Varun and Sonia Gandhi. File pictures

Feb. 16: Minutes after the Prime Minister was done with his trial on television at noon, Varun Gandhi was at his chachi’s door.

Varun had dropped by to invite Sonia Gandhi for his March 6 wedding with Yamini Roy. A broad smile on his face, Varun told his aunt his marriage would be incomplete without the presence of a senior member of the family.

Sonia, who rushed to greet her “darling Varun”, immediately brought out sweets to mark the “happy occasion”, sources said. Aunt and nephew then spent about half an hour chatting, Sonia apparently teasing Varun that she was aware he had personally been selecting saris for his bride.

The BJP MP from Pilibhit, who has a resemblance to his late uncle Rajiv Gandhi, also invited cousins Rahul and Priyanka for his wedding, scheduled to be held at Varanasi’s Hanuman Ghat on the banks of the Ganga. Two receptions will be held, in Delhi and Pilibhit.

It is believed that Varun’s mother Maneka Gandhi consulted Kanchi shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati and requested him to oversee the religious aspects of the marriage.

Varun will be marrying graphic designer Yamini, the daughter of Aruna Vasudev who is founder-president of the Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema. Her family is originally from Santiniketan, where Varun’s late grandmother Indira Gandhi studied for a while.

Varun was barely three months old when father Sanjay Gandhi was killed in a plane crash. The enormity of the tragedy was such that Sonia and Rajiv grew extremely fond of Varun.

Maneka’s subsequent exit from Indira’s Safdarjung Road residence was painful. Yet, Varun, fondly called Feroze then, kept visiting the Gandhis and spending time with Priyanka and Rahul. This became irregular after Indira’s assassination in 1984.

After Rajiv became Prime Minister, Varun would occasionally visit his cousins. Maneka never stopped him, in spite of her strained relations with Sonia and Rajiv. Sonia was constantly heard referring to her nephew as “Varun darling”.

Many Congress leaders today expressed relief and joy after Varun called on Sonia. They said political differences should not come in the way of the personal bond between the two and the bitterness of the past should not be carried forward to the next generation.