Gitanjali Aiyar passes away: Award-winning Doordarshan TV presenter had a
long career of
over 30 years

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DD news anchor
Gitanjali Aiyar

Credit: Doordarshan One of India's first English news presenters, Gitanjali Aiyar has passed away. As per reports, she was suffering from Parkinson's disease and collapsed while walking towards her home [{ "selector": ".gorlp-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "transform": "translateY(calc(600px - 431px))", "opacity": "1"}, {"offset": 1, "transform": "translateY(0)", "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".jqmlo-a", "duration": "1000ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

Gitanjali Aiyar passes away

Gitanjali Aiyar – A veteran newsreader who had worked in the new industry for more than 30 years. She has won multiple best anchor awards. As per PTI, “She had Parkinson’s disease and was on medication. She collapsed after returning home from a walk” [{ "selector": ".odzsm-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "transform": "translateY(calc(600px - 417px))", "opacity": "1"}, {"offset": 1, "transform": "translateY(0)", "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".ukmeb-a", "duration": "1000ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

Doordarshan TV presenter
Gitanjali Aiyar

Credit: DD national After graduating from Kolkata’s Loreto College, Gitanjali joined Doordarshan in 1971. To honour her remarkable work in the news industry, she was awarded Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for Outstanding Women in 1989 [{ "selector": ".lfcup-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "transform": "translateY(calc(600px - 417px))", "opacity": "1"}, {"offset": 1, "transform": "translateY(0)", "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".ktpqa-a", "duration": "1000ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

RIP Gitanjali Aiyar

In 2002, Gitanjali quit Doordarshan and started working as a consultant at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). In between she also acted in a TV serial ‘Khaandaan’ [{ "selector": ".auquf-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "transform": "translateY(calc(600px - 437px))", "opacity": "1"}, {"offset": 1, "transform": "translateY(0)", "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".lzkzd-a", "duration": "1000ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

Condolences for
Gitanjali Aiyar

Gitanjali Aiyar also holds a diploma from the National School of Drama. Many people have condoled her death by posting their messages on social media. Over the years, there have been several other iconic DD anchors: [{ "selector": ".amxuc-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "transform": "translateY(calc(600px - 437px))", "opacity": "1"}, {"offset": 1, "transform": "translateY(0)", "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".lqxcq-a", "duration": "1000ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

Salma Sultan

Credit: Doordarshan Salma Sultan’s iconic style of putting a rose in her hair and her calm and composed newsreading carved a niche for her. She is known for giving the first news of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi [{ "selector": ".astrz-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "transform": "translateY(calc(600px - 417px))", "opacity": "1"}, {"offset": 1, "transform": "translateY(0)", "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".gslnx-a", "duration": "1000ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

Pratima Puri

Credit: Doordarshan Pratima Puri was Doordarshan’s first newsreader. Before this, the news was often recorded and told in an audio format with some recorded visuals being played online. Though, Pratima’s entry as a newsreader revolutionized the broadcasting news industry. Over the years, several newsreaders have become the face of their news channels [{ "selector": ".pxwqr-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "transform": "translateY(calc(600px - 367px))", "opacity": "1"}, {"offset": 1, "transform": "translateY(0)", "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".skitb-a", "duration": "1000ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

Neethi Ravindran

Credit: Doordarshan Neethi Ravindran gained fame as a news anchor in 1990s. She was known for her eloquent speech and clear diction [{ "selector": ".icszu-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "transform": "translateY(calc(600px - 466px))", "opacity": "1"}, {"offset": 1, "transform": "translateY(0)", "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".ctpml-a", "duration": "1000ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

Rini Simon Khanna

Credit: Doordarshan Rini Simon Khanna was selected from AIR to anchor the National news on Delhi Doordarshan, the premier Indian television channel in 1985, co-anchoring news with Tejeshwar Singh. She was known for her distinct voice quality. She went on the become the iconic voice of Delhi Metro [{ "selector": ".cfblz-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "transform": "translateY(calc(600px - 386px))", "opacity": "1"}, {"offset": 1, "transform": "translateY(0)", "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".cmmej-a", "duration": "1000ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "0ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

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Gitanjali Aiyar passes away: Award-winning Doordarshan TV presenter had a
long career of
over 30 years

Credit: DD National

Produced by: Bhoomika
Designed by: Mohsin Shaikh

DD news anchor
Gitanjali Aiyar