S5E5: (Com)Passionate Vet

“She set out to do something that she never imagined she had the capacity to. Ended up achieving way more than what she had set out for.” Personal stories seldom have these words as its opening line. One’s that do, have “Passion” as a sub-text that repeats in every chapter of the story. Along the way goals appear, journeys happen, new directions are taken, achievements accumulate. In all this the one constant is - Passion! And, when Empathy accompanies Passion, the story takes an upward spiral. 

To unpack this narrative, here’s a conversation with Dr.Mukul Padalkar DABVP, a practitioner in Veterinary Medicine, currently residing in Santa Clara, California in the US. In addition to her professional practice, Dr.Mukul is deeply passionate about Spanish language & culture, being fluent in both. She calls herself a ‘runner’ having completed countless half-marathon’s, a few marathon’s and is currently preparing for the forthcoming San Francisco marathon event.

Views and opinions expressed in this episode of the Podcast are those of its guest. Creators of this Podcast expressly disclaim any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of this Podcast.

(C) Asha & Milind Agnihotri, 2022-2026

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:14

She set out to do something that she never imagined she had the capacity to ended up achieving way more than what she had set out for. Personal stories seldom have these words as its opening line. Ones that do have passion as a subtext that repeats in every chapter of the story. Along the way, goals appear, journeys happen, new directions are taken, achievements accumulate. In all this, the one constant is passion. And when empathy accompanies passion, the story takes an upward spiral. To unpack this narrative, here is a conversation with Dr. Mukul Padalkar, DABVP, a practitioner in veterinary medicine, currently residing in Santa Clara, California in the US. In addition to her professional practice, Dr. Mukul is deeply passionate about Spanish language and culture, being fluent in both. She calls herself a runner, having completed countless half marathons, a few marathons, and is currently preparing for the forthcoming San Francisco Marathon event.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Thank you very much. I'm so happy to be here.

SPEAKER_04 1:59

Mukul, it's uh such a joy that uh you know we got start, we started talking about uh what two, three months back on this. And uh I remember January Asha and I were visiting uh US, uh, you know, San Jose, California to visit our son. And um and one of the social uh dinners we had was uh with uh one of your cousins, um who happens to be a very, very dear friend of me and Asha. And uh we got chatting and um such a wonderful family, you know, his daughter, his son, his wife. And for some reason, your name popped up in that conversation. I don't know why and how, but uh, I think this uh daughter of your cousins, uh, she brought it up and she spoke so much about you, as if she's like she is in awe of you or she she loves you so much or whatever. I I know you are her aunt, uh as they call it. Am I right?

SPEAKER_01 3:07

Yes, but uh the age difference between us is not very much. So we, although I'm her aunt, we treat each other as sisters, cousins. I'm her older sister, right?

SPEAKER_04 3:19

Friends, yeah, absolutely. So that intrigue us, I said, Millen, here is someone we need to talk. I mean, I mean, love to see if uh you know we can have her on our podcast. And cut to today, three months, you and I are recording this uh podcast. I sitting in my home in Pune in India, and you sitting in San Jose, California, thanks to Zoom, thanks to internet. So before we jump into the actual conversation, let me ask you uh, you know, uh, you heard a few of our uh podcast episodes. Uh you know, before uh we got on to where we are right now as a part of the prep prep phase. Um just wanted to you know hear from you, you know, whatever one or two episodes that you heard and you probably recall right now. Uh, you know, what is your take on our podcast?

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Um I think uh the podcast seems very personal. Uh the guests seem seems like they are very close to you. It I of course, I don't know if you've met them before or how long you've known them, but just through listening, it seems like you've struck a chord and the conversation feels very natural. The flow is very smooth. And it uh also feels very knowledgeable, like the podcast seems like it is imparting some knowledge. I learned a lot about winemaking, about economics, about certain cities in the US where the guests have traveled to. Um, so it's educational in a in a way. And um, of course, all of them are Indian, so I just feel very close to all the guests just by listening. So much uh effort over the last so many podcast episodes you have recorded. So it feels like easy to listen to, but I can tell that it does not it's not easy. I'm sure there is a lot of effort that goes behind the scenes. So you must have worked very, very hard putting together all of this, finding people, getting together the material. So thank you for doing all of that.

