Hazaribag: When it comes to identical twins, we usually expect matching features and shared smiles. But for Srishti and Drishti Kumari from Hazaribag, the term ‘identical’ has taken on a mathematical precision. They don’t just look identical — the 16-year-old sisters have emerged as the joint toppers of Carmel School in the city, securing an identical score of 97.6% in the ICSE Class X board examinations.Daughters of doctor parents, Dr Mohanlal and Dr Rashmi Prasad, the sisters also secured the same score in English and Hindi — 97. “Even we were so surprised that we checked our marks multiple times, calculated the total and percentage repeatedly, and only then got convinced about the same percentage,” the sisters said, still in awe.Their parents, whom the sisters say are involved in their studies despite their busy schedules, are also elated. “While we expected good results, we never imagined that both would score more or less identical marks in all subjects,” said their mother, Dr Rashmi Prasad, who is a gynaecologist. Their father, Dr Mohanlal added that while they are busy throughout the week, Sunday is earmarked for the kids, “We work for half the day and spend time with our daughters.”Drishti secured 99 in computer applications, 92 in mathematics, 96 in science, 97 in English, 97 in Hindi, and 99 in social science, while Srishti got 98 in computer applications, 98 in mathematics, 94 in science, 97 in English, 97 in Hindi, and 98 in social science.The bond between the siblings acted as an engine for their productivity — when one focused on self-study, it pushed the other to follow suit, the sisters told TOI, crediting their success to mutual encouragement. “We studied, fixing our goal, and now, we will again follow the same path to reach the target of our lives,” said the sisters.Though the sisters admit their individual likes and dislikes have begun to diverge as they grow older, their professional ambitions remain perfectly aligned. Both aim to follow in their parents’ footsteps by pursuing a career in medicine and are preparing for NEET.Their career goal also has a deeper connection. Their parents said the names of their daughters were also inspired by their professions. “When they were born, we chose names linked to our professions. Being an eye specialist, I named one of our daughters Drishti, while my wife (a gynecologist) named the other Srishti,” said Dr Mohanlal talking to TOI.The twins said investing three to four hours every day in studies and keeping phone usage under control helped them excel. “We maintained a fixed schedule for mobile usage and stayed away from it during study time,” added Srishti.Carmel School, in a statement, said a total of 107 students appeared in the 10th exam. “Out of 107, 11 secured more than 90%, 84 students passed with first division marks, and 12 secured below 60%,” it said.
