– M Rafi Ahmed
There is a popular belief that twins often share everything from moods to milestones. But twin sisters – Riba and Rahin hailing from Surat in Gujarat wrote a new history of scoring identical marks in the MBBS exams. This only reminds the quote of UK based business magnate Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson – “Sometimes miracles come in pairs.” True. The sisters successfully completed their medical course with 66.8% or 935 marks.
Not unusual to witness a series of reports pouring in from different States regarding twins scoring the same marks. Many eyebrows were raised after reading such rare feats by the twins. Born, grew up and studied together, it’s really a surprise to see them score the same marks. Undoubtedly, the twin sisters – Riba’s and Rahin’s success saga in MBBS is a miracle in the annals of medical education.
Both studied at GMERS Medical College in Vadodara metropolis in Gujarat. Great to infer that their mother Gulshad Banu, raised them single-handedly. While Rahin is inclined towards surgery, Riba is keen to pursue internal medicine. Interestingly, the 24-year-old sisters’ education and life decisions have always been similar. Notably, they are the first doctors in their family.
As a single parent, Gulshad Banu raised both of them with a vision. Despite facing financial problems, the sisters were determined to make mom’s dream a reality. Come what may. They performed well in the NEET by getting 97% (Riba) and 97.7% (Rahin) respectively sans any coaching as they did self study. It is interesting to infer that the twin sisters used to score similar marks right from school.
The inspiration to pursue medicine came from their maternal uncle who is a doctor and motivated them to do MBBS. They were classmates, benchmates and roommates. Moreover, this was the first time for the twin sisters to live outside the city and they got support from their maternal grandparents besides their mom in ensuring they completed their medical course.
Speaking to the media, the twin sisters reported to have said that they obtained government scholarships and other financial help to continue their medical course without any obstacles whatsoever. On their achievement, they said, “Almighty is Great.” They have set an example to others more so girls to emulate to put up a brave face to pursue higher education with grit and determination to excel in their line of interest.
It is quite unusual for a Gen Z to not have an Instagram or Facebook account. The twin sisters, according to sources, were away from social media. In a step further, both possess only a single cell phone and they go together and have the same common friends. All the more, they ensured their attention wasn’t diverted by social media which contained only frivolous contents. Instead, they concentrated on viewing news websites for getting updates on current affairs.
Signing off, the twin sisters had this to say: “First of all, trust God. Whenever you get demotivated, you have to believe that there is someone looking after you. Aazmata Hai Khuda, Le Kar Ya De Kar (God will test you by taking things away from you or giving things to you). Just be patient.” Definitely, the twin sisters are like flowers of the same garden who had spread the fragrance of success through their achievement.
