Identical twins by shreya rawat

Consider this- A pair of earrings,a pair of eyes,a pair of shoes,a pair of socks and the list is inexhaustible. One component out of that pair would land into a serious failure without the other. Having 36 right shoes,and none on the left would sound as good as nullity.
Consider this- Indentical twins,are nothing but a pair. They wear features that christen them as clones. Going by the idea above,they are INSEPARABLE. APPEALING. SUI GENERIS. But,i would loathe to break it to you,that realities are rather latent. On a tete-a-tete with one such pair, I put forth my humble endeavours in diagnosing them.
      Meet Sara and Saima. College going,19 year old twins. The former entered the world 10 minutes before the latter.  They have bright eyes and geeky spectacles to flatter them, a low level of melanin in their dermis,similar physical orientation and in biological parlance, a similar larynx too( owing to the strinkingly similar voices they have). You could barely tell them apart. All that seemed different,was the length of their hair or maybe a freckle or two here & there,shape of the jawline or a scar on Saima's forehead(an impression of a childhood incident). These were the only tools used by the people to recognise who's who. They'd let out a smirk if they succeeded,a gleeful laughter otherwise,besides a comment on how incredibly same they were. This would serve as a fun game in every boring get together. The twins would not only seem abstemious,but would also fret at it indefinitely.
          What would be constantly reminded to them was the fact that "being twins is an identity and you are born with it". But then,can identity not be transformed? The Uncle Sam has Mr.Barack Obama. He was a black, African American, as a child. Even so, now. But this identity has palled against the more obvious identity of being the President of the superpower. On a similar note,twins are born with an indistinguishable identity and no doubt it'll still exist when they die, but then at that point, being a twin would be secondary to the image that each would have carved for herself. DIFFERENT. Afterall identity is something that is created with time and not particularly gifted by Him. You can always mould it as per your whims.
        So why such a deep discussion? Because our Sara and Saima,have their own blues, which only made me more pensive. They were,and still are,expected to lurk around together,expected to have common friends, and expected to style themselves similarly. Because hey! They are twins . Either they exist together or they wouldn't. This callowed perspective,would particularly make them behave a bit more differently. They would purposely not go around together,or would pamper themselves with completely different designs of clothes, different friends,such that, all of this would shriek to the world that "hey! You see us? We're two different goddamn individuals!!" (excuse me for the slang. I am only quoting Saima) Unfortunately,efforts are not always fruitful. They could only hear the world shouting back-"Big deal? You guys still look similar!" 
        They loved each other's company. But they also hated the fact of having a twin. The word "share" had been injected much much before in their lives than when we'd been introduced with . Okay,exaggeration. But,understand the point.Be it sharing some material stuff like toys, to the most abstract things in the world like- 'mother's love', 'undivided attention' are just to name a few.
          Sara, is as ebullient as the tides in the ocean,while Saima is a bon-homie. Sara dispays simplicity in everything. Be it maintaining herself or her choices. Saima is not so simple a girl. She has a high affinity for gaudy stuff. Showcasing smartness and a well-clad appearance is always a priority in her checklist. Sara is more garrulous.Saima,more gluttonous. Interestingly enough, Sara has more pugnacious traits while Saima, though outwardly bold, is calmer. Sara,unlike other girls,is a gaming addict. Computer games. She can barter anything for one. You can do nothing to tackle her monomania. She is pretty dexterous at it too and wouldn't mind losing half of her day to a computer terminal. Saima is a people's person. Socialising is her forté. She is of the belief that one can always learn a great deal more from people than any other existing knowledge base. Sara is a prolific writer. There is always a flavour of gravitas behind her kiddish exterior. She is somewhat messy at handling things and would often commit a faux pas of speaking her mind anywhere. Saima, has nothing exceptional, but she just knows the art of managing stuff. Her's as well as the others'. Sadly enough,it would be hard for people to fathom such minute traits.
           Ever since both of them started off with their schooling,the much awaited term-end results would create nothing but a ruckus in the family. When one of them would present her report card forth anybody,the other's would be religiously asked for and placed by the side for an hour long comparison. Thanks to the 'pair' concept! Even if both of them have performed fairly well,out of a sheer responsibilty, relatives would not shy away in pointing out those extra two marks in Math ,that any one of them might have scored from the other. For them, relatives always tend to speak relatively. What people never noticed was the impact on their relationship as sisters. Ever since childhood,appreciation for each other surrendered to jealousy.
          With guests thronging their place at any season or otherwise, the elder brother would be given a hundered bucks out of love,and very similar for the twins  too. But then,that makes fifty bucks each. Such injustice! They'd to put up with this quite often. More so, at the fault of one, both would be collectively castigated. People were habitual of addressing them in plural tense. Though,their parents never explicitly mentioned the financing part,the unhealthy feeling of a "double burden" would, like a subconscious realization, perch at the back of their minds.
          But,as they grew up,when maturity tends to set in,they only realised how this had affected them over the years. As two kids,they had only grumbled about the glass being half empty. They decided to take to a brighter perspective. Glass half-full. They started rejoicing for something they had been complaining of earlier. 'Sharing' had never been so much fun. "So,in a way, I have double the dresses that a girl out their might have!",joked Saima. Such a girlie thought! They had always felt that they could read each other's mind.From matters as crucial as dates and breakups to as pathetic as picking on people,each just knew what the other had to say .They would joke incessantly. Jokes,that none other could ever decode; followed by peals of laughter and high-fives to give a vent to their intelligent compositions. Except washing and morning jobs,they had each other's company ,mostly.They could never get bored.
           I can recall Sara sharing an incident wherein she was required to glue her passport size photograph on an important document.
"I was completely baffled. Din't know what to do. We were in school back then. Submissions had to be made immediately! Luckily enough, i managed to find a photograph to pull me out of the fuss."
So what's special about it?
"Gosh! It wasn't my photo. Was Saima's. You know,she always carries one."
I felt an unusual joy seeing the twins laugh as they narrated it.
     Ever since they had opted for different courses in school,Sara's friends were Saima's too and vice versa. In that way popularity brew up. Both of them hated cooking. Though Sara hated it more,but the element of dislike, did exist. They would also study the common subjects together. Studies were fun.
            Today,they are at two different places.Away from each other. Graduating. For now,they can only think about the years that have gone by. Faint smiles or ghastly laughters crop up everytime they recollect memories of togetherness. The urge of carving a separate mark still exists,but along with it, is also a want, to make a mark as a duo. This was all i had on them.
       So,the next time you bump into a pair of twins,you'd probably know that they are so much more than two  similar-looking individuals. You'd know exactly how you've to treat them. Don't you?