Lying on an examination bed in a doctor's chamber getting an ultrasound done can be an unnerving experience for most. The gooey gel on your exposed stomach and a mouse like device floating on it effortlessly is what I remember of that fateful day. Two doctors peered into a screen pointing out enigmatically to me ,"Heartbeat is here........Heartbeat is here." The points of reference being poles apart perplexed me. Meekly I asked ,"Is my baby alright? "The answer I got changed my life forever.   "Yes" he replied nonchalantly, "Your babies are alright." "Babies! Have I heard right, "I exclaimed in disbelief. "Yes madam, You are expecting twins!" The anxious father-to-be, waiting outside the doctors chamber, after getting a puncture seen to in his chariot- a Kawasaki Bajaj was duly informed about the oncoming arrival of two bundles of joy. His first reaction was to promptly start scanning newspapers for car finance. I suppose he reckoned that his two seater motorbike could not be converted into a four seater. Twelve swift years have passed since that fateful day and there's a lot to look back on and smile. The days when we did everything according to the table of two have been left behind, not without a whiff of nostalgia. Two prams ,four feeding bottles, six tins of Lactogen for ten days and umpteen sheets, nappies ,woolies and booties. Can I ever forget the harrowing time I had with my terrible two? Once at six months of age, my elder one ,by a minute got a stomach upset. By the time she was recovering, the second one had followed suit. Well, the "In and Out syndrome"-even the memory of it is nightmarish today. As the first days of school approached they were kitted up with new uniforms. The colours were the same for both-Navy blue ,white and black yet the shades were different for them metaphorically speaking. Each knew which black shoe was hers and which navy blue skirt was whose. Even the panties were not to be spared from their individualistic scrutiny. I would make mistakes but not them! As the first poetry recitation contest drew close, both chose to learn different poems and were strongly possessive of their respective pieces. Divya chose 'Piggy on the Railway Track' and Jaya 'Teddy Bear,T eddy Bear'. All hell broke loose if one twin in jest elocuted the other's piece! Alter egos be damned, they are after all individuals in their own right, albeit twins. Today they are poised young girls on the threshold of teenage. Now its time for the birds and the bees and their interesting questions on the myriad things life's prism reflects. As their little world expands and their sensibilities enlarge I realize that they are fluttering their wings which I have provided them to rise high into the sky. They say two is company and that surely holds good in the case of twins. My daughters have not been separated at school and are in the same section of a class. Comparisons being inevitable they have learnt to live with them. Often being asked, "Which of you is the naughtier of the two? "my younger daughter promptly replies that she is so. Though younger by just a minute yet those sixty seconds mark a world of difference in their personalities. Over the years I have realized that twins are not generalized expansion of one identity but each of them possesses individual characteristics and traits which set them apart." Look at your sister .She is studying so well......She is so responsible.......Can you not be as helpful as her........"are comparisons that twins are often subjected to unjustly by teachers, friends and in most cases even parents who should know better. Being the mirror image of another person is not an easy situation to deal with ,surely. But nothing in the world rivals the bond that twins share right from the point of the umbilical cord in their mother's womb.