New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) A strange encounter with a palmist at the Gandhi family’s erstwhile residence in Delhi decades ago, which initially appeared amusing, later acquired an unsettling significance in the wake of a series of political tragedies. The incident, recalled by Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in her memoir ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, revolved around a prediction that her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, would one day become the Prime Minister instead of his younger brother, Sanjay Gandhi.
The memoir, released on November 10, recounts the incident from the late 1970s, when the Gandhi family was living at Bungalow Number 12 on Willingdon Crescent in Delhi, a period Sonia Gandhi refers to as the “Baara Number days”.
Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had shifted to the four-bedroom residence with her family after losing power in 1977. The house had been vacated for her by family friend Mohammad Yunus. At the time, Rajiv Gandhi was working as a commercial pilot and had little inclination towards politics, while Sanjay Gandhi was widely regarded as his mother’s political successor.
Recalling one of the unusual incidents at the residence, Sonia writes, “Of all the bizarre happenings and unusual characters in 12 Willingdon Crescent, there’s one that stands out in my memory.”
She describes how a palmist entered their portion of the house without permission and attempted to persuade her to let him read her future.
“One day, a fat man dressed in white forced his way onto our side of the house and began calling out to me, brandishing a paper with the imprint of a palm…I didn’t believe in astrology, I told him. I asked him politely to leave — I had no time to waste, I had work to do, I knew my past, and I was not interested in knowing my future,” she writes.
However, the man refused to leave despite her objections. Sonia recalls that when she ‘flew angrily at him to chase him off’, he turned around and shouted a prediction while making his escape.
“Nahi, nahi, Sanjay nahi — aapke pati Rajivji ek din pradhan mantri banenge! (No, no, not Sanjay, your husband Rajiv will become prime minister one day!)”
The incident became even more amusing when Sonia discovered that Rajiv had already interacted with the palmist.
“Then I saw Rajiv, laughing heartily, with the imprint of the palmist’s ink on his palm. He’d been waylaid by the astrologer and humoured him, thinking it was a great joke. I rushed to my room and tried to calm down, but burst out crying instead,” she writes.
The prediction eventually took on a different meaning following a succession of tragedies. Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash in June 1980. Four years later, Indira Gandhi was assassinated in October 1984, following which Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as the Prime Minister within hours. According to the memoir, he accepted the responsibility despite Sonia’s tearful appeals against his entry into politics. He told her, “They will kill me anyway.”
Although Sonia maintains that she was not superstitious, the memoir also describes instances when events made her wonder whether certain occurrences carried a deeper meaning.
One such incident took place during Rajiv Gandhi’s 41st birthday celebrations in August 1985. During dinner, the family received news that Akali leader Harchand Singh Longowal had been shot dead in Punjab.
“I couldn’t share what was going through my mind, that this was a tragedy but also a bad omen,” she writes. “Why on Rajiv’s birthday — was that just a coincidence, I wondered, or a warning?”
The memoir also revisits the couple’s decision to move into 10 Janpath on February 5, 1990, where Sonia Gandhi continues to reside. Several of Rajiv Gandhi’s colleagues had reportedly advised him against choosing the residence, describing it as “inauspicious”.
Behind the property’s rear gate was a mound believed to contain an elephant’s grave, while the grave of a Sufi pir was located opposite it. However, Rajiv and Sonia dismissed the concerns.
“Neither he nor I were superstitious and laughed it away,” she writes.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated 15 months after moving into the residence, in May 1991, adding another tragic dimension to the memories recounted in the memoir.
–IANS
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