My Twin and I
 

The Unique Bond Of Twins 
 

My Twin and I

By Sunita Verghese

On the early morning of 7th August 1964, my identical twin sister and I were introduced to this world. We were born in a German hospital in one of Nigeria's cities called Abeokuta. Both our parents are Indians by birth but were working as teachers in Nigeria.

Having twins, came as a huge surprise to my parents as they did not know of our double existence, till my Mom had undergone an X-ray examination, a few weeks prior to our birth. The doctors had mentioned that  we were identical twins, sharing a single placenta.

Being all alone in Nigeria, with just having each other to depend on, my parents devoted their time and energy in bringing us up as two healthy babies. My Mom had a sixty  year old nanny to take care of us,  when she and my Dad were off to work. "Mamma" took care of us very well. She would tie my twin sister in the back of her waist and carry me in the front. Once when my parents returned from work, Mamma told them that both of us had convulsions at the same time so she had applied red chilly powder on our eyes to bring the fever down!!!

As we grew up, my parents insisted that we wore identical clothes, combed our hair alike and always did everything together. Perhaps, they did not want us to be different, since we began our life sharing everything. As children, growing up as identical twins, in Nigeria, was even extra special, as we were considered by the locals as good luck charms!!

Everywhere we went, our parents were showered with gifts or money, so that we would bring them good luck and prosperity.

My Dad was very particular in dressing us up identically. Once my Dad saw one of my buttons off on my sweater, he immediately tore off the button in my sister's sweater. Another time, when my sister began wearing eyeglasses, my Dad insisted that I wear a pair of non-prescribed spectacles too, so that we would look alike!!

Both my parents brought us up with so much love and pride. They celebrated our birthdays with such huge parties. Even till today, after 37years of our birth, my Dad and Mom would insist to bake our birthday cake, decorate it themselves and celebrate it, with or without us being by their side!!

When we both had completed our Masters in Nigeria, our parents brought us to India to get us married. My twin and I got married  within  two weeks apart. We went for our honeymoon together with our husbands to Goa.

Both of our husbands had jobs in Bombay, India then. It gave my parents the assurance that we always would be together even though we had married into two different families. Our twin bond become stronger as we were staying away from each other. We never missed a day without speaking or meeting each other. Once, during our stay in Bombay, both of us fell sick at the same time. Our husbands were taken by surprise, seeing us in the same state, realising then, that their wives will always share this special bond that can never be broken.

Today, both of us have two children each, a boy and a girl, not twins! But we still share a lot of common similarities and continue to amaze our relatives and friends with our twin telepathy and  bond. The other day, we even bought our husbands exactly the same card for Valentines Day although  we were in two different cities.

Identical twins all over the world will agree with me when I say "Twins Are Magical and Mystical In Every Way"!!!

The Unique Bond Of Twins

By Sabeena Varkey

It was only a month before my mom's delivery date that her doctor detected another fetal heart beat. Immediately, our excited parents rushed out shopping for another set of baby stuff. They were getting ready for the arrival of their first born, a pair of twins!

Over the years it seemed that a bond grew evident between us, sisters. It's origin, which began with the sharing of a common placenta right in the confined space of our mother's womb .According to an old African folktale, I was sent out first, to "checkout" the outside world before my twin sister followed.

Ever since I remember, we both have shared a very unique and extra-special bond. This bond became more evident when we were separated by marriage later in life. We were both alike and our dad went to great lengths to amplify this by dressing us up exactly alike. Once I clearly remember him pulling out a button off my sweater at the airport because  my twin lost one of hers!

We both had each other all the time. We played together for hours and did not miss any other friends. We had our share of usual fights and always  defended each other once any outsider intervened. We always made up pretty quickly. We both complimented each other.

Together we made an inseparable team. We always talked together especially while narrating an event to a friend or family. During our Masters program, we went to two different departments in the same university. This was the initial separation. Our friends always mistook us for each other. We had fun exchanging various incidents later in the day. The bond we shared became more pronounced when we got married and begun to lead separate lives. Our husbands were intrigued at the way we read each others minds. The so-called "telepathy" effect between identical twins became more evident. We would know exactly when each other rang the doorbell or called on the phone. At various meetings, we ended up wearing similar clothes unknowingly. 

We have even fallen sick at the same time. Our common friends receive their birthday cards from us on the same day. We also do end up calling them on the same day. When we call our parents from different locations, we narrate similar events and share the same thoughts with them. Friends always notice that we sound the same on the phone.

There are innumerable small incidents that signify this bond we share. Till this date, we both keep in touch nearly everyday and we usually sense how each other feels before even listening.

This special bond is yet to be attributed to any scientific basis but left as another mystery of nature. We are both fortunate to continue to experience this bond, unique only to identical twins!!!