Rajni Kaul

Rajni Kaul (née Kapur; 15 July 1929 – 31 August 2021) was an Indian-born British broadcaster and radio presenter. She was the first woman to join the BBC Hindi Service as a staffer and became the first woman to read a news bulletin in Hindi on the network in 1961.

Early life Rajni Kapur was born on 15 July 1929, in Peshawar, one of five children born to Indernath and Sampiyari Kapur. Following the Partition of India in 1947, the family moved to Delhi.

They moved to America where they both worked for the Voice of America in Washington, and Rajni Kaul qualified as a librarian. She had a love of books and considered she had arrived in “heaven” when first ushered into a library. She became known as “Rajni didi” to a generation of children. She insisted on personally answering the 'sackfuls of fan mail' she received. She also presented a women's programme on the station and was known as ‘smile of the Hindi service’.

She was involved when in 1966 her husband Mahendra launched the Gaylord restaurant in Mortimer Street near Broadcasting House in London, saying “He understands masala”. She read when travelling by bus at Bush House in Aldwych, headquarters of the BBC World Service, and was known to keep reading when walking. She would admonish "tall Englishman she bumped into" to “Look up.” Her death notice in The Times included the memorable line "Her unrivalled ability to interfere, manipulate and micromanage crossed continents and time zones...We love you always".