Conjoined twins Shivanath and Shivram Sahu have found a unusual way
to get to school – dropping to the floor and running like a SPIDER.
The 12-year-olds, who were born joined at the waist, share two legs and four arms and work in tandem to get around.
The duo have stunned doctors with their ability to wash, dress and
feed themselves – and say they are determined never to be parted.
Shivram said: “We don’t wish to get separated. We will stay like this even when we grow old. We want to live as we are.”
The pair were born in a tiny village near Raipur in central India.
Their arrival caused quite a stir with some villagers even worshipping them as divine incarnations.
A local doctor told the family they were both healthy but he could not separate them.
They are believed to share the same stomach but have independent lungs, hearts and brains.
With practice they have learned to do all their basic daily chores
with minimal fuss, including showering, eating, getting dressed and
combing each other’s hair.
They are able to walk down the stairs of their simple split-level
home and even run on all six limbs to play cricket and other games with
neighbouring children.
Shivanath, who appears to be the weaker of the two twins, said: “We
have taught ourselves everything. We ride to school on a bicycle and
playing cricket is no problem.”
They are also talented academics and considered among the top
students at their local school, much to the pride of their doting
father, Raj Kumar, 45.
The labourer, who is married to Srimati and has five daughters, is
very protective of his two sons and will not allow them to leave the
village.