After completing her Montessori course, Dr. Indutai Patwardhan began her career as a teacher and later joined the British Indian Red Cross and St. John Ambulance.

 

During World War II, she undertook direct work in Burma and Java, and also served in Singapore and Japan. Her brother, Raja Parshuram Shankarrao Patwardhan of the Jamkhandi kingdom, was the first among the Indian royal families to merge his state with the Bombay Presidency. His progressive social thinking greatly influenced her own.Upon retiring from service in 1953, she pursued studies in homeopathy and started a dispensary at Khed Shivapur.

 

She also served on the Poona Women's Council and was a founding member of the Poona Blind Men's Association in 1949. Her tireless work extended to supporting tribal communities and army personnel.

 

In 1965, her focus shifted towards caring for leprosy patients. This journey began in Phugewadi with 80 patients, prompted by the implementation of the Maharashtra government's Prohibition of Begging Act.

 

In 1970, she relocated to the area now known as Anandgram, near Alandi. Dr. Patwardhan gratefully acknowledged that the active support of individuals like Lady Ula Hyde Parker and Radha Ramanji was instrumental in Anandgram's development into the extensive institution it is today. Anandgram itself was built by the leprosy patients who resided there. It has since flourished into a self-sufficient community with successful initiatives in agriculture, poultry farming, animal husbandry, leatherwork, and textiles. The cultivation of Subabul trees and mulberry for silk production were among its agricultural activities.

 

Today, Anandgram presents a heartening sight with its thriving school - Anand Gram Society's Jeevan Shikshan Vidya Mandir - for boys and girls, well-managed water resources for farming, and the constant industry of its residents.

 

On May 14, 1986, Dr. Indutai turned 60. A reception to honor her was delayed at her own insistence; she would not accept any accolades until the pressing water scarcity issue at Anandgram was resolved.