Laloo’s son-in-law likes Aishwarya, hates dowry

According to his colleagues at Infosys, the alliance materialised because of Laloo’s efforts. Laloo zeroed-in on Shailesh after protracted matrimonial enquires for his daughter.Later, Shailesh’s people cleared the proposal.

The bridegroom, meanwhile, is an admirer of beauty queen and actress Aishwarya Rai, and was living in a flat with some of his colleagues near Infosys till recently. In the beginning, they say, he was tense about the whole thing. Naturally, the thought of becoming the son-in-law of a powerful politician gave him some moments of unease, say colleagues.

But he seems to have reconciled to his lot if we go by his quote in a Malayalam daily: “I am honoured to be Laloo’s son-in-law.”

Shailesh is supposed to have had a luncheon meeting with Laloo at a common friend’s place. “Laloo was gentle, and was soft-spoken like any other bride’s father. He put me at ease, and enquired about my job before serving me with daal,” Shailesh has said. The idealistic son-in-law has also turned down any dowry and has decided to settle down in Bangalore.

After the marriage proposal was clinched, Shailesh turned down an opportunity to travel to Houston, USA, as well, sothat he could travel to his home town. Before leaving, the bridegroom did not forget to send a warm invitation to 4,000-odd colleagues at Infosys through e-mail.

Adding an element of fantasy to the marriage is Shailesh’s middle-class background. His father is a cashier at the Punjab National Bank, and his younger brother is preparing to study for an M Tech degree.

As for the bride, we all know about the anecdote behind her name. Misa was born to the Yadav couple in 1975 during the Emergency years when the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was invoked to settle political scores. Say no more.

Except that when Laloo met Vajpayee and invited him for the wedding, the fond father reportedly remarked: “Ee Andolan ki beti hai, aap jaroor aayee (This is the daughter of a movement, please grace the occasion).”