New Delhi, February 12: Veteran Doordarshan news presenter Sarla Maheshwari passed away here on Thursday. She was 71 years old. Senior news reader and Maheshwari’s friend Shammi Narang confirmed her death.
Narang said in an X post that this face (Sarla Maheshwari), who was a household name in the 1980-1990s, is now a mere memory.
DD News, in its condolence message on the social media platform Instagram, said, “It is with great pain and profound grief that we inform you that Doordarshan’s respected and much-loved news reader Sarla Maheshwari passed away today. The simplest, most gentle and most understanding face on TV is no more with us.”
The face that read the news every evening in a calm voice, with precise pronunciation, without any pretense, and spread trust and dignity in every home across the country. Sarla ji symbolized that era of Doordarshan, when news was not just information, but a ritual.
From the 1980s to 2005, she delivered news every evening to millions of viewers. Her simple sari, straight pallu, gentleness reflected on her face and the depth hidden in her eyes endeared her to everyone’s heart. It was she who broke the news of Rajiv Gandhi ji’s untimely death to the entire nation. Even in those moments, her voice held the same calm and restraint that distinguished her.
DD News said, “Sarla ji didn’t just give us newsโshe taught us simplicity, patience, decency, and truth. Even today’s loud, sensational news stories paled in comparison. She was the voice that brought calm peace to parents, learning to children, and bringing the entire family together. With her passing, an entire era has ended. The era when a gentle face would appear on TV and the entire nation would listen silently will never return. We express our heartfelt condolences to her family, her husband, Pawan Maheshwari ji, and all her relatives. May God give them the strength to bear this immense loss.”
It’s worth noting that Sarla Maheshwari was part of a journalism era when news wasn’t just information, but a standard of language and etiquette. Her clear diction and calm demeanor endeared her to millions of viewers. The duo of Shammi Narang and Sarla Maheshwari led the news world on Doordarshan for a long time.