At Last, She Says 'Cheese'

As Sonia Gandhi briskly climbed up a steep slope to Shimla's Woodville Palace Resorts, she left her entourage of spg men puffing in her wake. She strolled around the terraced gardens, admiring the ambience of what was once the home of the erstwhile Jubbal raja. For her, Shimla was a trip down memory lane. She had first visited the town in 1968, en route to Chail.

Shimla saw a very different Sonia from the wooden-faced, forbidding, newly-elected leader at Pachmarhi five years ago. Relaxed and smiling, she interacted cheerfully with party workers and leaders. The new, friendly Sonia was reflected in her smiling portraits on party posters. Even during her speeches, she'd flash a big grin from time to time.

One thing that's not changed is her inability to speak extempore from a podium, although in private conversation she reportedly holds her own. A testimony, say partymen, to her powers of rapid assimilation. The intensely private Sonia, who shied away from the public glare, now acknowledges TV cameras with a wave and isn't averse to a cup of tea with mediapersons.

Her new-found confidence is reflected in her brisk walk, which makes it hard for old Congress leaders to keep up. If crowds still bother her, she doesn't show it. Whether sitting in a hotel lobby with presswallahs or lunching with women MPs, she's at home. Still basically shy and taciturn, she refused to hold a press conference. As partymen pointed out, it's taken her five years to get this far, working up the nerve for a no-holds-barred encounter with the media could well take another five.