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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.”

Konkan’s Crucible

If Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts are the hotbeds in the Konkan in the upcoming Assembly polls, then the Kudal Assembly constituency (in Sindhudurg) is its crucible.


The Assembly segment has long a stage for fierce sabre-rattling between the Rane clan and the undivided Shiv Sena, and now the Sena (UBT) under Uddhav Thackeray.


The present contest is between BJP leader Narayana Rane’s elder son, Nilesh Rane – contesting on a Shiv Sena ticket - against the incumbent MLA Vaibhav Naik, from the rival Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). The fracturing of the Shiv Sena into rival factions and the intense personal rivalry that has long defined the region’s politics has made the Kudal contest especially intense this time around.


This Assembly segment used to be Narayan Rane’s veritable fiefdom, and he held it five times prior to delimitation and once after the 2008 delimitation, winning the 2009 Assembly polls.


However, in a stunning setback to the Konkan strongman, Rane, then in the Congress, was comprehensively routed the (undivided) Shiv Sena’s Vaibhav Naik by a massive margin of more than 10,200 votes in the 2014 Assembly polls.


This had resulted in a comeback for Shiv Sena in the Konkan. Despite Mr. Rane’s long shadow over the coastal Malwan belt, a surge of popular anger against his strong-arm tactics coupled with sanction to controversial ecological projects in the verdant Sindhudurg led to his undoing.


Naik repeated his performance in the 2019 Assembly polls as well, where all of Rane’s efforts to supplant him came a cropper.


But this time, the terrain is different. The once-solid base of the Shiv Sena has split, with the Shinde faction drawing support away from Naik, diluting his previous stronghold. Naik’s past successes, including significant margins over prominent rivals like Narayan Rane and independent candidate Ranjit Desai, seem to have diminished under the current political turbulence.


The present clime has provided an ideal opportunity to Nilesh Rane, a former MP, who is now seeking political validation by hoping to score a big victory from Kudal.


In a curious turn, just last year, Nilesh announced his withdrawal from active politics. His abrupt ‘exit’ from the political scene was accompanied by a public statement expressing his disinterest in continuing in electoral politics. Yet, he soon reversed his decision.


Nilesh, seeking to avenge his father’s Assembly election defeat and rehabilitate himself, has had to switch parties – from the BJP to ally Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena – as a condition to contest in the arena.


The Rane family’s entrenched political presence in the Konkan region, especially through Narayan Rane’s decades-long career, is no small advantage for Nilesh. He himself is a seasoned campaigner in the Malwan belt. With a background steeped in both grassroots efforts and high-level political manoeuvring, his candidacy offers more than just the name recognition of his family. His credentials are bolstered further by his father’s recent success in the Lok Sabha elections, where Narayan Rane garnered a notable 26,236 votes from Kudal, signalling the Rane brand’s sway over the region.


That said, Nilesh will have to tread carefully against the experienced Vaibhav Naik, no mean opponent himself.

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