One shouldn’t accept things that are not okay just to keep on par with the peace and happiness of the person in front. The biggest asset a person can earn is self-confidence, mental peace and inner happiness. We often praise the people who admit they are wrong but rarely those who stand for themselves against the wrong. If you have the courage to take a stand for yourself, then only you can take a stand for someone else. This time we bring to you the story of a person who decided to mark her presence against all odds; Dr. Smita Chakote.
Dr. Smita Chakote is a Cosmetic Dermatovenereologist and Dermatologist in Solapur City who has experience of 24 years in these fields and practices in Chakote Cosmeto Care Center, Solapur City. Dr. Smita is the youngest of all 6 siblings. Unfortunately, she lost her brother when she was in her 10th std. It was her brother’s dream that she follows the profession of medicine as Dr. Smita was a consistent bright student. After her brother’s death, Dr. Smita decided to continue his dream and there she entered the field of medicine. Dr. Smita completed her M.B.B.S. in 1996 and further, she had secured a seat for M.D. gynecology but rejected it. At that time the nation was witnessing Ms. India, Ms. World, and various other beauty pageants where India was getting highlighted. Witnessing the scenario, Dr. Smita had a vision that skin had a scope in future India and thus she decided to opt for M.D. in dermatology after waiting for 6 months. She realized that there was a possibility of a correlation between beauty and science. In the 90s, it was rare for a young girl to pursue M.D. in the skin but it was Dr. Smita’s intuition and vision which made her follow her passion.
After completing her M.D., Dr. Smita started her practice in Hubballi, Karnataka. She was now standing at the top of her epitome of knowledge and the following success. However, Dr. Smita had to leave her practice in Hubballi as she was the sufferer of a hard and abusive marriage. The professional clashes and insecurity were so intense that it turned the relationship extremely toxic and abusive. Dr. Smita one day woke up early and had already made her mind to put an end to all of this, by ending her life; committing suicide. She definitely proceeded ahead to complete the indefinite but returned back home realizing the worth of all the concrete reasons to overshadow that one bleak reason as she said to herself, ‘no’. She recognized the presence of her talent, her knowledge, her child, and her role in contributing to society. Dr. Smita walked out of that marriage and moved to Solapur city leaving everything behind.
Dr. Smita came to Solapur in 2007 and stayed at her mother’s. She fought all her cases as she no longer was financially liable to hire lawyers. Even when her only child was kidnapped, she had to fight the case on her own in the high court. Her child was her only hope and she put in all her efforts to win the case and as a result, her child was brought back to her. For a year, Dr. Smita had no job and she meditated to find her inner peace and settlement after the hurricane. In 2008, she got a job in a government medical college and again started from zero.
Dr. Smita says,
“I realized that I need to show the world what I am and it comes from within to realize what a diamond I am”.
Meditation was a medium that helped Dr. Smita recover from her past and come back into the field where her heart was. Gradually, she met some wonderful spiritual gurus who used to tell her “the more you are crushed, the more beautiful Smita is going to come out of it”. Her journey changed her perspective for her clients as well and how she treats them; not just limiting it to the commercial front but extending the boundary for spirituality as well. Dr. Smita views her client from all angles in order to help them recover as wonderful, successful, beautiful, happy, and a peaceful soul. Dr. Smita says, “my low tides taught me to be more human, to understand someone’s psychology and what pain they are suffering; everything is divinely planned”.
The work is done by Padma Shri Dr, Tatyarao Lahane, and Mother Teresa inspire and influence Dr. Smita a lot. She says, “my purpose of life is to serve people”. Many times it happens that exterior beauty becomes the priority of people and not being able to meet the societal standards backfires. People suffer from depression, harm themselves just to punish themselves for not being able to equate with someone else’s point of view. Chakote Cosmeto Care Skin Center always had an elite clientele. There was no categorization and pre-requisite for dermatology in government hospitals which catered to the main population. This gave Dr. Smita an idea to start a cosmetic operation theatre. But the issue with the opening of a cosmetic O.T. was finance. Dr. Smita started taking workshops in order to raise funds for the cosmetic O.T.; the workshop was named ‘Enrich Life’ which was a 4-hour workshop. The very first workshop welcomed 150 students and Dr. Smita started raising funds. People realized her motive behind the workshop and her colleagues also came in together to help her. Gradually one fine day, the cosmetic operation theatre was inaugurated by Padma Shri Dr. Tatyarao Lahane himself!
Dr. Smita is against Botox treatment as it is the artificial alternative to look beautiful by paralyzing your skin. She suggests organic and healthy methods to rejuvenate your body in order to feel beautiful from within. People have become aware of ‘beauty’ now and everyone uses everything just to look good. Awareness has become obsessive and excessive such that the market has witnessed boom in fairness creams, Botox and various other chemical treatments.
Dr. Smita has started ‘Mission Beauty- सुंदर मी होणारच’ which aims to make 1 lakh middle-aged women look and feel beautiful. Women in their middle age often go through self-doubt, low confidence, depression, questions like ‘what am I supposed to do now’ as they near their menopause and have comparatively fewer household chores to cater to. Dr. Smita thinks that if these women feel beautiful from within, they can follow their passion, hobbies or anything new which would further give them confidence. They are planning to collect over 5000 videos and have received over 100 videos of women from all strata describing what beauty means to them which will be later journalized and be used for positive development of the society. ‘Mission Beauty’ will showcase what true beauty means to women as the reel world of television, film, magazine is portraying beauty in a frame and they urge women to come forward and speak their mind. In this digital world until truth prevails, false will be sold. Dr. Smita has her own YouTube channel, Facebook page and web page as well.
Dr. Smita says that her family has been her strongest pillar throughout, through all the ups and downs. Her mother being from the pre-independence era, always stood strong with Dr. Smita and motivated her to focus on what she truly is. She is thankful to her sisters who always were there in her support. Dr. Smita is grateful for her child as she ignites the ray of hope to do better every day and every time.
The most beautiful thing one can wear is confidence. When you start trusting yourself and your process, it will make you beautiful from within.
A personal message from Dr. Smita Chakote,
“you need to be strong. Communication skills definitely help you. If you have inner strength and you are on the path of truth, you should always stand for yourself”.
- Team Satyavachan
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