Noted journalist Shanti Swaroop, who was the first Telugu newsreader on television, passed away on Friday while undergoing treatment at Yashoda Hospital.
Noted journalist Shanti Swaroop, who was the first Telugu newsreader on television, passed away on Friday while undergoing treatment at Yashoda Hospital. He was 70.
He was admitted to the hospital two days back after he suffered a heart attack. His health condition deteriorated further after that, and he breathed his last on Friday.
He is survived by his wife and two sons.
In 1983, Swaroop used to read out the news without a tele-prompter - he used to memorise the news from the script and then read it loud so as not to appear like he was reading from papers in front of him.
He read the 7 pm Telugu news on Doordarshan till 2011, when he retired. For the generations that grew up in the 80s he was a celebrity, and evokes huge nostalgia even today. Known to be warm and friendly, he was also quite loved by both collegues and the general public.