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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.”

Uncle-Nephew Alliance Shaping Political Future

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Uncle-Nephew Alliance Shaping Political Future

When I met Shyamsunder (name changed), a full-time loyalist and Man Friday of a certain political heavyweight cabinet minister from New Delhi, he was bursting with enthusiasm. He confided that his boss had been holding very important closed-door meetings with prominent leaders of key political parties in Maharashtra last week. One meeting he admits stretched well for over two hours, and if things go well as planned, his boss may be the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The two-hour meeting of this cabinet minister, he says, is part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s plan to bring his boss to Maharashtra to collaborate with another heavyweight Maratha strongman in the state to form the new government post the upcoming state assembly elections. The base of this collaboration is not political compromise or newfound trust but a business joint venture of supply of auto components with foreign investment between the companies of both the cabinet minister and the Maratha leader, which, according to Shyamsunder, is valued over crores. With the two already in a business partnership with each other, it makes sense for them to politically align as well.

Not hard work, not talent, but dynasties and connections will once again play a role in the appointment of the next Chief Minister of one of the richest states of the country. The cabinet minister, with strong connections to Nagpur (the base of the RSS), is interestingly also said to be the nephew of one of the key leaders of the RSS and is expected to take over the new position once the assembly state elections are over.

Maharashtra has been and will always remain an important state for the BJP, as it brings in well over 40% of the revenue of the entire country. The status of a Chief Minister of Maharashtra, says Shyamsunder, is almost equal to that of being a Deputy Prime Minister of India, and with the list of contenders rising within the BJP and its coalition partners, it was time to devise a new plan to stop this ‘race’ by bringing in a veteran face that would not only be accepted across all parties (even new coalition partners) but would also put in place any ambitious leaders within the BJP.

If this happens, one can expect to see changes in the political fortunes of many prominent leaders not only within the BJP and RSS but also with other political parties and their factions as well.

With the delay in seat-sharing formulas between political parties of both Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi and Mahayuti taking longer than expected, more leaders within the BJP are expected to defect over the next few days. The exit of BJP leader Samarjitsingh Ghatge to Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party is only the beginning.

The RSS has always been known to be one step ahead in planning and executing political strategies both for the organisation and the state. The BJP has been largely supported by the RSS, its parent body. Although RSS office bearers may deny the relation between the two, a large number of BJP party workers over the years have been promoted and elevated to various political positions with the support of the RSS. A book by the organisation titled ‘About RSS—Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’ mentions that the RSS was established in 1925 and conducts social work across all states and districts of the country through its 40,000 shakhas.

Interestingly, an excerpt from the book reads, ‘The RSS has its own vision and concept about our national development. And our Swayamsevaks naturally are inclined to political parties who share this Sangh view and will be supportive of them.’ As the BJP shares this vision of the RSS, naturally, it receives the cooperation and the backing of Swayamsewaks. And judging from the plans currently in motion, it looks like the whole nation is Maharashtra for now!

(The is a senior jounalist. Views personal.)

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