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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 Thackerays’ Blank Slate

A humiliating defeat in a union election shows the cousins’ brand no longer guarantees loyalty in Mumbai.

In a stunning reversal, the joint ‘Utkarsh’ panel led by Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray - a coalition of Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) - failed to win even a single seat in the elections for the BEST Employees’ Co-operative Credit Society. The result ended nearly a decade of unbroken dominance by the Thackeray faction in this powerful employee body, raising fresh questions about the cousins’ much-hyped reunion ahead of the all-important Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.


For nine years, the society, often seen as a barometer of Mumbai’s working-class mood, was firmly under Thackeray influence. Yet this time, despite contesting jointly under the Utkarsh banner, the alliance was wiped out.


The contest was more than a battle for control of a co-operative. It was a symbolic test of whether the cousins (hitherto bitter rivals) could harness their combined appeal to revive ‘Brand Thackeray’ in Mumbai politics. Instead, the field was swept by Shashank Rao’s panel, which won 14 seats, and the BJP-supported “Sahakar Samruddhi” panel, marshalled by MLA Prasad Lad, which secured the remaining seven. Together, they shunted the Thackerays out.


Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis crowed that “the Thackeray brand was rejected,” arguing that politicising a traditionally non-political body had backfired. Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar echoed him, insisting the cousins’ gamble had alienated the very constituency they hoped to woo.


On the losing side, there was anger. Suhas Samant, president of the BEST Kamgar Sena (UBT), accused BJP of flooding the election with money and influence.


Money and muscle may have played their part. But many argue the cousins’ defeat was rooted in organisational weakness. Shashank Rao, son of the late trade-union stalwart Sharad Rao, inherited not just a legacy but deep grassroots networks among BEST workers. His panel was seen as accessible and consistent, engaged with employee concerns beyond election season.


One veteran observer said the election wasn’t just about the credit society but about trust and presence. Rao’s panel showed they were part of daily struggles. The Thackerays barged in with theatrics but no track record in this space.


The result underlined a truth the Thackerays find uncomfortable: organisational presence on the ground matters more than symbolic unity or nostalgia. The loss was doubly symbolic because it was the first election the cousins contested together and they drew a blank.


The very next day, Raj Thackeray met Fadnavis, fuelling speculation of recalibration and possible realignment. Analysts noted that while their reunion generated buzz, it failed to persuade voters who sought performance, not sentiment.


For BJP, the outcome was a morale booster. Shelar called it a “sign of shifting trust,” claiming voters were moving away from identity-based politics towards development-centric agendas.


Normally, the BEST Employees’ Co-operative Credit Society election would pass unnoticed. This year, though, it mattered because BEST, far more than just a transport utility, is one of Mumbai’s largest employers, deeply rooted in the Marathi working class. Controlling its society has long been a badge of influence. That is why the defeat punctured the narrative of a Thackeray revival and encouraged BJP to project itself as the new inheritor of worker trust.


Commentators noted that the result mirrors a broader shift in that the Thackeray name, once synonymous with the Marathi manoos, may no longer guarantee loyalty without sustained grassroots work. Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut tried to shrug it off by remarking that the election was not an exam. He insisted that it was the BMC elections that would be the true test. But behind the bravado lies recognition that the cousins face a reckoning. Symbolic unity has not yielded dividends. Without reconnecting with ground-level workers and offering a credible agenda, the Thackerays risk irrelevance in Mumbai’s civic politics.


The key lesson from the BEST vote is not just about winners and losers, but about political style and strategy.


For BJP, the result validates its mantra of being in “permanent election mode.” Whether a general election or a housing-society ballot, the party contests with the same seriousness and machinery. Since 2014, BJP has treated every election as one to be won, and this victory shows the formula works.


For the Thackerays, the cousins must confront reality: charisma and legacy are not enough. Without organisation, outreach, and credible worker-centric politics, symbolic gestures will wither. Their alliance was meant to project strength; instead, it exposed weakness.


For Mumbai politics, the vote revealed that even small contests can serve as mood indicators. The working class, particularly in public-sector bastions like BEST, may no longer be swayed by emotional appeals. Practicality, presence and performance now matter most. The defeat of the Thackeray cousins in the BEST elections has redefined the city’s political landscape. What was billed as a show of unity and revival turned into a humbling lesson in the limits of legacy politics.


For BJP, it reaffirmed the utility of contesting every poll with full force. For Shashank Rao, it vindicated decades of patient grassroots work. For the Thackerays, it was a wake-up call: reinvent or risk irrelevance.

As Mumbai heads into the high-stakes BMC poll, the clear message is that politics is no longer about brand names alone. It is about organisation, presence and the ability to connect with voters where it matters most: on the ground.


(The writer is a communication professional. Views Personal.)

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