Gitanjali Aiyar (1947-2023) was a veteran Indian news anchor who left an indelible mark on Indian media during her more than three decades with the respected public broadcaster Doordarshan. Erased marks. She was one of the first British female news presenters in Dordarshan, India. Gitanjali died of a cerebral hemorrhage in June 2023.
Wiki/Biography
Gitanjali Aiyar was born on Wednesday, January 29, 1947 (age 76; time of death). She grew up in Delhi. She studied at Cathedral and John Connon School. Gitanjali Aiyar graduated from Loreto College, Kolkata, West Bengal. She received her diploma from the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi.
Geetanjali Aiyar as a young man
family
Parents and siblings
There is not much information about her parents and siblings.
husband and children
Gitanjali Aiyar is married to Indian economist, journalist and columnist Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar. However, the couple later separated.
Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar
She is survived by two children, a daughter named Pallavi Aiyar and a son named Shekhar Aiyar. Pallavi Aiyar is an award-winning foreign correspondent and author. She has reported from China, Europe, Indonesia and Japan. Shekhar Aiyar, on the other hand, works with the International Monetary Fund in the United States.
Gitanjali Aiyar and her daughter Pallavi Aiyar
Gitanjali Aiyar and her son Shekhar Aiyar
Profession
From Doordarshan to British High Commission
Gitanjali Aiyar joined Doordarshan in 1971. For more than a decade, she has read the prime-time English news every week at 9:00 p.m. Apart from news anchoring, she has hosted various popular shows including “Date With You”, a program dedicated to English song requests every Friday night on All India Radio. In 1978, when All India Radio and Doordarshan became independent organizations, Aiyar chose to continue working with Doordarshan; she left Doordarshan in 2002.
Gitanjali Aiyar on Doordarshan News Desk
Apart from working at Doordarshan, Gitanjali has also held some important positions in various reputed organizations. From October 1982 to October 1983, she worked as Sales and Public Relations Manager at Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces in Delhi. She served as Vice President, Corporate Communications and Public Relations, Damlia Group and Corporate Voice Shandwick PR, New Delhi (1994-1998). In 1998, Geetanjali was appointed Deputy Minister for Information and Public Affairs at the British High Commission in New Delhi; she held this position until 2001.
Business and Marketing
After working in Doordarshan journalism for decades, Gitanjali ventured into corporate communications, government liaison and marketing. She served as Vice President, Public Affairs, Yash Birla Group, New Delhi (2001-2005). Gitanjali served as Director, International Sales, Oberoi Group, New Delhi from 2005 to 2007. In 2007, she joined the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as a consultant until 2010. In 2011, she joined Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India and became the head of its major donor centre.
Advertising, Theater and Television
Gitanjali Aiyar is passionate about the field of theatre. She performed in many theater productions. Gitanjali even acted in Doordarshan’s TV series Khandaan (1985), directed by Shreedhar Ksheersagar. Apart from her television work, Geetanjali has also appeared in various print advertisements, adding another dimension to her versatile career.
Gitanjali Aiyar appears in print campaign for Marmite brand – pictured on her dining room table
Gitanjali Aiyar print advertisement for the brand “Solidaire”
Awards
In 1989, Geetanjali Aiyar received the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for Outstanding Women. She won the Best Anchor Award four times during her tenure at Doordarshan.
die
Gitanjali Aiyar, who had been battling Parkinson’s disease, suddenly collapsed after returning home from a walk on June 7, 2023. She was immediately taken to a hospital near New Delhi by her nanny; however, she was pronounced dead. Her cause of death was determined to be a cerebral hemorrhage.
Facts/Trivia
- According to sources, Aiyar grew up watching people like Surojit Sen and Pamela Singh reading news on the radio and was deeply influenced by them. These personalities greatly shaped her own approach and style to journalism. She has wanted to be a news anchor since she was six years old.
- In an interview, Geetanjali spoke about the amount of fan mail and letters she received during her time as a streamer. It’s not just her hosting skills that are admirable, but also her unique hairstyle and unique saree blouse cut. Gitanjali said her style had such a profound impact on her that she was often stopped on the street by people eager to copy her look. They would ask her for details of hairdressers and tailors to achieve the same hairstyle and outfit.
- In an interview, Gitanjali shared some anecdotes from her early days in Doordarshan, including several interesting incidents. She describes arriving at the studio one winter day, taking off her coat, draping it over a chair, and starting the day’s work. When she picked up her coat at the end of the day, she discovered a mouse had made its home in her pocket. Geetanjali further recounted an instance of a live broadcast being interrupted by a cat casually walking across her desk. Another interesting instance Geetanjali recalls is a bizarre tug-of-war that took place while she was on the air. As she read the news, she realized someone had tugged on her microphone cord. Instead of panicking, Geetanjali continued reading the news while deftly engaging in a tug-of-war that lasted until the end of the show. She later traces the source of the wire and discovers a crew member on the other end. He kept pulling on it and it felt like it was trapped under the table leg.
- In an interview, Gitanjali Aiyar vividly described her early years as an anchor, before technological aids such as teleprompters existed. As anchors, they must balance reading a handwritten physical script or paper while remaining calm and focused on the camera. Reflecting on the challenges of that era, Aiyar said:
We don’t have a teleprompter. Someone manually rolled the script for us. It’s very difficult to look down at what you’re reading while looking at the camera. We also had to be agile at all times, as people standing near the camera would suddenly make gestures asking you to speed up or slow down depending on the situation. “
- Aiyar’s role as a news anchor earned him great admiration from viewers and he was considered a heroic figure. In an interview, she revealed that her influence extends beyond the newsroom as people often come to her for help on various social issues. Aiyar fondly recounts an incident in which an auto driver refused to accept payment for his services after dropping her off at her son Shekhar’s school. Talking about this, Gitanjali said;
Once, a man rang the doorbell and asked for my help in supplying electricity to the hut where he lived. Another time, an auto driver in Dehradun dropped me off at my son’s school without charging any money. Many people think we have done a lot for the country. It’s all very touching. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education