Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi’s first meeting took place in a restaurant. After this many meetings took place. Both were good friends and the talk went beyond friendship. Till then Sonia Gandhi was not aware that her friend was the son of the Prime Minister of India.
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India was everything for Sonia Gandhi after her marriage to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Sonia living in Italy reached India. Adopted the dress here. assimilated the language and culture. And most importantly she moved forward with the legacy of the family and the Congress. Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi’s first meeting took place in a restaurant. After this many meetings took place. Both were good friends and the talk went beyond friendship. Till then Sonia Gandhi was not aware that her friend was the son of the Prime Minister of India.
The love story of both of them started from Trinity College of Cambridge University. In 1965, 21-year-old Rajiv Gandhi had reached there to do an engineering course. Sonia also reached there in the same year. Although the campuses of both were different.
When Rajeev struck a deal with the restaurant owner
Ashwini Bhatnagar writes in her book ‘The Lotus Years – Political Life in India in the Time of Rajiv Gandhi’ that both of them used to go to a common restaurant. Rajiv had started liking Sonia in his mind. One day Rajiv reached the same Greek restaurant where Sonia was present. He persuaded the owner of the restaurant, Charles Antony, to sit on the seat next to him. Being a Greek businessman, Charles did not think it right to miss any opportunity and made a deal with Rajeev. He charged double the money from Rajeev for this work. Rajeev had started liking Sonia so much that it did not take long to give the money.This story has also been mentioned in the film made by actress Simi Grewal on Rajiv Gandhi.
story of poetry on napkin
Referring to the meeting of the two in Cambridge, famous journalist Rashid Kidwai writes in Sonia Gandhi’s biography, Sonia’s eyes fell on Rajiv Gandhi in the university restaurant where students used to gather. The attraction for each other was equal in both. Rajiv took the help of a napkin to convey his mind to Sonia. He wrote a poem on the napkin and sent it to Sonia through a waiter.
Sonia became uneasy after reading the poem, but a German friend did the work of bringing the two together. He played the role of a messenger well for both. As a result, the distance between the two kept disappearing and their love kept growing.
Even after being in love with Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi was oblivious about his family. Nor did Rajeev tell him anything. One day Indira Gandhi’s picture was published in the newspaper there. Then he told that this is his mother’s picture. This is how Sonia came to know that the person she is in love with is such an important person.
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