SPEAKER_04 5:28

No, it's a labor of love, as they say. You know, Asha and I kind of started this uh you know initiative uh of Wings Podcast in January of 2022, if I recall right. Uh so it's kind of a little over four years now. And yes, it is by design uh a conversation with young Indians, wherever they are, whatever they may be doing, and um listen to just who they are and uh how are they how are they living out their lives? You know, what does it mean for them to be a citizen of the world, citizen of the countries they are residing at the moment? You know, listen to their dreams, aspirations, achievements, frustrations, um, you know, whatever uh you know keeps them awake in the night, whatever they want to wake up to the next day morning. Um, you know, simple stories, as they say, uh in Hindi, uh Chikahaniya, Satchikahaniya. Uh and we are doing it uh just to curate uh a repository uh in the you know the in the digital world where it will remain um perpetually, more or less, that's what we are hoping, uh, for anybody to listen into uh and derive uh where whatever they want to. So uh, you know, for example, after four years, we are at a stage where uh the podcast is being listened to in over 90 countries, nine zero.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Oh wow, that is awesome.

SPEAKER_04 6:55

And in about 1600 plus locations and tens of thousands of listeners. So I'm going to read out a very interesting post that you uh made on your Facebook page about a week back.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 7:16

So I'm not a Facebook guy, I am not an Instagram.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Me neither, actually. It is only when certain events happen. I tend to post.

SPEAKER_04 7:24

Yeah, and and and and and there's something very, very big event uh uh that happened for you, I know a week back. Asha and you are connected as Facebook friends. So thanks to Asha's uh random scrolling, she found this post of yours. So I'm going to read this out to you right now.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Sure, sure.

SPEAKER_04 7:41

Uh it's just about a week old.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

I think I know what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_04 7:46

So your post goes like this, Mukun. This has been quite a process. I graduated in 2010 and in 2017 moved to the US with a dream to become a diplomate. Of course, there were twists and turns and ups and downs, but here we are. Somehow, hanging on to Dear Life, I managed to sprinkle the five letters D A B V P after my name. Hopefully, I made my mentors proud. It's quite amazing what the brain and body can handle and from what lows we can rise. We keep moving, learning, and doing. Life is good. What's this, Mukal?

SPEAKER_01 8:34

So um, long story short, I became uh diplomat of American uh Board of Veterinary Practitioners. So a diplomat is um someone likely a doctor or a physician, or in my case, a veterinary doctor. I'm a veterinarian. So diplomat is someone who has achieved um uh high level of uh expertise in their uh area. So um, in in this case, it's a diplomat of American uh board of veterinary practitioners. So I would call myself uh specialist in the area of practice of uh veterinary medicine in dogs and cats. So um I had gone to Boston with Shantanu, who's my husband, to receive my certificate of diploma. And uh there was an award ceremony, so it was a very, very special event for uh both of us. And of course, there have been so many people who have contributed to my journey. It's just not just not me alone, right? Uh it takes a village, and there are so many people. My um uh mentors uh from India and um NC State and uh the people that I work with, my colleagues, clients, patients who are the part of this whole journey. So um that was a very emotional post because little did I know back in 2017 that this day would arise when I would be holding that certificate. So it made me very happy.

SPEAKER_04 10:07

So there are three calendar years that kind of uh two actually that shows up in this post of yours. One is 2010 when you graduated, 2017 that you moved to the US, and now we are in 2026. So I know I'm kind of tempted to pick your brains as to how this uh DA B V B happened to you uh as a as a as an endorsement uh from the three lives that you have probably lived up till 2010, between 2010 and 2017 and 2017 into now. I mean, the rational brain says that your today is a product of the past. So let's stay with this notion, saying that I have arrived today because there is some steps I have taken in the past, as if time is a linear journey, which somehow, you know, honestly speaking, I don't uh subscribe to. For me, uh my Indian brain tells me time is circular. Uh, it just goes round and round and round. But that's a different story. So kind of let's decipher, uh, if at all, uh your arrival at this uh mountaintop called DABVP from the three stories or the three mucals uh prior to 2010, then up to 2017, and then up till now.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

Yeah, of course. I would love to share my journey. Um, I had not thought about this at the time when I graduated uh from veterinary school. This was not at all a goal for me. The goal has always been to learn, to improve, and to continue to improve, and that's what has uh led me over here. So when I graduated, I had no uh clue as to what I was going to do, so I entered uh private practice and as an associate, so I did not open a practice on my own, but I joined an existing practice and I learned over there on the job and um became better each day. And then I had an interest in ultrasound, so I started uh like a small practice of my own and uh started seeing cases by a referral basis, and I started again improving, and at that point, there were no training courses, uh like a formal training courses in India. So I was learning ultrasound and doing at the same time. And at a certain point, I realized that I was taking on way too much responsibility without any formal training. So that was the reason why I decided to move to the US because there are formal internships and residencies and a and a pathway that I could I could walk and become a diplomat. So at that point in 2013, the goal was to become a radiologist.

