Sonia Gandhi

My Encounter with Sonia’s Family in Orbassano

I have kept myself aloof from the din of elections but the sarcastic tone of Sushma Swaraj’s speech made at her Chandigarh rally (The Tribune May 4) induced me to write about my encounter with Sonia’s family in Italy.  Madam Swaraj has been a respectable minister in the NDA government and I could not believe she will cross the limits of decency in her criticism of Sonia Gandhi, the leader of opposition. Sushma Swaraj remarked that Sonia cannot feel the pulse of real India living in villages. “Does she know about the life of people who reared cattle in the countryside, cooked on earthen stoves, collected wood from jungles and ploughed the fields”? One may pose the same question to the urban-bred Sushma Swaraj to test her affinity for ruralites in India.

Very few Indians know about the rural background of Sonia Gandhi. She was born and bred in village Orbassano near Torino city of Italy. Her father was a mason and she went to Cambridge for higher education on Italian government scholarship. There she met Rajiv Gandhi and the friendship between the two, culminated into their marriage.

During 1970, I entered the portals of University of Paris for my Doctoral research. In summer, all students were asked to vacate the university hostels for a month. During 1971 summer holidays, I went on tour of Italy and reached Torino where my old colleague, Avtar Singh Rana, from Guru Nanak Engg. College Ludhiana was employed as an engineer in the Fiat factory. We planned our tour and Rana proposed to show me village life of Italy during the week end. Next day, we took the route to Orbassano. Rana told me jokingly that Indian Prime Minister’s son, Rajiv Gandhi, is married to Signorina Sonia whose family lives in this village. He knew Sonia’s parents as her brother-in-law was also employed as a technician in the Fiat factory. On reaching Orbassano, we stopped at a street shop for a while. The girl at the counter, recognizing me as an Indian, offered cold drinks and told us that she is a friend of Sonia. Our next stop was at Sonia’s house in Orbassano where his father entertained us to tea and made lot of enquiries about Punjab and the Sikhs. Italians are talkative in nature and so was Sonia’s father. The family owned a modest house in Orbassano in1971.

Rana got married and moved out of Torino city. He purchased a house in Orbassano to reside near his Fiat factory. In 1985, I was visiting Europe on research fellowship. From Rome, I called Rana who was pleased to know my itinerary. He guided me to reach Orbassano by a local bus when I reach Torino on my way to Paris. I was excited to meet my friend and his family. Next morning, Parminder, Rana’s wife, forbade me to go for a morning walk. After 1984 riots in Delhi, Sonia’s family was provided a security cover by Italian government. My wish to walk in the streets of Orbassano again was never fulfilled.  I left Sonia’s village with heavy heart and took the train to Paris.