ABOUT ANITA
Anita Jari Kharbanda is an Honorable National Founding Mother of the Alpha Chapter and she graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. Anita helped establish our sisterhood back in 1998 and the main basis was to create sisterhood and a home away from home where people can be involved in service opportunities, be educationally focused, and participate in cultural events. DPO was a place to grow, make friendships, and gain leadership skills. Currently, Anita works for Humana in a supply chain role negotiating vendor software and cloud based agreements. She has been married for ten years to her loving husband Viney, who is an electrical engineer. They have two perfect young boys, Yuvraj and Shaan.
DELTA PHI OMEGA JOURNEY
During her time it was largely South Asian culture that was in Delta Phi Omega and Anita connected with others who have similar backgrounds. As one of the founding members of our organization, she is really passionate about our sisterhood and very excited about how it has grown.
She loved annual banquets because they were always fun and all of the sisters had the chance to dress up. She actually misses meetings, although sometimes she would get tired of them in the moment. Now that she is older she reflects on the thoughts and ideas that were being discussed and she really appreciates them.
Anita’s favorite memory of her undergraduate life is when Delta Phi Omega Sorority, Inc. officially became a recognized group at the University of Houston. This was when the Honorable National Founding Mothers were deciding the motto, quote, flower, and all other symbolic representations of our organization. Anita said, “With 16 opinions we all came to one vision.”
HEALING THROUGH WRITING
Around 2015, Anita began writing a memoir. A memoir is a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources. She wrote about two family members very close to her, and initially just started writing from letters she found between them. Anita did not know she would be writing a story at the time, but she was moved by the letters. She would feel really strong emotions and write whatever came to her mind. It was raw and genuine and necessary. She then decided she would write a book about them. Ultimately, Anita decided not to publish the memoir as it was private, but it helped her to discover her love of writing.
Anita then wrote a second novel, which is #OwnVoices, a young adult historical fiction novel. The main character’s real-life story compelled Anita, and she believed she was meant to share it. Anita is passionate about this work, and has poured hours of writing and edits into it. She reached out to literary agents for over one year and secured representation. This was no easy feat because about one in one thousand writers are offered representation from a literary agent. Her journey continues as she travels down the road to publication.
REFLECTING
Anita did not even know that she could write a novel. She wrote for the South Asian blog, Brown Girl Magazine, for some time and realized she had a knack for writing.
The most challenging part about her journey thus far is being honest with herself, and not just about her strengths and weaknesses – and what if anything she would have done differently. Anita said, “You have to look at yourself in the mirror. When you’re writing, and writing about what matters to you, you have to look very closely.”
Her goal for writing is to positively impact and help as many people as she can. She hopes to grow her audience to touch lives. She reminds us through her writing to honor people and allow our emotions to freely flow so that we may all heal and grow.
To stay updated with Anita’s passion for writing, you can follow her on Instagram @anita_kharbanda_78 and read her blog posts at www.anitakharbanda.com.
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Thank you for this beautiful write up!