SPEAKER_03 13:10

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

So that's why I moved to the US, and for that I needed to do a rotating internship of a year, otherwise, I would it's extremely or rather impossible to get into a residency. So I applied uh for several programs. Eventually, I did not get into one, so I reapplied the following year, and I was um lucky enough to get a position at uh North Carolina State University. So fortunately, Shantanu also was able to procure a job in the Bay Area in California, so both of us moved to the Bay Area, and then I moved to Raleigh in North Carolina to do my one-year internship program, which was extremely hard from the point of speaking English, because in India, in Pune, I was not used to speaking English, I was not used to thinking in English, and uh I used to talk to people in Marathi, and it was just um uh a completely different experience. And academically, also it was extremely challenging because it was a tertiary level teaching institute with all possible diagnostics and treatment options available. The clients were very, very, very demanding. So uh it was just a very challenging one year for me. But then I think I uh the doctor that I am today, NC State, has a large role to play. And I finished my program, I had applied for diagnostic imaging residencies, I did not get one. Then I reapplied the following year, and then I was very close to getting one, but at that point I was at a stage in my life where I had not worked, and um the immigration system in the US is convoluted and it did not align with the imaging residency opportunity, and it was just uh very chaotic. So uh both of us decided that it was not going to be a practical option for us at that point because it would have required me to move to a different state, and I was already done with the long-distance east coast-west coast scenario.

SPEAKER_04 15:24

As a married person.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

As a married person, like I should. So I uh so we decided that um we would just uh live in the Bay Area and then I would enter the workforce. So fortunately, I was able to start work in private practice in San Francisco. I thoroughly enjoyed working there for uh five actually six years. And uh after six years, I thought, okay, now what? Always I always require something else to do, a new challenge. I felt settled, so I had to do something more. And for the ABVP, it was on my radar for quite some time, but it required uh five years of clinical experience. And uh I thought that okay, I have reached that point where I have that experience and uh I should give it a shot. So I did whatever was necessary for it, and uh I put in my application, I got approved, then I took an eight-hour exam and then I passed, and that was that was the end of this part, but it is not the end, and I'm still hungry. So I know I don't know what I'm going to do, but maybe 10 years later in 2036, there would be something else that I may have done because uh I love veterinary medicine, I like being a doctor, and I'm very committed to the profession. So I I like learning, I like studying.

SPEAKER_04 16:49

You know, as an eight or a ten-year-old, every time I would fall ill, and I'm talking of my life in Mumbai. I used to live in Shivaji Park, uh, which is like heart of Mumbai, right? Uh the bastion of Marathi Maharasht uh in Mumbai. And I'm talking of uh the decade of uh 70s, long, long time back. And we had a family doctor, Dr. M V Natu. Uh of course, he passed away many, many years back. Uh as an eight or ten-year-old, you know, you fall ill for various reasons. So my dad or mom, uh I used to call them. Uh unfortunately, I've lost both of them. Um they would take us, uh yeah, thanks. They would take us to Dr. Natu. And uh tall man, you know, five feet eleven, uh uh almost six feet, lanky, very pleasant smile. For the first four or five minutes, instead of asking me my symptoms or what am I feeling if it is a stomach ache, mostly at that age it is stomach ache. And then you know, when do I feel that ache, you know, at what time or whatever eat? He would never get into that diagnostic questions at all for the first four or five minutes. He would simply say in Marathi, so did you go to school today? Uh and I said, No, you know, of course I have a stomachache, so that's why I didn't go. So he would casually say, Do you have a stomachache because you didn't want to go to the school? Or is it really a genuine stomach? So he'll kind of laugh it out and you know, kind of get me into a conversational zone. So basically, a doctor-patient conversation of a very, very, very different nature, which seems alien today. And with that itself, he would know what is actually happening to me. I mean, the medical tests and all, if at all required, he would do, but that's about it. Now, why I'm bringing this up is you are a veterinary doctor. The patients that you deal with are dogs and cats. They don't talk to you. They can't tell you what is going wrong with them. Only the people who have these pets who bring them to you, they probably tell you the symptoms. Which is fair. And I don't know how the process works. I'm kind of a very naive about this. But a naive question to you, which I always wanted to ask you, but I've held it till today. Do you talk to the dogs and cats, your patients?

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Yes, I do talk to them in different languages.

SPEAKER_04 19:43

So give me an example. Give me an example of an actual case where there is a cat or a dog that has come to you for diagnostic and treatment. And uh you are having this conversation with that pet. How would the conversation go?

