DEHRADUN: For a major part of the last 22 years of their lives, identical twins Abhinav Pathak and Parinav Pathak have been inseparable. Born a few minutes apart, they studied in the same school in Amritsar, went their separate ways to study engineering in colleges in Ludhiana and Jalandhar and then reunited to pursue their dreams of serving in the army at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Now, the brothers will once again be apart as they would be posted in separate army units after graduating from the prestigious institute together, along with 459 other cadets, on Saturday.
VINAY SANTOSH KUMAR/HT■ Abhinav and Parinav at the IMA, Dehradun.
THEY STUDIED IN SAME SCHOOL IN AMRITSAR, WENT TO SEPARATE COLLEGES AND THEN REUNITED IN IMA
At the IMA’s passing-out ceremony, the brothers had several tales to share about how their similar features would lead to confusing, and sometimes, comical situations.
“Many a times, the drill instructor would call me instead of Parinav and viceversa. Also, the instructor would pass on training instructions meant for my brother to me,” said Abhinav, the older of the two.
He also recalled how the mess butler would confuse him for his brother, asking him to have his meal right after he had finished with one.
“Sometimes, I would have just come out after eating my food but the butler, taking me for Parinav, would ask me: ‘Are saab khana to kha lijiye?’ (have you had your meal?). This would make me laugh.”
Parinav, too, has his mess stories to share, like how he would often sneak into his brother’s less-crowded mess without the fear of being identified. “At times, when I would see my company’s mess table crowded, I would go to my brother’s mess which had fewer cadets having food. Nobody was able to identify me,” he added with a hearty laugh. They were in different companies in the academy and had different mess.
“The only time anyone was able to tell us apart was when we would wear our (PT) uniform or through our respective company batches on the collar,” shares Abhinav, the more talkative of the two.
Abhinav will join Army Air Defence Corps and Parinav, Army Aviation Corps. “We have achieved whatever we have, together. This makes us extremely proud,” Parinav said