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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.”

Uddhav raises hackles over India-Pak cricket

Mumbai:  The Shiv Sena (UBT) unleashed a major offensive against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Central government accusing them of ‘betraying national sentiments’ by permitting an India-Pakistan teams encounter in the upcoming Asia Cup cricket tournament in Dubai.

 

Leading the charge was SS (UBT) President and ex-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, with MP Sanjay Raut, ex-minister Aditya Thackeray, Leader of Opposition Legislative Council Ambadas Danve and others joining him.

 

A livid Thackeray sought to know why the BJP was ignoring the recent Pahalgam terror attack (April 22) while giving a nod to the restoration of cricket ties.

 

“People take to the streets for dogs, pigeons and elephants. That is very good… But where was this compassion for the people who were massacred in Pahalgam or the women whose ‘sindoor’ was erased,” demanded Thackeray sharply.

 

Aiming at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statements that ‘Operation Sindoor’ is still on, Thackeray took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier remarks on patriotism - “hot ‘sindoor’ is flowing in my blood’ – and asked sarcastically, “when did this ‘hot sindoor’ become cold”.

 

Accusing the BJP-led Centre of dual standards, the SS (UBT) supremo said that “when the Operation Sindoor took place, the entire Opposition sided with the Government”.

 

“Now, how can you even allow the Indian cricket team to play with Team Pakistan. Our armed forces fought and made sacrifices, yet the government takes the credit and permits this,” Thackeray said.

 

Raut shot off a letter to the PM asking: “You once declared that blood and water cannot flow together. Will blood and cricket now flow side by side?”

 

Flaying the match motive, Raut noted: “The blood of the Indians killed in the Pahalgam attack has not yet dried, or the tears of their families have not yet stopped. Playing cricket matches with Pakistan ins inhuman.”

 

Questioning the commercial-cum-political motives behind the Indo-Pak match, Raut alleged that usually matches between the two neighbours involved large-scale betting and gambling with BJP members reportedly joining in.

 

“Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and a key figure in international cricket, is steering these affairs. Is there a significant financial turnover for the BJP in this?” he questioned accusingly.

 

Worli MLA Aditya Thackeray wrote a separate letter to Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, accusing the government of ‘hypocrisy’.

 

Quoting the PM’s I-Day speech remark that “blood and water cannot flow together”, Thackeray Jr pointedly asked: “Is the BCCI above national interest? Above the sacrifice of our jawans? Above the ‘sindoor’ of the Pahalgam widows?”

 

Referring to other nations which have isolated aggressor states in the sports arena for greater causes, Aditya said that “terrorism is one such cause”, but the BCCI, driven by money and advertising revenue, has chosen cricket over the nation’s dignity.

 

Rooting with the SS (UBT) stance, Danve declared: “There should be no India-Pakistan match — not a series, not even a one-off contest.”

 

Thackeray Jr. took a swipe at the BCCI by referring to the new NCERT textbooks lessons on the Pahalgam attacks, asking the cricket body officials to ‘read it’.

 

“We had sent delegations to isolate Pakistan globally, but now our own cricket board is legitimizing them,” he said, as the Ss (UBT) attempted to nail nationalism - the BJP’s prime political plank.

 

 

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