SPEAKER_01 20:02

No, uh, I will tell you the exact thing that happens because I do talk to them as if they would understand me, and I think they do pick up the tone of my voice, even though they don't understand the exact words or the language. They do understand my demeanor and what I'm trying to do. And uh, if I'm going into an exam room and uh the owner is there also with the pet, so the first thing I do is to say, Hi, Fluffy, how are you feeling? Your mom told me that you're limping today, and then I would proceed and start my physical exam, and I would touch, for example, if it was the back leg, does it hurt here? Can I touch you? I know it this feels hard, I know life is hard, let's just get through this, and then I would continue my physical exam. And then if they would react, I would be like, Hey, I'm sorry I hurt you, I know it hurts, but I'm just going to do what I need to do so that we can make you feel better. And uh we just finish our exam, and then I explain my findings to the owner, and uh I I think that talking to patients, patients as in my animals also would help soothe the owner because they understand what I'm doing, they can see what I'm doing, and overall it helps them trust me also, otherwise, I'll just be doing everything in silence and no one uh no one knows what I'm doing. Like I cannot have a telepathic communication with the pet, which I could, but they would not understand.

SPEAKER_04 21:40

But tell me, you know, a conversation like this, it is impossible to fathom uh how is it received by the the the the pet, the animal um it's it's easy to understand and fathom what it does to their owners or whoever is caring for them. Uh, what does this conversation do to you, Mukul, as a doctor, at that moment in time? I'm kind of curious, you know. I'm kind of a more here and now person, so I thought I'll just prick your brains there.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

I definitely feel that I'm closer to the patient. And I feel like I have created a bond with the animal when I'm talking to the animal. And they, even though they don't necessarily respond through with the same language, they might whimper, they might vocalize, they might communicate through their body language that they may wag a tail, they they might take their ears back, they might dilate their pupils. So that communication is there. So it's cues that I receive through their body language, through their vocalization, where I can decide, okay, what is the next thing that I'm going to do? So it is a special bond that happens when I'm doing my work with them. And then sometimes we hospitalize the patients, and then they are with me for the whole day, and their their parents go home. And we do share some cuddles and uh affection. And over a few days, if I've if I have if I'm hospitalizing a patient for a few days, we do share a bond. And I feel like the more time we spend with the patient, we are able to communicate better.

SPEAKER_04 23:29

So, what's your uh setup like right now? You know, if I can call it a nursing home or a clinic or whatever, you know, where is it? And uh and kind of what sort of infrastructure do you have there?

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Yeah, currently I'm working in a full service veterinary hospital for dogs and cats in San Carlos, California, which is in the Bay Area. So it's a very large facility, and we see outpatients. And if there is a problem, we have the capacity for inpatient as well. Not 24 hours at the moment, but with time we'll get to a point where we are open majority of the day. And uh we we only see dogs and cats.

SPEAKER_04 24:15

Uh about why do pets matter to us as human beings. I mean, of course, those who have them know it well. Uh, I don't have one, I have never had one. But when you as a as a doctor, when you when you look at what does pets mean to human beings, yeah, specifically dogs and more specifically cats. Because in India, uh, dogs have been around as a pet for ages, for longer, yeah. Recent in the last decade or plus, suddenly there is a love for having cats. So maybe in in in if you can if you can just help me and help our listeners understand why do yeah, dogs and cats matter to us as human beings, what do they do to us?

SPEAKER_01 25:04

There has been a lot of research on the human-animal bond. If you have not heard about this, but uh a human and there is actually even uh research institute that studies the the human-animal bond. So pets uh help alleviate stress, they help fight uh depression in people, they help um people from getting lonely, they um help you be active when you take your dog for a walk, when you play frisbee with your dog, it helps you to stay active. And uh generally they help you feel like there is a place of belonging. So in recently, when families have started becoming smaller, more people are choosing to not have kids. Obviously, there will be these things that come into picture: loneliness, depression, isolation, there is no sense of belonging. So, pets definitely fill that void. And cats are getting more popular because they are relatively low maintenance as compared to dogs. Because you don't have to take them for a walk, you don't have to really bathe them, you don't have to um engage with them as much. They are quite independent, they are not they cannot emotionally manipulate you as much as dogs do, by the way. I'm I like dogs and cats equally, so there is no bias. But um, that's a that may be a practical reason why cats are getting more popular these days. How homes are also a little smaller in some places, so um I think having pets definitely changes you as a person. A part of your soul is not awakened, like you don't know a part of yourself unless you have owned a pet or cared for one.

