Doordarshan at 50: Revisiting the stars

Mumbai: Fifty years since Doordarshan's début on TV screens, NDTV revisits India's pioneer news anchors - women who ruled the airwaves night after night for two decades, each in her own distinctive style, in a time when there was just one channel on TV.

For at least a decade starting 1967, Veena Mishra was the unparalleled queen of accurate and articulate 9 pm Hindi news. During the Indo-Pak War in 1971 and the Emergency in 1975, it was Veena who told every Indian with access to a TV set exactly what was going on; history was being made.

"I walked into the newsroom one afternoon only to be told how we had to declare to the world that India was at war with Pakistan. They were pressing times, but we felt a great deal of importance within," she recalls.

In 1974, Professor Luku Sanyal became the first face of English news in Mumbai, with 'The News'. Despite her iconic stature, she still vividly remembers the bout of nerves that hit her every night as she faced the camera.

"I still remember my first time in front of the camera. A very senior camera person said, 'Just think that this camera symbolises everyone you love', as he reminded me that my friends and family were watching," she says, adding, "If I could choose how I will die, I would like to read my news and pass on in front of the camera."

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And then there was Geetanjali, one of the best English newscasters on national television. Her stylish bob, sharp features and crisp delivery made her a sought after face even for endorsements, for everything from TV sets to  breakfast cereals.

"Though things weren't as great as they are now, we were the pioneers. We weren't reporters, just casual news readers," recounts the public relations expert. And despite being serious business, reading the news had its fair share of  lighter moments too. "There was this time when in the middle of my news bulletin, I had a cat stroking my  sari!" she relates.

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Broadcasts today are a fast paced world of 24-hour news and private channels. But for everyone who's memory goes back to the good old days of Doordarshan, these faces are irreplaceable role models, with so many following in their footsteps to make television careers in these times.