“This is Doordarshan news. Good evening and welcome. The headlines…”
One of India’s first English news presenters, Gitanjali Aiyar, passed away on Wednesday. The award-winning anchor was in her mid-70s.
With this salutation, newsreader Gitanjali Aiyar opened the prime-time news at 9 pm, entering the living rooms of a nation that was in awe of its newly acquired television sets at home. In the late 1970s, when India transitioned from radio to grainy TV screens adjusted by moving the terrace antenna, Aiyar and a handful of her colleagues — Salma Sultan, Neethi Ravindran and Shammi Narang, among several others — read the news on the state-owned Doordarshan (DD).
It was news as it’s meant to be — just news.
Remembered for her poise, erudite delivery and enunciation, Delhi-based Aiyar, among the first English newsreaders on Indian television whose career with DD spanned three decades, died of brain haemorrhage on Wednesday afternoon. She was 72 and had been ailing for a while. Aiyar is survived by son Shekhar and daughter Pallavi, both of them based in the US.
The cremation will take place on Friday.
We fondly remember the days when Gitanjali Aiyar ji graced our TV screens, leaving an indelible mark on our news-watching experiences.
— Netta D'Souza (@dnetta) June 7, 2023
Saddened by her untimely demise, my heartfelt condolences to her loved ones. May she find eternal peace. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ayVeUu2yB6
