A young mother has told how she has five husbands — who are all BROTHERS.
Rajo Verma, 20, cooks, cleans and loves all five of her husbands, and has sex with each intermittently every week in a tiny shared room.
She has even started to have their children, not knowing which is the natural father.
And the young girl is remarkably happy about her lifestyle.
Rajo said: ‘This is a tradition we’ve been following for centuries. My mother was also married to three brothers. This is how we are. We’re a happy family and live with each other in peace and tranquility. We love and support each other.’
Rajo officially married Guddu Verma, 21, four years ago in 2009 in a traditional Hindu ceremony after their parents set them up in an arranged marriage. But Rajo then had to accept all of Guddu’s brothers as her husbands.
This is a tradition we’ve been following for centuries
For the first month, the couple lived alone. But then Guddu’s three brothers joined them. Dinesh, the youngest was a minor at that time but when he came of age last year he became Rajo’s fifth husband.
Now, the pair along with brothers Bajju Verma, 32, Sant Ram Verma, 28, Gopal Verma, 26, and the youngest Dinesh Verma, 19, share a single room house in a sleepy village near Dehradun, in Uttarakhand, northern India.
None of the brothers have been to a school and are completely illiterate, instead they work as farmers and laborers in nearby villages.
Rajo takes care of the home while also caring for their 18-month old son, Jay Verma.
Rajo added: ‘When I got married I knew I had to accept all of them as my husbands. I was fine with it. I get a lot more attention and love than most wives I’m sure.
‘I sleep with them in turn in our one room. We don’t have beds, just lots of blankets on the floor. Initially, it feels a bit awkward but it’s all we know. It becomes normal after time. We have a strong bond and respect. I don’t favour one over the other, all my husbands are equal to me. We follow rules and nobody breaks them.’
Rajo doesn’t know which of her husbands is the natural father of her son Jay but for official purposes Guddu is his father.
I sleep with them in turn in our one room
Guddu said: ‘We’re happy. We live, eat, sleep in our small house and we’re one big happy family.
‘I am not jealous when my wife sleeps with my brothers, that’s just our life. I like the way we live. We all have sex with her but maintain each other’s privacy. There is a saying that all disputes are created because of money, women and land. We share all of them, so there is never any disputes.’
For centuries the tradition of Polyandry, where a woman has more than one husband, has been a practical solution to the geographic conditions for villagers in these parts of India. The method controls how inherited land is divided between brothers; generations after generations.
But more contact with the outside world means that gradually the tradition is disappearing and younger generations are opting for a one man-one woman family.
Guddu added: “We have little land and resources here, if our previous generations had married separately, we would have been left with no land to work with. This tradition has worked for us, practically, for many years and is the key to our survival.’
However, should Guddu’s brothers fall in love themselves and want their own wives one day; it is allowed but she would also be shared between the other brothers too.
The family want many more children and would like them to follow the tradition of Polyandry too but only if they wish, they insist they will not be forced.
Any children Rajo gives birth to will be called Guddu’s children for official purposes, but as per tradition all brothers will have a say in their children’s upbringing.
The eldest brother, Bajju Verma, controls the family’s finances. He gathers the wages of the day and then spends the money accordingly.
He said: ‘I take care of food, travel, health and clothes. That’s my role in the family.
‘I consider her as my wife and I sleep with her just like my brothers. We are happy as we are and none of us have any plans to marry or change the arrangement. We will go on to have more children and continue with the tradition.’