SPEAKER_04 27:03

You know, Mukul, I read somewhere many, many years back that uh if you want to really, really, really understand a tree in all its entirety, uh not just the manifest look of the tree, but even the unmanifest essence of the tree. Uh there is no way out but to look into the seed and try and understand what's in the seed because that's what is going to manifest uh as a tree, both in terms of the visible form and the invisible essence. Uh sounds esoteric, sounds philosophical. But yeah, these lines have stayed with me and I've kind of taken it more as a as a metaphorical term rather than anything else. So if you have to if I have to bring that uh into the conversation that we have uh now, that as a wet doctor today, if that's a tree, what was in the seed?

SPEAKER_01 28:09

Yeah, so I would give all credit to Bama Veterinary College, where I studied veterinary medicine, and it it helped me know ultrasound as a diagnostic tool. My master's thesis was in echocardiography, so that's the first time I ever held an ultrasound probe in my hand, and that's where my love for ultrasound began, and it took me to the US, and that's what brought me here. So the doctor that I am today, the ultrasound specialist, or the knowledge that I've gained in ultrasound goes back to Bombay Veterinary College.

SPEAKER_04 28:59

You know, the same uh article that I read, which I referred uh a moment ago, also said that if you are to really understand and look into the seed, you got to go a step back and see where the seed came, where the seed came from.

SPEAKER_00 29:17

That's so true.

SPEAKER_04 29:19

So I know Dr. Mukul Badalkar is born to one of the most respected and uh prominent doctors, uh, not just in Pune City in India, but across the country in their field of work. Both your parents are doctors. So let's hear where did the seed come from?

SPEAKER_01 29:43

So my doctors are my uh parents are pediatricians, so I saw the importance of uh hard work, dedication, discipline, work ethic, empathy, kindness as a very, very young child. So day in, day out, I saw my parents working into the late hours at night, and I I was a part of their life, but I saw I saw how they worked very closely. And while I did not decide to pursue pediatrics for whatever reason, veterinary medicine just uh it uh drew me, the values that they have instilled are deeply ingrained in me, and I think that has that is actually the only reason of my success. The values so whatever happened as a child, once I stepped outside the house, I was exposed to the outside world, but I was able to stay on track and not get distracted because of the strong foundation that they have built for me, which I am very lucky to experience.

SPEAKER_04 31:18

Blessed are people like all of us, and I'm not to count myself in uh this with you. Uh you know, I am also blessed with some with with amazing parents who who who left uh in an unknown way. I mean, values and all are big things, uh, big words that we kind of comprehend only much later in life. But uh, how to be uh is something which consciously we learn from obviously our immediate environment, and of course, the first environment we know is is parents. So a big shout out to all the parents.

SPEAKER_01 31:52

Big shout out to my parents, and I'm glad that I'm able to speak about them on this huge uh public platform because we do take them for granted many times, and rarely do we get a chance to be loud and clear about them and about all the things that uh they have they have helped us achieve.

SPEAKER_04 32:15

So all I can hear uh Mukul saying, correct me if I'm wrong, is if Mukul is saying, if I'm rocking, the rock stars are my parents.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

Yes, rock stars are my parents, and I obviously want to get give due credit to Shantanu also. Of course, has been such a big supporter, and my parents-in-law as well. Unfortunately, my father-in-law is no longer there, but uh both of them and now my mother-in-law, all of them continue to support me. Yeah, love to meet whatever I decide to do, whatever I decide to do, whether it's a marathon, whether it's pursuing the board certification, whether it's uh traveling somewhere, they are just my cheerleaders. So I'm very, very lucky to be surrounded by supportive people.

SPEAKER_04 33:03

As as I I heard Michelle Obama saying somewhere that your kitchen table needs to be filled with people who are truly yours. So that's how but okay, let's kind of let's kind of go back to uh from the seed and where it emerged to where the whole thing is going. So as a as a as a as a wet doctor practicing uh in the Bay Area as your own practice, uh what's your dream and aspiration for yourself, uh for your practice uh as of now? And what kind of agonies and frustration that accompany them?

