Teji Bachchan, who was the wife of noted Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and the mother of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, was also a different personality because she was the strongest door to the 3-generation relationship between two famous families (Nehru-Gandhi and Bachchan) of the country. Today (12 August) is the birth anniversary of Tej Bachchan. His relationship with Sonia Gandhi was the most special and so special that Sonia Gandhi used to call her her third mother.

The relationship between the Gandhi-Bachchan family started from Anand Bhawan, ancestral home of the Nehru-Gandhi family in Prayagraj. Sarojini Naidu invited Harivansh Rai and Tej to Anand Bhavan.

Recalling this in his autobiography, Harivansh Rai wrote, ‘It was here that the intimate and lifelong friendship between Indira started. Naidu introduced the pair of both of us in the form of ‘Kavi and Kavita’ in front of Indira. Indira remembered these words for a long time and whenever she introduced Teap to her foreign guests, she would not forget to mention it.

Sonia Gandhi’s first house in India becomes Teji Bachchan residence
Sonia Gandhi came to India on 13 January 1968 and 12 days later, Sonia and Rajiv got engaged in a simple ceremony. There was still time in marriage and so Indira did not want her to stay with her as a future daughter-in-law of the Nehru-Gandhi family. They could not be accommodated in any hotel. On this, Indira’s associate and confidant T.N. Kaul and family friend Mohammad Yunus suggested that Sonia should stay here till Tej Bachchan.

In this way, Teji Bachchan’s house became Sonia’s first house in India. In the wedding, some rituals like mehndi were held at Bachchan’s house. Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji sang songs. Amitabh also hummed the comic songs composed by his father. Sonia’s mother Paola came from Italy for marriage, but the role of mother in the rituals of Hindu wedding ceremony was played by Teji.

Teap aunt is my third mother- Sonia Gandhi
Sonia said in an interview to Dharmayuga in 1985, “Mummy (Indira) asked me to live with the Bachchan family, so that I could see Indian customs and culture very closely. I got to learn a lot from that family. Teap aunt is my third mother. My first mother was my mother-in-law, my mother-in-law was my mother-in-law, my mother is Indira Gandhi and the third is my brother.

When Nehru suddenly reached to see the drama of fast
Writer and journalist Promila Kalhan have had very close relations with the Bachchan family. She states in her book that Teji Bachchan was a great singer and theater artist. He performed with several groups in Delhi and Allahabad. After marriage, she acted on a play by Shakespeare, which was translated by her husband. At that time Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru suddenly reached to see his play in the Hindi version of Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’.

When the drama was being staged in the theater hall in New Delhi, Nehru quietly reached there with his secretary and sat on the back seat. However, this secret could not hide for long. From the stage, Tej Bachchan appealed to the Prime Minister to sit in the seat ahead.

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