Pratima Puri (died 29 July 2007) was an Indian journalist best known for being

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

's first newsreader.

Early life

She was born as Vidya Rawat to a

Gorkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...

family at Laal Paani in

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

, the capital city of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

. Puri graduated from

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

Indraprastha College for Women Indraprastha College for Women, also known as Indraprastha College or IP College, is the oldest women's college in Delhi, India. Established in 1924, it is a constituent college of University of Delhi. The institution offers graduate and post- ...

Career

Pratima started her media career at the

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

(AIR) station in her hometown. When All India Radio had its first telecast on 15 September 1959, Pratima was shifted to New Delhi. She became an anchor when DD started its first news bulletin in 1965. She interviewed prominent figures like

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

(the first man to travel into space), and various actors and politicians. After Salma Sultan was chosen to replace her, Pratima Puri started training aspiring anchors in Doordarshan.

Personal life

Pratima Puri died in 2007.

References

{{Authority control Doordarshan Indian television presenters 2007 deaths Year of birth missing Indian Gorkhas Indraprastha College for Women alumni Indian women television journalists