Gitanjali Aiyer, an icon of Indian Television passed away on Wednesday, 7 June 2023. While the millenials might not connect with the aura of Gitanjali, those who were exposed to radio and television news in the late seventies and most of the eighties would recall her effervescent and grand presence on Doordarshan.

As per news reports, the Delhi based former news anchor passed away due to brain haemorrhage on Wednesday. She was taking a walk when she collapsed and before she could be taken to hospital, she breathed her last. As per reports, Gitanjali had been on medication for Parkinson's disease, as per reports. She was 72.

Gitanjali, along with other television news anchors of Doordarshan in those years viz. Salma Sultan, Neethi Ravindran, Minu Talwar to name a few belonged to a generation of mature news readers from the 1970s and 80s when the Television news room had a more dignified ambience as compared to the news anchors today who need to shout to be heard and have turned the news room into an arena which is more noisy than a bullring. Gitanjali's career with Doordarshan spanned three decades. The sentence "This is Doordarshan News. Good Evening and Welcome, The Headlines..." was the salutation by Gitanjali as she opened the Prime Time News at 9 on Doordarshan.

After graduating from Kolkata's Loreto College in 1971, she joined All India Radio in the English News section, after which she moved to Doordarshan in 1976. Radio news presenters of that era, viz. Surojit Sen and Pamella Singh were among her biggest influencers. Besides News, Aiyer was also a Diploma holder from the  National School of Drama and worked in many TV commercials and the TV serial Khandaan. Gitanjali will be remembered for her poise, enunciation and erudite delivery. Gitanjali was awarded Best Anchor four times and was also the recipient of Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for Outstanding Women in 1989.

Gitanjali is survived by her son Shekhar and daughter Pallavi, who herself is an award winning journalist.