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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.”

Polls to test electoral arithmetic, chemistry among allies

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

THIS IS THE FIRST ASSEMBLY ELECTION WITH FRAGMENTED POLITICAL PARTIES


electoral arithmetic

Mumbai: With half a dozen key players post splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP, a fragmented polity, Maratha quota stir and a spirited opposition, Maharashtra will see a riveting contest in the assembly polls amid dramatic changes since the last elections.


Elections to the 288-member Assembly will be held on November 20 in a single phase and counting of votes will be on November 23, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.

electoral arithmetic

The Nanded Lok Sabha bypoll, necessitated due to the death of Congress MP Vasant Chavan, will also be held on November 20.


The Mahayuti government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is banking on its flagship scheme, Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which poor women get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500, to sway voters after the ruling bloc’s poor show in the Lok Sabha polls.

The Rs 46,000-crore a year welfare scheme is being widely seen as a “game changer” for the ruling bloc which comprises the BJP, Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who joined the government just over a year ago after parting ways with his uncle Sharad Pawar.


The government’s target is to cover 2.5 crore beneficiaries under the scheme. There are about 4.5 crore women voters in Maharashtra.


The Mahayuti (grand alliance) is in a direct fight with the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in a state where splits within major parties and realignments in the last five years have led to tectonic shift in political dynamics.


The MVA consists of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by veteran politician Sharad Pawar.


Both the MVA and the Mahayuti are yet to announce their seat-sharing deals.

The ensuing assembly polls, the first since the splits in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and the NCP a year later, will be a test of strength for the two major alliances and will also indicate the ability of their individual constituents to transfer votes to each other.


Even though the Lok Sabha elections saw the ruling alliance (which won 17 of 48 seats) suffering a jolt and the opposition MVA (30 seats) performing well, the assembly polls are going to be a different political ball game as state and local-level issues will dominate campaigning.


Maharashtra’s political climate has never been more fragmented, with six main parties vying for influence: BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP, Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).


This fragmentation is a product of recent political upheavals, including the collapse of the MVA government and the emergence of new political factions. The last five years have been unprecedented in Maharashtra politics -- collapse of a pre-poll alliance, three regimes, including a three-day government, splits in two major parties with the Election Commission recognizing the breakaway groups as “real”.

The murder of former state minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique on Dussehra (October 12) raised concerns about law and order and came as an embarrassment for the Mahayuti government ahead of the polls.


The opposition was quick to target the government, especially Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, over the killing and highlight issues of public safety and governance.

Despite reports that Ajit Pawar may walk out of the ruling alliance, he has stayed put. Maharashtra saw a change in government mid-way in June 2022 when the MVA government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray collapsed following a rebellion in his party Shiv Sena.


Shinde then succeeded Thackeray as CM with BJP support. The 2019 assembly polls changed several dynamics. First, a pre-poll alliance between the Shiv Sena-BJP snapped over the issue of chief ministership. Later, Shiv Sena joined hands with its traditional rivals Congress and the NCP to form government.

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