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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 Celebrity Family

Priya Dutt

‘Will she or won’t she?’ That was the question on the minds of Congress workers and voters until it was announced that Bandra West will not see Priya Dutt as the Congress candidate these elections. But the former MP is seen in public, once again, campaigning for the party’s candidate.


Priya is a two term Member of Parliament from the Mumbai North East constituency and chose to retreat into a sabbatical from politics. It cannot be called retirement because it’s hard to tell when politicians will retire. She contested her first elections in 2005, following the death of her father, Sunil Dutt, who was the incumbent MP at that time and got re-elected in 2009. She lost two subsequent elections and didn’t contest after that.


Priya’s desire to be her father’s successor in public life and work was evident when she accompanied Sunil Dutt on the mahashanti padyatra from Mumbai to Amritsar in 1987 and worked extensively to provide relief to members of the Muslim community during the 1992 riots that set Mumbai afire. Soft-spoken and affable, Bandra-bred Priya holds a post-graduate degree in television production from a New York-based institute. Priya’s debut in politics met with intense media attention given her famous family. Her parents were senior members of the Congress party while her brother Sanjay Dutt is a movie star.


Sunil Dutt, a popular movie star, joined the Congress in 1984 and contested the parliamentary elections. Given his stardom and social work, he won the elections and was elected to the Lok Sabha for five terms until his death at the age of 75. Before his electoral debut, Dutt was appointed as the sheriff of Mumbai which is a titular post. In 1987, when militancy and violence in Punjab was on the boil, Dutt and his daughter Priya undertook a march, the Mahashanti Padyatra from Mumbai to Amritsar to establish communal harmony.


In 2004, he was sworn in as the minister for youth affairs and sports in the Manmohan Singh government but couldn’t hold the position for too long. He passed away in 2005. His wife and movie star Nargis Dutt was also a member of the Congress and the duo is known to have dedicatedly worked with the marginalised sections of society. The popular family faced turmoil in the 1990s when Sanjay Dutt was arrested for possessing banned weapons.

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