Posted on Mar 03, 2019

#1 of 30 Women of Excellence to celebrate 30 Years of Women in Rotary 

Submitted by Putul Rahul and edited by John Borst
 
Anjana Maitra joined the Rotary Club of Rourkela on 4th July 1990 and has held many posts in the Club and at District level. She has been in Rotary for 28 years and is now a member of Rotary Club of Rourkela Steel City, District 3261.
 
Maitra is a third generation Rotarian, both her grandfather and father have been Past presidents of Rotary Clubs of Sindri and Rourkela respectively. Since her childhood, she was exposed to conversations on Rotary in her home. Her parents hosted several GSE team members. As a Rotarylet she used to help in Rotary fetes, Health camps and other programmes. Rotary runs in her blood. When Rotary opened its doors to women, she joined in 1990. She is passionate about Rotary, and that keeps her going.
 
At this time Anjana is the Advisor and Trainer of her Home Club. At the District level, she is Chairperson, Promotion of Lady Rotarians. She was Chief Sergeant at arms at the recent District 3261 Conference in Puri. Dr Matira is a Rotary leadership Institute (RLI) Trainer and conducts various training sessions within and outside her District. She is often invited to speak at Rotary events all over India. She has attended International Conventions in Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul and Atlanta and served as Sgt at arms at two of them. She attends all the District Conferences and Assemblies of her District.
 
Among Maitra’s most notable accomplishments is having been the Governor’s Special Representative for organising a 6th Rotary Club in Rourkela in 2011. She almost singlehandedly found 25 charter members, with 20 women and started the Club, Rotary Club of Rourkela Steel City which received its charter in Dec 2011. It was sponsored by her former home club, the Rotary Club of Rourkela Central. Eventually, she joined the new Club, and today the Rourkela Steel City has 30 members, out of which 24 are women belonging to different professions. The Club is very active and has got many awards. Recently under her guidance, her Club organised a Charity to raise funds for building WASH stations in underprivileged schools. She has been instrumental in organising different projects in her Club including adopting a school in an underprivileged area, an orphanage, health camps, eye camps, and polio camps.
 
When she was President of Rotary Club of Rourkela Central she started an Interact Club in a Delhi Public School Rourkela. Now she is guiding the starting of a Rotaract Club sponsored by Rotary Club of Rourkela Steel City. She has been GSE coordinator many times and has interviewed the GSE Team members on Rourkela Steel Television.
 
Anjana has also held many important District posts including Assistant Governor, Chair of various Committees, and Chief Sgt at arms.She is very knowledgable on Rotary matters and keeps updating herself. Earlier she was instrumental in forming a new Rotary Club Rotary Club of Rourkela Central in 1995.
 
Anjana holds a PhD degree in Political Science and is in the Orissa Education Service and has a posting as a Professor in a Government College at Rourkela. She is also a corporate trainer in soft skills (Effective Memo Writing and Business English and Business Communication) and conducts interactive training workshops for corporates and professional institutes all over India.
 
Some examples are: Rourkela Steel Plant, Bokaro Steel Plant, Hindustan Copper Limited Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant,  Kerala Management Association, Larsen and Toubro, Orissa Cement Limited, Tech Mahindra, Essar Steel, BITS Pilani, Amity University, Wigan and Leigh College, NSHM Knowledge Campus, Biological E Limited, North Orissa Chamber of Commerce and the SAIL Management Training Institute (MTI).
 
She also conducts Communication Skills and Personality Development classes at Max Mueller Bhavan in Rourkela. She has been an anchor and newscaster on Rourkela Steel TV since 1990. Her special area of interest is Gender Studies and she has presented research papers at various seminars and conferences all over India.
 
Maitra is a prolific writer of over 600 articles and two books. Her articles on various topics have been published in leading national newspapers and magazines. At the website Bolo Kids you will find forty-nine short stories ranging from “Ice Cream: the Frozen Dream” to “The Plight of Street Children”.
 
Dr Anjana’s mother was also a Rotarian. Her daughter Neha was an Interactor in the Delhi Public School Rourkela and is now a Fourth Generation Rotarian. Neha is CEO of the Epoch Elder Care in Delhi. Anjana’s family encourages her Rotary activities. She is also an ardent animal lover, cares a lot for the elderly and enjoys travelling, having travelled widely in India and abroad. She has visited the USA, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Dubai, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.