Amrita Cheema

She enjoys reading contemporary literature, plays squash, listens to reggae and dances to techno

Amrita Cheema is a Rhodes Scholar with a D.Phil. in Modern History from Oxford University. She went to Britain after obtaining a first class B.A. and M.A. degree from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. She taught nineteenth century German history at the University of Maryland, Bonn, before joining Radio Deutsche Welle's English Service in Cologne.

Amrita moved to Berlin in 1999 to anchor DW's Journal. She also produces People and Politics and European Journal. In 2000 she worked on the highly acclaimed DW's documentary "The Truth is in no Hurry".

Earlier Amrita was an editor and anchor of Star News Sunday in Delhi. This 60-minute programme with investigative reports and live interviews had the highest television rating points for a news and current affairs show in the country. She also anchored prime time Star News English bulletins, Newshour and election specials. In 1994 she was part of a team which launched India's first news and current affairs television channel.

Amrita lived in Europe for more than sixteen years. She says international television allows her to reach out to people from different cultures as they are drawn together by events larger than themselves. The importance of "news" for her lies in interpreting how it touches the lives of individuals, shapes their perceptions and informs their choices.

As a journalist she has interviewed leading dissidents, world leaders and newsmakers. But she sometimes yearns for the quiet cerebral life of an academic. Her consolation lies in the belief journalism is perhaps the first draft of history.

She finds Berlin intellectually and socially stimulating. She is passionately fond of reading contemporary literary fiction. Her taste in music ranges from reggae to techno.