NIRMALA MAHARAJ

Maharaj felt that the temple’s work needed to expand beyond religious activities and focus on the socio-cultural health of the community and by extension society. She pushed for this balance and within a relatively short period of time the El Dorado Shiv Mandir was actively tackling issues affecting youths and families in the community as well as focusing on strengthening cultural beliefs among younger people.

As part of this new focus, Maharaj also worked on creating an avenue at the temple where the younger devotees could share their talents, thoughts and concerns.

“When you look at society you see the pressures that people are facing, from our youths to women coming to grips with failed marriages and pushing back against domestic violence, among a host of other issues… I felt that the temple needed to play a greater role in the community,” said Maharaj, who was born in El Dorado village and has been a devotee at the temple since she was a little girl.

Before her climb to the position of President, Maharaj had served the temple in several other positions. She was a youth leader before working as a trustee and later secretary and public relations officer. “I wanted to serve right out of school,” she said, while reflecting on why she got involved while still very young.

Her leadership has introduced new perspectives at El Dorado that at their core emphasise selflessness and community spirit. She is ideas-driven and goal-oriented, which helped to shape the serious kind of approach the Mandir has taken with this new focus. What she has managed to do in a short period of time is no small feat — Maharaj has produced results at El Dorado and shown how effective women-led leadership could be, and she has stirred up new interest about the temple’s work.

And she remains pretty modest about what she has accomplished. In fact, she is modest about the other impressive achievements she has under her belt. When she sat down to talk to Woman’s Weekly, Maharaj was happy to discuss her work and life but was reluctant about releasing all the details about how her life has been marked by distinction since she was a teenager.

Maharaj currently serves on the management team at the Arthur Lok Jack Business School as Director of Internationalisation & Institutional Relations. It’s a position she has held for 19 years and has no intention of moving on from, at least not in the immediate future.

The position, she explained, has allowed her to engage with a number of companies locally and abroad to understand their challenges and issues, and craft solutions for growth.

“It’s been a phenomenal journey and I was able to get into the depth of international marketing,” she said, before adding that having the power to influence policy which impacted positively “is fulfilling.”

What she omitted to say what that her business acumen has strengthened the position and has made her an indispensable player on the management team. To this, add her position as a Board Member at the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and more recently, an appointment to serve on the Independent Advisory Panel at the Ministry of Public Administration.

And again, this only scratches the surface. She is involved in numerous other non-profit work, including serving as a Rotarian. She is even tipped to be the next President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Marcas St Joseph.

Maharaj credits her religion for shaping the woman and leader she has become, saying that she learnt very early the importance of “having my actions speak louder than my words.”

She continued: “For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of Hinduism was being able to talk to my elders, to learn and to understand… what they have passed on generation after generation is not in any textbook and I couldn’t find it either in all the years of management training and the MBA training.”

Maharaj found the regular lessons she had with her elders enlightening and deeply refreshing. She has taken all the conversations that spanned the years and used them to inform her work and her approach to life in general. “I also learnt that patience was crucial to every plan I had,” she added.

Holding true to the basic principles of her religion, which includes selflessness and respect for elders, has allowed her to not only succeed but to do so without allowing the occasional setbacks to consume her. Maharaj also pointed out that while religion is a huge influence in her life, her parents and the “loving and supportive environment” they created for her growing up also helped to shape the person she is today.

“Family support is so critical and my parents and my sibling have always supported me in my career, in pretty much everything I do,” Maharaj stressed. She is the third of four children born to Ramdass and Grace Maharaj.

“Sometimes just talking to them got me through the day and some days were difficult. They have kept me motivated. Now I’m married and my husband has joined this loving circle of support.” She blushed when mentioning her husband Surendra Maharaj.

They tied the knot last year and Maharaj, who is 41-years-old, is looking forward to celebrating her first Divali as a married woman. She said of the marriage: “We are equal partners and that is so important to me. I like that he has different perspectives…we are a team.”

Speaking about Diwali, she said: “It’ a time for introspection and to refocus my thinking and to give thanks to God for the blessings of life and good health. I’m also looking forward to lighting deyas with my husband.”

Despite all of the accolades she has earned, Maharaj still strives to do better because she believes her work has only just started. “I’m concerned about the increasing number of people in the society who are pointing to the ills but offer no solutions. You don’t hear a lot of, ‘How can I be part of the solution?’… This is happening so often,” she said.

When she is not thinking about work or her role in changing the space around her, Maharaj enjoys spending time with her family and more recently, she is enjoying being a wife. “I’m just enjoying life and the people who are close to me right now.”