SPEAKER_01 33:46

I would uh start by talking about the second part of the question. So veterinary medicine is not for the paint-hearted, I would say. It is an extremely challenging profession. I love it. I love being a vet, I don't see myself as anyone else. But um I have been fortunate that I have been a part of uh busy practices that have a fast, fast pace of work. And in a given day, I would experience all kinds of emotions on the same day, sometimes in the same moment. But there can be anger, there can be frustration, there can be happiness, sadness, there can be um pride, there can be just shame, failure, regret, and it just keeps on happening one after the other. So you have to have that mental elasticity to be able to survive. Having said that, it is it is a glorious profession, and I love being a part of it. Um and having said that, I hope that through my work I'm able to attract the right people who are a good fit for this profession because it's not for everyone, and they are able to sustain, and there is a culture of mentorship, culture of safety and mutual respect and belonging, and we all continue to grow together and improve the profession and keep contributing. So I hope that through my work um we are able to continue growing the profession. And this just doesn't have to do with my clinic or my place of work. I could be anywhere and I wish to continue to create and build a group or uh you know, a small society where people feel like okay, it's it's a group where I can learn, I feel I belong, I feel safe here, and uh it's all a positive feeling within that community.

SPEAKER_04 36:12

Such a so beautifully said, Mukul. I mean, thank you. I I kind of uh I'm deeply touched with what you just said as to how you see yourself uh as somebody who's contributing to the field. Uh that's the image that you hold for yourself, uh, where the field is far more valuable and important than the practitioner himself or herself. And you know, uh India very, very recently lost, not India, world lost, a legendary singer uh just a couple of days back in Asha Bosle. Uh we all have grown listening to her songs and many, many vibrations will do so. And one of our interviews she was asked, I remember, on Dur Darshan, which is the Indian national television uh, you know, the black and white television uh days, uh, you know, almost in the late 70s, early 80s. Where and because she just passed away a couple of days back, a lot of reels of hers from the past are kind of showing up. Uh, and I kind of uh happened to see one where she said that isn't as long as I see myself uh making a little bit of contribution to this field, I think I would have lived a good life.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

That is so humble of us, given the big superstar that she was.

SPEAKER_04 37:41

Let's kind of switch tracks on this note because uh Atra Bosle, in some way, I know you have that trait also. Uh so do I, which is for want of any words, let me say zest for life. Uh and your zest for life is not restricted to simply being a veterinary doctor, but to be a part of a huge, huge Spanish community that exists in California.

SPEAKER_01 38:22

Yeah, I agree with you.

SPEAKER_04 38:23

Being a veterinarian is not my identity. So so when I say this, that you have this huge, huge love and uh sense of belonging to the Spanish community in California. I absolutely if that is true, then can you or at least me for the next 30 seconds speak anything that you want in Spanish?

SPEAKER_01 38:49

Yes, I would love to. Claro que sí, claro que sí, voy a hablar en español. Soy Mucul, soy de India, yo nací y crecí en Pune. Vivo in California, soy veterinaria, trabajo in una clínica para los perros y gatos. En mi tiempo libre me gusta estudiar español, hablar español, hacer ejercicio, correr. La ciudad de Mexico is el mejor lugar del mundo. So gracias.

SPEAKER_04 39:33

Gracias is the only word I know. That's what I will say. How did this Spanish happen to a young Maharashtrian Indian girl?

SPEAKER_01 39:44

So um I was at home and not at that time in 2020 when it was uh lockdown due to COVID, not working for a few months. So I had a lot of time on my hands. And in the Bay Area, there is a lot of Spanish uh speaking population. So I thought, okay, I'll start Duolingo, which is how most people start learning languages, like a different language. And Duolingo is very nice, it is uh like a game. So I started uh doing that, and soon enough later I realized that it is not going to help me speak. So I started uh enrolling into some online courses. So there's Babble, I I saw some YouTube videos, um, and slowly through watching videos, uh, I started getting a hang of the language. And uh then eventually, when I started working in San Francisco, I realized that there are a lot of Spanish-speaking um colleagues and clients. And I tried to speak a little bit, and that used to make them happy that I'm trying. So they used to encourage me by speaking Spanish back. And there were some colleagues who did not cut any slacks, they used to speak fast, they used to not uh use easy words, and they used to speak to me as if I am native, a native Spanish speaker. And uh they wouldn't listen if I spoke in English. So that's how I ended up uh getting better. And uh every time there was a client, I spoke in Spanish and it it used to be a nice conversation. They really appreciated my efforts, and then I realized that okay, if I continue learning, it's going to make a positive impact because I could communicate to those people that uh cannot speak English or generally communicate with people with people that I wouldn't otherwise communicate with uh so easily. Um and then I thought, okay, this is um this is useful, and I started putting daily effort and I started watching uh TV series in Spanish and listening to music and uh even writing, and then as I was in the process of learning, I got a chance to listen to the Duolingo Spanish podcasts, which is very different from the act the Duolingo app. And um the podcasts are slightly higher level, but in one of the podcasts I uh was I um was listening to it uh it was about uh Mexico City, and um there is a couple of parks in Mexico City, Parque Mexico and the adjacent park that I don't remember the name, but um it was a very nice description about how there is uh a walkway around it, trees and dogs. So I was very, very keen on going there. So um I I set a goal for myself that I just want to go to Mexico and uh uh spend spend a few days in Mexico City and uh speak Spanish there. So I decided and I worked towards it, and I took my parents and Chantanu for a few days to Mexico City, and it was the best time over there. And uh it it made me get out of my comfort zone. It helped me connect with a lot of people and opened up doors to a completely different culture. It made uh new friendships for me, and uh, some people that I know through Spanish are one of my few of my closest friends, I would say.

