Who Is Dr Bhairavi Joshi? A Dentist Who Became Mayor Of Netherlands-Based Foundation Due To Her Cycling Passion

How often do you find it hard to leave your well-settled job and traverse a path which is not comfortable and full of challenges? Robert Frost had once written, 'I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference'. Dr Bhairavi Joshi's story is akin to this line. While she is a dentist by profession, she has made her name in the field of cycling, literature and Ted talks. 

Who Is Bhairavi Joshi?

Bhairavi Joshi was born in Vadodara. His father Arunbhai Nayak, a mechanical engineer, and Ushaben, a general physician were her first inspiration. While she was born in Vadodara, her family later moved to Valsad where her new home became the incubator of her dreams. She studied at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and later obtained a BDS degree from a dental college in Jamnagar. A particular feather in her academic cap was scoring the highest marks in Pediatric Dentistry across India.

Early Life And Career

In 1998, she got married to Dr. Kalpesh Joshi. She began her career as a dentist at Kasturba Hospital. But by 2004, she opened the Dhruvi Dental Clinic,  which is even operational today. However, the birth of her daughter, Vaishvi, in 2010 marked a turning point in her life. With her weight increasing, she turned to physical activity to regain her health. She discovered a new passion during this time – cycling. While it began as a mere physical activity, her hobby gradually blossomed almost into a professional one. She participated in the 50 km cyclothon at Ahmedabad in 2015, finishing fifth despite a lack of formal training. Her mettle didn't stop shining there; within a year, she completed a gruelling 200 km night cycling event, further solidifying her love for cycling.

In 2019, she was appointed the Bicycle Mayor of BYCS Global Foundation for the Valsad district, and with that, she become the fourth person in the country to hold this position. Her growing influence saw the birth of the BYCS India Foundation, acknowledging the stark differences between Netherlands and India's culture, climate, and traffic. In 2021, her role expanded further when she became a member of the Indian government's health ministry's 'Cycle for Health' committee.

Dr Bhairavi Joshi And Literature

When her elder daughter penned down a book on her dad, Dr Joshi got the idea of the Rising Writer Club, a platform for nurturing young authors. This venture saw state-level story writing competitions and numerous publications participated in that. In 2016, the club gained national recognition when Bollywood actor Boman Irani inaugurated 34 books written by the children of the club. A dentist, a cycling enthusiast, a mayor of a Netherlands-based foundation, and a literary patron, Dr. Joshi’s story is one of those lesser-known stories that serve as an inspiration for women of India.