New Delhi: Gitanjali Aiyar, who was one of India's first English female news presenters on national broadcaster Doordarshan, passed away on Wednesday. The renowned anchor was suffering from Parkinson's disease and collapsed after returning home from a walk, sources close to the family said. She reportedly died aged 71.


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Several political leaders including Union Minister Anurag Thakur and other noted personalities took to Twitter to condole the demise of the eminent anchor.


"Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Gitanjali Aiyar, one of the first and finest English news anchors on Doordarshan and All India Radio," Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said in a tweet.


He added that Aiyar was a 'trailblazer and pioneer', who brought 'credibility, professionalism, and a distinct voice' to every news report. 



Gitanjali Aiyar graduated from Kolkata's Loreto College


Gitanjali Aiyar graduated from Kolkata's Loreto College. The prime-time English news anchor also held a diploma degree from the prestigious National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi.


After her graduation, she joined All India Radio (AIR) and presented a show -- A Date With You -- in which she used to take English song requests on Friday nights.


Gitanjali Aiyar joined Doordarshan in 1971


Gitanjali Aiyar rose to fame when she joined the national broadcaster Doordarshan in 1971 and started presenting prime-time news.


She was awarded the best anchor four times and also won the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for Outstanding Women in 1989.


After her illustrious stint at the national television organisation, she left Doordarshan in August 2002.


Gitanjali Aiyar also acted in a TV drama 


Besides presenting news programmes, Gitanjali Aiyar 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 associated with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).