3 minutes of readingNew DelhiFebruary 12, 2026 1:42 PM IST
Doordarshan news anchor Sarla Maheshwari, 71, has passed away. Former Doordarshan anchor Shammi Narang shared the tragic news of her demise from He reportedly passed away in Delhi.
He further added, “She was the embodiment of grace and courtesy. Beautiful not only in appearance but even more so in heart, she had a remarkable command of language and was a reservoir of knowledge. Her presence on the Doordarshan screen had a unique aura. She respected everyone and uplifted every space she was a part of. I pray that God grants her soul eternal peace and gives strength to the Maheshwari family.”
Who was Sarla Maheshwari?
Sarla was a prominent anchor on Doordarshan in the 1970s and 1980s. She was one of the first news anchors to read news live on Indian television. She started her career with Doordarsan in 1976 as a news anchor when she was pursuing her PhD and applied for the position of news anchor. She worked with Doordarshan until 1984 as a news presenter and then moved to the United Kingdom, where she was a news reader at the BBC until 1986. She rejoined Doordarshan in 1988 after returning to India, after the birth of her son.
In a 2012 talk with IBN 7, he recalled that he once accidentally laughed during a news broadcast because he accidentally glitched during a live broadcast. In another chat with Doordarshan, he recalled that the broadcast did not allow them to breathe or even clear their throat during the broadcast. He shared that this was the time when there were no teleprompters and they had to memorize a lot in order to recite their memory broadcast. “This was a job of immense responsibility and it was necessary to have a certain maturity to do it well,” he said.
In the past, Sarla received a lot of fan mail about her appearance and in the same conversation with DD, she shared that they often told her to smile more often. There were some viewers who pointed out the mole on his face because they didn’t like it. They would also point out that her bindi was often crooked. Sarla shared that she received many film and advertising offers at that time, but she did not accept them because she was simply not interested in this line of work. She recalled that she was also a lecturer at the time. Delhi Hansraj College University.