Doctors are trying to unravel the mystery
of an Indian village boasting 250 sets of
twins born to just 2,000 families.
The phenomenon has seen almost six times
The phenomenon has seen almost six times
as manytwinsborn than the global average in
the remotevillage of Kodinhi, in Kerala. In 2008 alone 15 pairs of twins were born
in the village out of 300 healthy deliveries
and this year is expected to top that number
In the last five years alone up to 60 pairs
In the last five years alone up to 60 pairs
of twins have been born, with the rate
of twins increasing year-on-year.
Local doctor and twin enthusiast Dr Krishnan
Sribiju has been studying the medical marvel
of Kodinhi for the past two years. Although 250
sets of twins have been officially registered in
the village Dr Sribijubelieves the real number
to be far higher. "In my medical opinion there
are around 300 to 350 twins within the village
boundaries of Kodinhi," he said
According to villagers, the twin phenomenon
According to villagers, the twin phenomenon
only started occurring three generations
ago. Dr Sribiju said: "To the best of my
knowledge this medical marvel began somewhere
between60 to 70 years ago
"Without access to detailed biochemical
"Without access to detailed biochemical
analysis equipment I cannot say for certain
what the reason for the twinning is,
but I feel that it is something to do
KODINHI “ A WONDER LAND OF TWINS"
Kodinhi is a sleepy hamlet in Malappuram
district of Kerala state, some 15 kms away
from our University (University of Calicut).The
village, located in Nannambra panchayat,
should have remained as one of the rural,
backward and Muslim dominated towns here.
The village has now caught national and
international attention by having a large
birth-rate of twins. The number of pairs
of twins born on the soil of Kodinhi with a
population of less than 15000 has now crossed
the figure 200. The birth rate of twins is on
a continuing note here. The surprising
concentration of twins in this village has
triggered off research by various individuals
and institutions. The schools in the village
and nearby places have dozens of pairs of
twins studying for various classes, many of
them identical and same sex.Many funny
stories are doing rounds in the schools
about the teachers finding it difficult to
identify the twins.The local people too face
similar piquant situation.The identity is not
confined to schools alone.There are also jocks
that the newly-wed couples of Kodinhi often
mistake their partners for the other twins of
the pairs in the beginning of their conjugal life!
The mammoth birth rate of twins in the village
still remains as a mystery coupled with curiosity
for everyone. Research by scientific and
biological teams has begun to unravel the
mystery of the large scale birth of twins here.
Recently, a national team of geneticists from
the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology ,
Hyderabad visited the village for studies.
Such high birth-rates of twins have not been
reported from anywhere in the world, except
certain places in Nigeria and Spain
The National Geographical Channel,
the international news agency,
Reuters and Khaleej Times of Saudi Arabia
are also due to visit Kodinhi to record the
interesting phenomina found here.
The genetic, biological,molecula r ,heriditery
are the subject matter of the research
on the multiple births at Kodinhi . Its
interestingto note that the women married
off from Kodinhi and also married to the
youth in Kodinhi too have been giving
birth to twins. The first time known twins
of the village are now 59 year old Kunhikadiya
and Alavi ( female and male respectively) .
The youngest of the twin hierarchy here,
born to Rubina-Nisar couple, are a
boy and girl, Mohammed Imran and
Fathima Hiba, who are turning
27 days on this day (Monday, 24.11.2008).
Salma Beevi, wife of Hassan has given
birth to three baby girls three months ago.
While the strange and wonderful phenomina
of extra-ordinary concentration of twin births
in this village continues, an in-depth study
on the various factors to find out its causes
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