Sonia Gandhi joins X, shares memories of meeting Rajiv in Cambridge

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson (CPP) and MP Sonia Gandhi (C) during the unveiling of her upcoming book 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', as she makes her debut on Instagram, in New Delhi. (File)

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi made her debut on social media platform X on Saturday (October 24, 2026), sharing a video recalling how she met her husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Cambridge and offering a glimpse of her memoir, Belonging — A Journey of Love.

The book will be released on November 10. It recounts her meeting with a young Rajiv and traces her journey from her early years to the present.

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. https://t.co/zvN5Rqqstf

In the nearly two-minute video accompanying her first post on X, Ms. Gandhi recalled meeting Rajiv Gandhi at the Varsity Restaurant, a Greek eatery in Cambridge. She also shared photographs of the couple and the restaurant where their relationship began.

While looking through the photographs, she described late Rajiv Gandhi as a gentle and good-looking person and recalled the circumstances of their first meeting.

“Food in England in those days was awful. In those days, you didn’t have so many restaurants, you know, like you have today. And so, I was constantly looking for a place where I could find some food which was closer to my kind of food -- Italian food in that case,”Ms. Gandhi said, adding, “And then, we discovered this place (Varsity Restaurant). It was a Greek restaurant where many European students, but also Indian students, used to go for their meals. And that is then where I met Rajiv in that very restaurant”.

Recalling her first impression of him, she said: “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.”

Ms. Gandhi said a common friend had introduced them, after which they became friends and began spending time together. “Then, you know, we became friends. Then going to parties with friends or going to see sights or we went to a Valentine’s party where there were lots of students. He was a very gentle-looking person. Of course, he was very good-looking, but that gentleness came through. So that was something which really touched me and struck me. So that, of course, I’ll never forget when I first met him,” she added.

Ms. Gandhi wrote in her post: “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.”