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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.”

The Bandra Boys

Baba Siddiqui

Barely a month before his son Zeeshan could contest for a second term in the Maharashtra state legislative assembly, Baba Siddiqui was fatally shot in Bandra. The killing brought an end to this career spanning more than three decades during which Siddiqui garnered attention with his proximity to Bollywood actors. Starting his career as a corporator from Bandra in 1992 as a Congressman, Siddiqui was elected as an MLA for three terms between 1995 and 2009. A well- recognised face from Bandra West, he served as a minister of state for food and civil supplies and labour in the Vilasrao Deshmukh government between 2004 and 2008.


But beyond his role in public life, he grew into a real estate mogul and developed numerous properties across Bandra. As a corporator and then an MLA, he is believed to have taken keen financial interest in every big budget building that came up in the tony neighbourhood. His constituency houses swanky areas of Pali Hill, Bandstand and Carter Road which see some of the highest property prices in the city. His political career was marred by a raid of his properties by the Enforcement Directorate and his opponents often spoke, in hushed whispers, about his connections with the underworld.


Siddiqui was flamboyant and revelled in the company of film actors. Apart from being the MLA, he was best known for his star-studded Iftar parties at a Bandra five-star hotel and made headlines when he brokered a truce between two superstars, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan during one such party. A regular face at Bandra soirees, he won.


His son Zeeshan is comparatively low profile as an MLA from Bandra East but made his beginnings in public life by sponsoring football and cricket tournaments in Bandra West. Zeeshan’s sister, Arshiya, briefly entered politics but returned to his medical career. In August this year, Zeeshan was expelled from the Congress for cross voting during the legislative council polls and a few months before the elections, he quit the Congress to join the Aji Pawar-led NCP. His father Baba Siddiqui had joined Ajit Pawar earlier this year. The father-son’s move to the NCP came after they realised that according to the seat sharing arrangement of the MVA, the Bandra East constituency would go into the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s kitty considering that the Thackeray family lives in the area.

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