Sarla Maheshwari is India’s well-known news anchor of the ’80s. She is famous for her news reading style and fashion sense. She worked at BBC England from 1984 to 1986. She witnessed the transition from black-and-white news telecast to coloured.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Sarla Maheshwari was born in 1954 (age 69 years; as of 2023). She completed a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Hindi at Delhi University. She also pursued a Ph.D. at Delhi University. While pursuing her Ph.D. in 1976, she gave an audition to become an announcer at Doordarshan.
A photograph of Sarla Maheshwari during her college days
Physical Appearance
Height (approx): 5’4″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
She belongs to a Gujarati Family.
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information about her parents. She has three sisters.
Husband & Children
In 1984, she got married to Pawan Maheshwari, who is a gastroenterologist. She has two sons, Kavish, and Himanshu Maheshwari. [1]Zindagi with Richa
Sarla Maheshwari with her husband, Pawan Maheshwari
Sarla Maheshwari with her husband, Pawan Maheshwari, her elder son, Kavish Maheshwari, and her younger son, Himanshu Maheshwari
Career
Teacher
While pursuing a PhD degree at Delhi University, she worked as a lecturer; she would teach in the morning and work as an announcer in the evening.
News Anchor
Sarla Maheshwari started her TV career with Doordarshan in 1976. At the start of her career, she used to do script writing for kids’ programs and did a job as an announcer on television. In 1982, she became a newsreader at Doordarshan. After getting married in 1984, she left Doordarshan and her teaching job and went to England with her husband. She worked at BBC from 1984 to 1986. In October 1986, she returned to India along with her husband. In 1988, she rejoined Doordarshan and became an icon of the news industry. She continued to work at Doordarshan till 2005.
A screengrab of Sarla Maheshwari as a newsreader at Doordarshan
Facts/Trivia
- Sarla Maheshwari is popular for her calm and composed delivery of news as well as for Gujarati saree styles.
- In the initial years of her career, she used to write scripts for kids’ programs like Kapde ki Kahani, and Janmashtami programs.
- Sarla Maheshwari was the anchor who announced the news of the death of Rajiv Gandhi to the whole nation in May 1991.
- She covered the last rites of Mother Teresa from West Bengal in 1997 following which Sarla decided to never go for outdoor coverage to look after her kids at home.
- She was the one who anchored the coloured telecast of Asiad (now Asian Games) for the first time in India, in 1982.
- In the late 80s’, during the militancy in Punjab, Sarla received threatening calls to kill her for broadcasting news on television.
- She worked with many famous anchors like Salma Sultan, Minu Talwar, Sheila Chaman, Shammi Narang, and many more.
(From left to right) Sarla Maheshwari, Salma Sultan, Sheila Chaman, and Minu Talwar
- She got many offers to work in films and TV commercials, but she denied and decided to stick with her career as a news reader.
- In an interview, she said that her father was the biggest critic in her life, which helped her succeed in her career.
- She runs a charity hospital in Delhi along with her husband.
References
| ↑1 | Zindagi with Richa |
|---|
