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Meet the twin town: An Indian village with 220 sets of twins
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-13 15:05 "Another factor that bucks the trend is that twins occur in women who are generally over 5ft 3in in height. The height of women in Kodinhi is around 5ft on average." The residents of Kodinhi, which is in the lush state of Kerala in the south of India, have even taken to calling their home "twin town" and have gone as far as to set up the Twins and Kin Association (TAKA).
"TAKA has been set up to register and provide support for the twins of Kodinhi and their families," said Puallani Bhaskaran, 50, the association"s president and the proud father of twin boys. "Understandably for such a significant minority in the community we feel that it is only sensible to club together to make sure that there is a focal point for the twins of Kodinhi to come to.
"TAKA can educate and support the villagers because here we have so many more twins than elsewhere." Counting more than 220 pairs of twins ranging from 65 years to one month as registered members - with another 30 applications pending - TAKA"s total membership exceeds 600 when parents are included. "I began planning for this association in July 2008 and formalised it in December of last year," said Mr Bhaskaran. "The twins of Kodinhi should be united so that they can find out why they are here." However, for the twins of Kodinhi, life is lived with double takes and stares which eventually become common place. "When I was at primary school I attended with around 30-40 other twins," said Anu Bhaskaran, 16, who is the son of TAKA"s president. "It feels special to be part of something so unique, but the most satisfying thing about being a twin is tricking your friends and teachers," said his brother Abhi. With the majority of twins in Kodinhi being of the identical kind and the fact that a large percentage are under the age of twenty, the potential for mischief is enormous. "We always find the teachers mix us up," said five-year-old Shahala, who attends the local primary school in Kodinhi. "Sometimes when we are feeling naughty we try and swap classes to confuse people," said sister Shahana. Citing the immense scientific implications should Kodinhi"s secret be discovered, Dr Sribiju is currently trying to assemble the research support he needs to delve deeper into the twin town of Kodinhi.
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