The Red Sari - a dramatized biography of Sonia Gandhi by Javier Moro

Let me start by STATING that I am not Pro-Congress. Let me also Confirm that I am Not Pro-BJP either. Actually, I am Anti-Politics because from the way I see it, my country does not have any worthy statesman. And that is the sad state of political affairs of my beloved country.

I am a believer of destiny, of courage, of conviction, of love and of duty and that is where I am blown away by “The Red Sari – A Dramatized Biography of SONIA GANDHI” by Javier Moro. While I understand that this is a largely and sometimes exaggerative account of the life and story of the lady who has been in the public eye since many years despite her reluctance, it does gain my sympathies.

The narrative starts from 24^th May, 1991 in New Delhi with Sonia unable to accept the fact that the man she loves is dead. It starts with the family and the country preparing for the last rights of Rajiv Gandhi who was killed in a terrorist attack on 22^nd May, 1991. This is the prelude to the story of young love that never even diminished with age or tiring circumstances.

Javier has beautifully described the romance between a young 18-year Sonia and a dashing young Rajiv. The statement by friend Christian von Stieglitz many years later about the budding romance between Sonia and Rajiv during their very first trip to Ely, a town little away from Cambridge sums up the beauty of their relationship. “The love between Rajiv and Sonia began right there, in the cathedral gardens, at that precise moment. It was something immediate. I never saw two people connect like that, and forever. From that moment until the day he died, they became inseparable.” If this isn’t the start to a beautiful love story…what is!!!

The book takes us through the inhibitions of a young Italian girl about meeting her beau’s formidable mother. It mentions the warmth that then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi exuded on meeting the girl and how over the years they become a force bound to each other unlike any mother-in-law daughter-in-law relationship we have heard of.

The book talks about the trials and tribulations that come with being a member of the Gandhi family.  It takes about internal family politics, it talks about regional, state and national politics. The book also shows us an insight into Indira Gandhi’s persona, her dilemma, her strengths, her weaknesses, her love for her children, her blinded indulgence towards Sanjay Gandhi, her distaste for her second daughter-in-law, Menaka Gandhi’s antics and political ambitions, her love for her country, her policies - some which worked and many which failed and her deep-rooted sense of duty towards India.  It talks about Sonia and Indira’s relationship and how despite coming from different countries and cultures, they complimented each other like cheese and wine.

The book is a wonderful insight into the First Family of India and somewhere manages to gain our sympathies. Sympathies for the young girl thrown into an unknown world and country, into a family which forever stayed in the Public eye; sympathies for a wife, a daughter-in-law and more importantly for a woman unwilling and reluctant to come into the spotlight.

I recommend this book to all those who are interested in politics and even to those who aren’t; because this book is not just about politics but also about human behaviors.

Five stars to the writer for penning this book down, tracing and documenting every noteworthy incident of Sonia’s life. 

Five stars to Sonia; the lady, the woman, the reluctant politician.