in the Manohar Joshi-led Shiv Sena-BJP state government.


Later that year, Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil too switched to the Shiv Sena and was elected as an MP on a Shiv Sena ticket in 1998. He joined the National Democratic Alliance government first as a minister of state for finance and later as heavy industries minister. Both father and son after a while returned to the Congress party.


On the other hand, Vijay aka Balasaheb Thorat is Congress loyalist has won the assembly elections consequently eight times from Sangamner. His father Bhausaheb Thorat was also a member of legislative assembly. A political feud that has lasted three generations has shaken the foundations of the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in this district that’s the “sugar bowl” of Maharashtra. Though the tiff continued for long among Thorat and Vikhe-Patil, this was the first time the scuffle directly went on to the streets.

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