Ramajit Raghav poses with his 3-month-old son Vikramjeet in Sonepat, Haryana, on Dec. 28, 2010
Men, if you’re searching for the key to lifelong virility, look no further than the nearest grocery store. Specifically, stock up on vegetables, milk, ghee, almonds and chapatis, an Indian flatbread.
That’s what a 96-year-old Indian man, whose 52-year-old wife gave birth to a healthy boy on Oct. 5, attributes his vitality to, the Times of India reports. Ramajit Raghav, who lives about 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Delhi in the district of Haryana, claims he is the oldest man in the world to father a child — breaking a record he set in November 2010, when his first son, Vikramjeet, was born. ABC News was unable to confirm Raghav’s age, but the Times of India reports that Haryana government’s social-welfare department lists his age as 96.
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Raghav, a former wrestler, told the Times of India he also credits his fertility to an active, alcohol-free lifestyle.
“I wake up at 5 in the morning and go to bed before 8 p.m. During the day, I work in the fields and also take [a] one-to-two-hour afternoon nap,” he said.
Although Raghav and his wife Shakuntala Devi initially planned to limit their family to three after Vikramjeet’s birth, he told the Mirror that he is happy to welcome their newborn.
“What can I do? This is all God’s wish. He wanted me to have another son,” Raghav said. “It’s good that I have another son now. Even if one of them dies, God forbid, I will have someone to carry on my family name.”
But Devi told the Times of India the couple will stop having kids, citing financial reasons. The Telegraph reports that she will undergo a tubectomy this year.
“My husband earns a living by working in the fields. Besides, he gets Rs 500 [about $9.50] as old-age pension from the state government. This is insufficient to feed our children and family,” Devi told the newspaper. “We hope to educate them and do something good in life.”
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Raghav has high aspirations for his children, telling the Mirror he wants them to become high-status government officials. The new father recognizes that he and his wife must make sacrifices, including their sex life, for their sons’ well-being. Raghav told the Mirror that he and Devi “do it three or four times a night,” but now their kids are their top priority.
“I’m healthy, and I enjoy sex with my wife,” he told the Mirror. “I think it’s very important for a husband and wife to have sex regularly, and when she asks, I will go on all night, but for the sake of my child I’ve put our needs aside for now.”
Raghav says he’d remained celibate before he met Devi on a rainy day at a Muslim shrine ab0ut 10 years ago.
“She didn’t have any family or friends around, and I wanted to help her,” he told the Mirror. “I took her under my wing and taught her some yoga and we fell in love. Many of my past girlfriends had died, so I had never married, and then I asked Shakuntala to be my wife.”
Devi told the Mirror she remains confident in Raghav as a partner and a father despite his age.
“It doesn’t matter how old he is. I love him and I care for him dearly, even though he shouts at me sometimes,” she said. “He makes a wonderful father.”