Rabri Devi

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Rabri Devi is an Indian politician who is the wife of Lalu Prasad Yadav, a veteran politician from Bihar. She is also known for being the first woman Chief Minister of Bihar; she served in office thrice from 1997 to 2005.Rabri Devi grew up in an affluent family in Selar Kalan village in Gopalganj, Bihar. Her father was a big landlord who also owned a ration shop. [15]Rediff.There is an interesting story behind her name. It was a custom in her family to ask the woman what the first thing she wanted to eat just after the painful labours of childbirth. Her mother asked for Rabri (an Indian sweet) and thus was the first woman chief minister of Bihar named. Similarly, all the three sisters of Rabri Devi were named after her mothers cravings for a variety of sweets; the names of her sisters are Paan, Rasgulla, and Jalebi. [16]Gulf News.While growing up in Selar Kalan village along with three sisters and three brothers, Rabri Devi attended a local school that was two to three miles away from her home, where she studied up to the fifth standard. Her village didnt have a secondary school. According to Rabri Devi, none of her sisters attended school as they grew up in a village where parents didnt wish to send their girls so far. In an interview, while talking about her education, she said, I have studied till the fifth standard. Even today, our village doesnt have a secondary school. The school I went to was quite far away, two to three miles away. In villages, parents dont wish to send their girls so far. None of my sisters went to school. But my brothers received their education because they could go out. I feel that it was because of the absence of a school in my village that I remained illiterate..In 1973, the 14-year-old Rabri Devi got married to the 25-year-old Lalu Prasad Yadav. According to Rabri Devi, at the time of marriage, Lalu Yadavs family was very poor, while her family was quite well off. In an interview, while talking about this, she said, Our parents were quite well off. So my father got me married to a poor guy intentionally. He looked only at his character. He didnt even own a house, but my father said he would pay for my expenses. My father gave me five bighas of land. I still have that land title with me. Lalooji was studying in Patna at that time, it was important to him..According to Rabri Devi, it was only after a year of marriage that she saw Lalu Prasad Yadav for the first time when she visited her in-laws house in Patna. She revealed this in an interview. She said, I saw him when I came to Patna that was a year after our marriage. We got married in 1973. In villages, brides do not leave their fathers house after marriage. In our case, I came to my in-laws home after a year..In an interview, when asked if her father had given any dowry to Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi said, Whatever things are given in marriages, was given to him. In a tilak ceremony, he asked for Rs 5000 and my father gave him accordingly..On the very first night when Rabri Devi visited Lalu Yadavs house in Patna, he was sent to jail. While recalling the incident, she revealed this in an interview. She said, On the very first night when I came to his house, he went to jail. Imagine my plight! I was pained. I was feeling trapped. I asked my father, where have you sent me? My husband went to jail frequently. During our meetings in jail, our relatives would remain present. We were living along with his four brothers in a small quarter in Patnas veterinary college at that time..After her arrival in Patna, she lived in a one-room chaprasi quarter of the Patna Veterinary College that housed her husband, his elder brother, and his wife, and more than half a dozen children. [17]Vitasta An old photo of Rabri Devi with her two sons.After marriage, the couple went on to have nine children; seven daughters, and two sons. In an interview, when asked what did she feel when people talk about her large family, she replied, There are families with 16 or 20 children. Why dont people mind their own children? The people who joke about the size of our family are not even able to take proper care of one or two children. Though I have nine children I am taking proper care of them and am running the state too. This doesnt suit people. They are jealous. They are not able to digest the fact that an illiterate mother is occupying the khursi. They are ridiculing me because I have power. Is it a crime to produce children?.