‘He Was Very Good-Looking!’ Sonia Gandhi’s First X Post Shares Candid Memories of Rajiv Gandhi

A chance meeting at a small Greek restaurant in Cambridge marked the beginning of a love story that would become part of India’s political history. Sonia Gandhi revisited her early memories with former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as she made her debut on social media platform X on Saturday, sharing a glimpse into their life together ahead of her upcoming memoir, ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’.

In a nearly two-minute video shared on X and Instagram, Sonia recalled meeting Rajiv at the Varsity Restaurant in Cambridge, where a common friend introduced them. Looking through photographs from their younger days, she described him as gentle and handsome.

“Of course, he was very good-looking, but that gentleness came through,” she said, recalling what had first attracted her to him.

Sonia explained that her search for familiar food in England had led her to the restaurant, which was popular among European and Indian students. She said she felt an immediate connection with Rajiv when they first met.

“When I first met him, I felt almost immediately that, you know, he was someone I would really love to be with. And, of course, I learned that it was the same for him,” she recalled.

Their friendship grew through gatherings with friends, sightseeing trips and student parties, including a Valentine’s Day celebration.

In her first post on X, Sonia wrote: “In a small Greek restaurant in Cambridge my journey of love began. Rajiv and I created a world filled with love, laughter and memories. On 10th November, I share that world with you.”

Published by HarperCollins India, the memoir will be released on November 10. It traces her journey from childhood in Italy to meeting Rajiv in Cambridge in 1965, her adjustment to life in India and the personal tragedies that shaped the Gandhi family, including the assassinations of Indira Gandhi in 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

Sonia, the Congress’s longest-serving president, has previously communicated with the public through the party’s social media accounts.