Pratikshya Kattel, 22, is 13 minutes older than Prajwal Kattel. She has just appeared her Bachelor’s in Arts final year’s exam from Madan Bhandari Memorial College, Kathmandu while her brother is in his final year at The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Delhi. They did their schooling together.[break]
Another duo, Malika Shrestha and Mallika Shrestha, both 16, have a 30-minute age difference. They did their schooling together and are in the same college now. Both study in St Xavier’s College, Maitighar. Malika doing A-levels while Mallika is in +2 level.
While 20-year-old Astha Shrestha and Ashma Shrestha are doing Bachelor’s in Dental Surgery (BDS) – Astha in People’s Dental College, Naya Bazaar, and Ashma in Nepal Medical College, Jorpati. Astha is 15 minutes older than Ashma and they studied together till class 12.
How do you feel about having a twin?
Pratikshya: As a child, being a twin made me feel like everything in the world comes in a pair. I used to think that tea and coffee were twins and so were US and UK. We have an elder sister and an elder brother but I feel that Prajwol is my own reflection. Being blessed with a twin brother, I feel emotionally secure as he understands me very well.
Malika: We get treated in a special way everywhere we go. We also sometimes feel like celebrities as people look at us with that adore. Also, we get to learn so much from each other as both of us are interested in learning new things, especially music.
Astha: Having a twin feels good. We have the same friends so we get to spend time together. Also, now that we are in different colleges, I get to make friends with Ashma’s friends too. We also get to share our problems and talk about anything and everything with each other.
Does telepathy exist between the two of you?
Prajwal: There are no telepathy as such these days but certain weird things do happen. We sometimes feel like having the same food items and get hungry at the same time. When we were little, Pratikshya had jaundice. I also got it soon after some days. However, maybe it was due to the transmission of the disease and a mere coincidence.
Mallika: There is no telepathy between us either. When one of us is sick, the other seems perfectly fine. Also, when one of us is feeling low, the other one is always stronger and happy. This is good in a way, since it will be easier for us to take care of each other.
Ashma: I remember, one evening, I was at hostel, listening to a song of Bruno Mars. Later when I logged in to my Facebook account, I was surprised to see the same song on Astha’s status. It might have been a coincidence but then such connections often happen. Whatever one of us has in mind, the other speaks it up immediately, and that is strange. But, we have never fallen sick together. When one recovers, the other falls sick. That’s good in a sense that each gets proper attention, but it’s troubling for the parents.
Any funny incident that you recall, and can never forget?
Pratikshya: Once we deceived a cousin saying that we knew Bhutanese, but we didn’t know a single Bhutanese word in reality. We spoke all gibberish and he also thought that we were such experts. Unfortunately, we have forgotten the code language now.
Malika: Since our names were similar and we also looked quite similar in our school days, we used to exchange classes in new teachers’ periods. That was fun and we never got caught.
Tell us about the worst quarrel you have had till today.
Pratikshya: Back in school, Prajwal and I both had a Chinese pen each, but of different color. Mine was maroon and he had a black one. One day, he lost his pen and took mine. When I said that it was mine, he wouldn’t listen. Even though everyone in the house said it was not a black pen, he did not agree. He kept it for himself, not realizing that it was of a different color. At that time I was mad at him, but now it makes me laugh out loud every time I remember the incident.
Mallika: I had received a certificate for participating in a football tournament. When I brought it home, Malika spilled water on it. Since the certificate got spoiled, I cried so much. We didn’t speak for two days. We also used to fight regarding who got to cut our birthday cakes first. I sometimes used to wonder how it would feel like to celebrate my special day, without having to share it with a twin sister, but it is perfect and fun, just the way it is.
Astha: We fought once, a long time back. After the discussion, I left the room. Later, I heard a sound of something hard hitting on the floor outside, a pebble maybe. When I went out to check what had just happened, I saw Ashma crying, pretending that her leg was hurt with the pebble. She did that so that I would start speaking to her.
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