In a world where most people associate marriage with love, companionship, or social traditions, there exists a small, remote village in India where the reason for multiple marriages is something completely unexpected — water. This unusual practice takes place in Denganmal, a rural settlement in the Indian state of Maharashtra, where extreme water scarcity has shaped the lives and customs of its people in extraordinary ways.

According to international media reports, the people of Denganmal live under constant and severe water shortage conditions. The village has no reliable water supply system, and the nearest source of clean water is located miles away. In this village, fetching water is considered a physically demanding and time-consuming task, one that primarily falls upon the women. Every single day, women must walk long distances to reach far-off wells, carry heavy pots, and bring water back home.

The hardship becomes even more grueling when the well in use is so far away that a round trip for fetching water can take as long as 12 hours. This means that a woman may leave early in the morning and not return until evening, simply for the basic need of survival.

It is in this context that the practice of multiple marriages among men has developed. The logic — however unusual — is purely practical. When a man’s first wife becomes pregnant, she can no longer undertake the exhausting water-fetching journeys. To ensure that water still reaches the household, the man marries a second woman who can take over this responsibility. In some cases, even a third marriage follows, especially when both earlier wives are unable to continue the daily trek to the distant wells.

The women who agree to become second or third wives often come from difficult backgrounds. Many of them are divorcees or women unable to provide dowry — a practice that is still prevalent in parts of rural India. For these women, marrying into such households can be a means to retain social dignity and avoid stigma, even if it comes with restrictions.

However, there are conditions attached to these marriages. The second and third wives are typically not allowed to have children of their own. Nor are they given any share in the husband’s property. Their role is largely utilitarian: to manage household chores and, most importantly, to fetch water.

What makes this situation even more striking is that Hindu law generally prohibits polygamy, making multiple marriages for men illegal. Yet in Denganmal, this custom persists openly, fueled by necessity rather than by any romantic or cultural preference. The law, it seems, takes a back seat when survival is at stake.

Local accounts reveal just how normalized the practice has become. One woman recounted her own experience:

“When I came to my husband’s home after marriage, I realized there was a huge problem with water. My husband told me he would take a second wife to solve the problem. I agreed, thinking that would ease our struggle. But even after my co-wife arrived, the problem remained the same.”

Eventually, her husband took a third wife. Now all three women live together in the same household. According to the man, he loves and cares for all of them equally, though their roles remain clearly defined — with water collection being the primary duty of the later wives.

In a sense, this extraordinary arrangement speaks volumes about the scale of the water crisis in rural India. The story of Denganmal is not just about marriage customs — it is a stark reminder that in some parts of the world, basic necessities like water are so scarce that they redefine social norms, laws, and personal relationships.

While outsiders may view the practice as strange or even exploitative, for the people of Denganmal, it is simply a matter of survival. And unless the village gains access to a closer, reliable water source, this unusual tradition is likely to continue, standing as a symbol of how scarcity shapes human lives in the most unexpected ways.