Who Was Gitanjali Aiyar? Award-Winning Doordarshan Anchor, Passes Away

Gitanjali Aiyar, one of India's first English female news presenters on national broadcaster Doordarshan, passed away on Wednesday.

Delhi-based Aiyar, whose career with DD spanned three decades, died of brain haemorrhage. She was 72 and had been suffering for a while. Aiyar is survived by her son Shekhar and daughter Pallavi, both of them based in the US.

The award-winning anchor collapsed after returning home from a walk, sources close to the family said.

"She had Parkinson's disease and was on medication. She collapsed after returning home from a walk," said a close friend of Gitanjali Aiyar.

Who was Gitanjali Aiyar?

Graduating from Kolkata's Loreto College, Gitanjali Aiyar joined Doordarshan in 1971 and was awarded the best anchor four times. She also presented the popular English songs request programme – A Date With You, on Friday nights on All India Radio.

Gitanjali was also the recipient of the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for Outstanding Women in 1989.

Besides presenting news programmes, Gitanjali Aiyar, a diploma holder from the National School of Drama (NSD), had also been a popular face in several print advertisements and even acted in Sridhar Kshirsagar's TV drama Khandaan.

In her decades-long illustrious career, she was also associated with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Several noted personalities took to Twitter to condole the demise of the eminent personality.

Senior Journalist Sheela Bhatt wrote, “Gitanjali Aiyar, India’s one of the best tv newsreaders, warm and elegant person and woman of immense substance passed away today. Deepest condolences to her family.”

Sagarika Ghose called her a household name of the 1980s.

“She will always be remembered as a newsreader with impeccable English diction and pronunciation,” wrote Anu Sehgal.

“We fondly remember the days when Gitanjali Aiyar ji graced our TV screens, leaving an indelible mark on our news-watching experiences. Saddened by her untimely demise, my heartfelt condolences to her loved ones. May she find eternal peace,” Congress leader Netta D’Souza said.

A Twitter user called her a ‘picture of grace’, while another said she was one the ‘finest’ news readers. “In the early 80s, when Doordarshan had a monopoly over English TV media in India, she captivated viewers with her distinguished style of presentation,” one user wrote on Twitter.

Suggested reading: ‘Impeccable Newsreader’: Twitter Pays Tribute To Doordarshan Veteran Late Gitanjali Aiyar