According to latest figures, Kodinji has witnessed as many as 204 multiple-births in the last few decades
MALAPPURAM (Kerala): By its external features, Kodinji is just like any other village in Kerala. Tap on the doors of a few homes, and you will realise the difference. This hamlet has an unusually large number of ‘twins’ over the years.
As per the latest figures, as many as 204 multiple-births had taken place in the village in the last few decades.
This strange phenomenon has begun to attract the interest of scientists, who are eager to find out if it was a mere accident or some genetic factors that are responsible for so many multiple births in the village.
An expert from the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology has even sent a detailed questionnaire to the families having multiple births.
Dr Mukunda Varma of the local Primary Health Centre (PHC) said the phenomenon certainly deserved a detailed scientific examination.
But on his part, he has so far not come across any biological or physical peculiarity in the people in the area.
A division of the Nannambra panchayat near Tirurangadi town, the palm-fringed village surrounded by backwaters on three sides has slightly over 2,000 families.
It has a sound socio-economic profile since a good number of families have people working in the Gulf.
Until a few years ago, the frequency of multiple births in the Muslim-dominated hamlet had gone largely unnoticed. It was a voluntary survey conducted by twin sisters Sameena and Saleena a few years back that brought the phenomenon to the fore. A door-to-door survey by a team of students from a high school recently found that 204 pairs (408 individuals) were born in the village over the last few decades.
According to Abdul Latheef, a teacher from the area, the survey showed that there are 79 pairs in the 0-10 years age group — an indication that the number of multiple births has increased in the last 10 years.
Of the pairs born so far, 26 have been broken due to deaths. The village also had two triplets, now of 9 years and 3 years each.
As per the information, the first twins of the village Kunhikkadia and Alavi were born 59 years ago.
For the first time in the country, the village is also going to have an association of parents of twin children later this month, Latheef said.
