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| Renowned BBC Tamil broadcaster Anandhi Sooriyapragasam. |
Renowned Tamil broadcaster attached to BBC Thamilosai Anandhi Sooriyapragasam passed away yesterday (21) at a private hospital in UK , her family said.
Known as ‘BBC Anandhi’ for her impeccable reporting during the war time period in Sri Lanka, she was the first Tamil woman to be employed by BBC and had been a familiar voice in Tamil households both in Sri Lanka and around diaspora communities for decades.
Ms Sooriyapragasam started off her broadcasting career at State owned Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and joined BBC’s Tamil Unit- Thamilosai since early 1970s till she retired in 2005.
Born in Chavakachcheri, Ms Sooriyapragasam acted in radio plays and worked as a broadcaster at SLBC before joining BBC Tamil.
During her three decades long career, she interviewed several top officials, politicians and people from all walks of life in her Tamilosai broadcasting segment making it as a unique radio programme providing updates on the war time situation on the ground.
Her interview with leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam V. Pirabhakaran shortly after the peace talks collapsed in 1994/95 made her one of the top journalists within the country at that time. The transcript of the interview can be accessed here. (Northeastern Monitor/February 22/2025)
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