‘He was very good looking’: Sonia Gandhi recalls first meeting with Rajiv in Cambridge

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has shared a video on her X account recalling her first meeting with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The video, posted alongside an announcement for her upcoming book "Belonging: A Journey of Love," which is set to release on November 10, marks the beginning of her personal journey from her youth to the present.

Gandhi recounted how their relationship blossomed at a Greek restaurant in Cambridge. "In a small Greek restaurant in Cambridge my journey of love began," she said. "Rajiv and I created a world filled with love, laughter and memories." The Congress leader noted that they were introduced by a mutual friend and gradually formed a close bond while attending parties and exploring the city together.

"In those days, you didn't have so many restaurants like you have today," she recalled. "I was constantly looking for a place where I could find some food closer to my Italian food, that kind. And then we discovered this place, which was a Greek restaurant where many students, especially European students, but also Indian students, used to go for their meals."

Sonia Gandhi described her initial impression of Rajiv as immediate and profound. "When I first met him, I felt almost immediately that, you know, he was someone I really loved to be with," she said. "Of course, I learned that it was the same for him." She remembered a Valentine's party attended by students, where Rajiv's gentleness and good looks left a lasting impression on her.

"He was a very gentle-looking person," she added. "Of course, he was very good-looking, but that gentleness came through. And that was something which really touched me." The Congress leader's X account, which she joined in February 2013, shows this is her only post on the platform regarding the meeting with Rajiv Gandhi.