For better or verse, Mittals are on song

LONDON: The six-day nuptials of the girl whose daddy just happens to be Lakshmi Mittal, the world''s richest Indian, have officially begun with oodles of lyrical poetry unexpectedly penned by the world''s premier family of steel and word that the tycoon believes Paris to be the most romantic city in the world.
No one is sure exactly what personal romantic associations Mittal has with Paris, universally fabled as the city of lovers.Till now, the billionaire CEO of the worlds second largest steel company was thought to regard only mini-mills as heart-stopping.
But a friend told STOI he had opted for Paris to marry off his only daughter, 23-year-old Vanisha to her banker boyfriend Amit Bhatia, because it is incredibly romantic.
Mittals last public attempt at playing proud papa was a show-stopping, traffic-clogging jamboree in Kolkata to mark the 1998 wedding of son Aditya.
But the Parisian ceremonies, in three of Frances grandest, most elegant and historically-important 17th-century chateaux and gardens, are believed to be a belated signal to the world that he has virtually arrived on the Celebdaq, the international celebrity share-trading game run by the BBC.
The planned civil wedding of the decade has already begun with the delivery to an estimated 1,200 guests, including 200 in India, of an elaborate, keepsake invitation in a box.
The box and A4-sized invitation book is sandy pink and shot with gold. The 20-page double-sided text and watercolours is personalised throughout with Mittal''s family baring its heart and poetic skills.
Come to Paris on a summers day / when everybody is jolly and gay/ bask in those brasseries in the tantalising sun / Wander in gardens one-hundred-and-one, warbles Mittal''s daughter-in-law Megha as a prelude to the festivities.
Only one true-blue bit of English versification by Shelley is included. The rest is the family taking poetic licence. The invite reveals in rhyme-the Bollywood guest list.
Despite all the speculation over Aishwariya Rais attendance at the so-called Star Night in the baroque suburban Paris'' Parc de St Cloud, Megha has the cast down pat and in poetry. Its a starry night / over at St Cloud/ The Eiffel Tower shimmers on the right / But its summer solstice By the stage is a commotion/ The actors in jubilation / Will it be Shah Rukh, Preity or Hrithik Roshan?
All three are to strut their stuff for the dinner dance, where the dress code is starry and Megha assures that "the DJ is approved / and will put you in the mood".
The Mittals last flow of consciousness in verse ends on a high note: The couple is one / the heart is won / light up the candles / One-thousand-and-one.
The events, which oscillate between traditional Indian ceremony and classy French entertainment, are seen as a belated statement that the world is Mittals oyster and he need no longer limit himself to putting on an Indian extravaganza.
Paris has all the right settings, its so beautiful and its something different, says one friend.
The engagement and dinner on Sunday specify the dress code as regal, in keeping with the venue, the magnificent Chateau de Versailles.
Till now, Mittal has been considered rich, worthy but low on the international style stakes. Mittals closest friends say his new style-consciousness is right and proper.
Boringly dismissed by star-struck press in world capitals as Britains fifth richest man and the Andrew Carnegie of steel, Mittals new high profile happily began just weeks ago.
News that he spent a cool 70 million pounds for the world''s most expensive house was front-paged around the world.