SPEAKER_04 43:48

No, Europe, there is this beautiful uh TV show or Netflix. I think it is on its season four or maybe five. So it's been around for a while. Uh and I think you and I spoke about it uh Uh sometime back when we connected, uh the show called Emily in Paris, whereas this uh young American girl who moves to Paris in the world of uh uh PR in an in an ad agency, in a media agency, to kind of bring in American way of promoting things in Paris, which is so uh conservative, and they've been kind of promoting perfumes in a certain manner, they have been promoting, let's say, lifestyle products uh you know in a particular manner, and then she's kind of always into an argument to bring in an American way of branding, etc. etc. Fun stuff. I'm sure many of them would have uh would have uh seen it. But uh, you know, she has this uh French colleague at work, it's a small boutique uh media firm with five, six people, that's about it, and the owner runs it, a lady. And this guy who speaks at least seven or eight different European languages. Uh he's actually a Dutch uh in the show. Uh the character is is actually born raised in the Netherlands, but living much of his life in uh Paris, uh, speaks French far more fluently than probably most French would, but speaks Spanish, Italian, German, whatever. And then he says something very interesting to Emily, who owes only one language, which is English. You know, uh, not that Americans only need uh know English. I don't want to generalize it. Americans know many, many languages, but she he tells uh this young American girl of 20 something that you know every time you learn a new language, you change as a person.

SPEAKER_01 45:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:51

Does this line sit with you when you have gotten into Spanish?

SPEAKER_01 45:55

Yeah, I think so, because it's also because of the culture that you get exposure to. So you open yourself up to new thoughts, uh, art, and uh people. So you are open to those ideas. So exposing yourself to those things will change you as a person from that aspect, but also speaking a language helps create new neural connections. So you change the brain actually changes when you learn a different language because the new neural connections did not exist before that now exist. And through a through a different language, there may be some words or phrases that may not exist in your native language or some other languages that you know. So you are you might feel that you are able to express yourself differently in that language, and when you express yourself, you naturally feel different if you're using different words. So it definitely changes you as a person, it changes how you feel, and it helps or it changes the way you see the world.

SPEAKER_04 47:07

Also, you know, you I know uh Mukul that you are born into the Padalkar family, which is a huge tree, right? I mean, which many, many, many, many people who are so larger than life that is it's impossible to fathom that how can one family have people in the world of finance in the further.

SPEAKER_00 47:33

Imagine the pressure.

SPEAKER_04 47:34

That's different. That's whether you take it and any I know you are taking it because I know you love Prussia and uh you love deadlines. You take, I know you love you know uh uh taking on uh impossible goals, and I'm going to come to that in a moment. But one of your cousins, she happens to be a one of the largest and the most prominent corporate leaders of finance in India. Um I won't take her name, but then she's a very, very dear friend of me and Arsha. Yes, uh, she heads one of the largest uh private insurance companies in India as a managing director and CEO. And she shared with me a couple of days back uh a commencement speech that she gave at the Institute of Management, Bangalore. Yeah, group of uh passing out MBA students. Brilliant speech, hats off to her. Uh, in her seven minutes, no, it's in a in a 13-minute uh speech, I think, beautifully written, beautifully presented by her, uh, as if it was extemporary. She said something very interesting towards the end to the batch of graduating MBA students, uh, reflecting uh on her own life. Uh, I don't have her exact words, but what she probably was saying that for her, life is both a sprint and a marathon. And it's uh important for us to know when to sprint and when to marathon. I know you are a marathon runner, one of the other impossible goals that you set for yourself, like your veterinary practice, like your Spanish learning, you set your goals of getting into marathon. So let's uh hear about Dr. Murtul Padalkar uh putting on her shoes and uh getting ready for her next marathon.

