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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 Education Barons

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Vishwajeet Kadam

Vishwajeet Kadam’s first election to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha came under tragic conditions; he contested the by-polls in 2018 which were necessitated a year before the scheduled elections in 2019 because of his father Dr Patangrao Kadam’s death after a prolonged illness. For this election, the BJP did not field a candidate against Vishwajeet ensuring his victory. The senior Kadam had been representing the Palus-Kadegaon constituency in Sangli since 1985 and has held several senior positions in the government. But his biggest contribution is the educational empire of Bharati Vidyapeeth, that he set up which runs numerous institutes offering varied streams of study.


In 2014, Vishwajeet had contested the Lok Sabha elections from Pune but lost to the BJP. As the president of the youth wing of the Congress, he had a good connect with the party workers and like his father, enjoys good relations across parties. It is said that the BJP had welcomed him into the party but Vishwajeet stuck to the Congress, the party his father had been part of for almost four decades.


Kadam’s journey has been one that exemplifies how to turn adversity into an opportunity through hard work. Born into a farmer family in Sonsal village in Sangli, he had to walk five kilometers to a school every day and became the first person from his hamlet to clear the SSC examinations at that time. He enrolled under the ‘earn and learn scheme’ at a college run by the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha in Satara and was inspired by the organisation’s ideals and community service. After college, he started teaching at an institute in Pune run by the same Rayat Shikshan Sanstha. In 1964 he set up Bharati Vidyapeeth to provide good quality education. While he got busy in running his educational institute and subsequently entered politics, he continued studying, completing a law degree and even a PhD thesis.


Realising the importance of providing employment and building a large base of support, Kadam set up cooperatives such as a cooperative bank, sugar factory, poultry farms and spinning mills. Over this political career, he held several positions and ministries including the forest ministry in Maharashtra.


Vishwajeet was inducted into the government in 2019 as a minister of state for numerous departments including Marathi language, minority affairs, food and civil supplies and agriculture and cooperatives, which are key to the development of rural areas. Along with his uncle and other members of the management, he leads the Bharati Vidyapeeth which has 29 institutes and campuses across western Maharashtra and one in Delhi as well.


To pay tribute to the senior Kadam’s contribution to education, a statue of Patangraon Kadam was unveiled on Teacher’s Day this year in his hometown.

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