Here’s something you don’t read about every day: an Indian man who had only been married for six days helped his new wife marry her lover so that the three of them could be happy together.

On March 4, 28-year-old Basudep Tappo, a native of Palmara village, in the Indian state of Odisha, married a 24-year-old woman from a village in Jharsuguda, as per the arrangement made by their two families. Their wedding followed the traditions of the farmer community to which Tappo belonged, and even though no legal papers were signed, the two received the community’s blessings, so they became husband and wife. All was well for the first six days, but then three men from the bride’s home village came to visit and things took a bizarre turn.

The three men, one of whom claimed to be the woman’s cousin, were welcomed by Basudep’s family into the couple’s home. At one point, two of the men left the house to visit the village, while the two cousins remained home alone. Unfortunately for them, the neighbors didn’t approve of a strange man being alone with a newlywed woman, so they descended upon the house and beat up the audacious ‘cousin’.

Representative photo (Shweta Dutta/Flickr)

Seeing the man pummelled by the mob, the woman came forward and confessed that he was in fact her old lover, whom her family did not approve of. They had married her of to Tappo instead, despite her protests, and the two of them had no choice but to continue their romance in secret.

Such a confession would usually have tragic consequences in many parts of rural India, where adultery is considered a mortal sin, but after hearing his new wife’s explanation, Basudep Tappo came up with a peaceful is somewhat unconventional solution. He suggested that the woman marry her lover as well.

The man then contacted his wife’s family (her brother and sister, as her parents are no more) to tell them about the plan and get them to agree. Once that was settled, they organised a second traditional wedding, between the wife and her lover, which also got the community’s blessing.

“The lives of three people would have been destroyed had I not done this. This was the only solution. Now all of us can be happy,” Tappo said.

Basudep’s mother, Sanibari Tappo, praised his wisdom, telling the Times of India that he had made the best decision, under the circumstances.

“Our lives would have become more complicated had this solution not been reached,” the woman said. “We will never forget his contribution.”

“When we came to know of Basudep’s decision, we felt that it was the most appropriate thing to do in such a situation. So the entire village came forward to support his wife’s second marriage,” said Gajendra Bagh, the head of Pamara village.

So the three of them are now married and everyone’s happy about it. Congratulations, I guess…