SPEAKER_01 49:35

So um I will call myself a runner. Okay, I but a long distance runner, uh runner, because there may be so many other people who do ultra marathons and like a significantly higher distance. So in comparison to that, I feel this is nothing, but everyone has their own growth journey, and um I do consider myself a runner, but um not a marathon runner per se, because for that I would have to do so many more marathons, and I have just signed up for one and I've done only two before. So I think in the grand scheme of things, um I am a junior marathon runner. I would put it put it as that. I have done countless half marathons, but um uh I love running, I love training for uh target some sort of a goal, and I think a marathon is a very nice goal to have because it runs for a significant amount of time to give you to do something, to do something significant, to do something positive. It changes your body, it changes your mind, and ultimately when you achieve your goal, it's not about the goal, it's about the journey that matters. And every morning when I wake up and I have my running workout that is scheduled, it gives me something else to focus on besides the emotional aspect of veterinary medicine and everything else that comes along with it, it gives me a direction, a clear sense of direction. So the last marathon that I had done was in Mumbai in 2015, and I signed up for it because I was living in Mumbai for almost seven years at that point, and it is a city that is very close to my heart because I went to college there. I spent seven years there as an adult between the age of 18 and uh seven years after that. So um I grew up there, and uh running the marathon in Mumbai felt like a tribute to the city, and the same emotion applies to San Francisco, where I'll be running my 2026 full marathon. And I've worked there for six years, and that city has given me so much. So I've grown as a doctor in San Francisco, so running a marathon in San Francisco is like a dream, dream come true. So it's a way to say thank you to the city. So um I'm very much looking forward to it, looking forward to the training. And um, I'm sure that uh I'll be a different person after the event.

SPEAKER_04 52:50

But I hope occasionally you stop by and enjoy an ice cream too.

SPEAKER_01 52:53

I do, I do. Yes, yes, I absolutely do. There is absolutely no guilt when it comes to celebrations.

SPEAKER_04 53:00

As long as you enjoy your ice cream while you're running crazy distances with this.

SPEAKER_01 53:05

Absolutely, yeah. I I have a I have a blast while doing all these crazy things. I do derive a sense of thrill when I put certain targets and um try to achieve them. And the panic that I experience, it actually gives me thrill.

SPEAKER_04 53:22

You know, the wet doctor that you are, Mukul, the half-spaniard that probably you have become, thanks to your love for the language, uh, the long-distance runner that you are, or the runner that you are, as you called yourself, having done countless half marathons and preparing yourself for your next uh San Francisco full marathon very, very soon. Uh, I'm sure there are many, many other aspects of uh Mukul and her life and what she is doing, but you know, connects me to this beautiful, beautiful line in Hindi, which I will read out, I will I kind of speak in Hindi, but I'll of course translate it. Uh, you know, your your this conversation is reminding me of that line, Mokul. It just kind of came to me as I was just listening to you. And the line goes like this Her Jivanki, Sadhia Bhiti, Firbi Hoti Nahi Purani. Every life has its own unique story. Centuries have passed, but none of these stories have ever gone old.

SPEAKER_01 54:32

Yeah, wow. So pretty.

SPEAKER_04 54:37

So if Mukul were to write her uh memoir one day for herself, let's say, it may not be for the larger world. How would you like to open that memoir and how would you like to end that memoir?

SPEAKER_01 54:56

The way it will open is she set out to do something that she had never imagined she had the capacity to ended up achieving way more than what she had set out for, and the end will be that she became the guide for everyone else that she herself never had.

SPEAKER_04 55:32

And what's the title of this book?

SPEAKER_01 55:36

The artist called Mukul.

SPEAKER_04 55:39

Mukul, this has been such a wonderful, wonderful conversation. Thank you, thank you so much. I hate to say this uh that we need to come bring curtains down on this, but uh I have to, with one promise to you, that uh next time you are visiting Pune, Mumbai, give us a call. We'll catch up for lunch, dinner, wherever. Myself and Asha would love to host you and uh Shantano.

SPEAKER_01 56:05

Yes, thank you so much for uh having me here. It has been great chatting with you, and I hope that you visit Pai area again, and we'll definitely go to Napa and chat more over some wine.

SPEAKER_04 56:24

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 56:25

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_04 56:26

That's a deal, my dear. Okay, Bugul, bye-bye. See you. Bye-bye, thank you. You take care. Thank you for your time today, my dear listeners. This is your host, Millindagni Hutri, signing off. Goodbye, take care, and stay safe. This podcast is for general information purposes only and should not be considered as a piece of any professional advice. Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of its guest. Creators of this podcast expressly disclaim any and all liability or responsibility for any direct or indirect consequential or other damages arising out of any individual's use of this podcast. For feedback and suggestions, please write to wingsindia seventy-five at gmail dot com. Thank you.