In Kerala’s Malappuram district, the village of Kodinhi has learned to live with double takes.

Walk through its narrow lanes, and you may spot identical children cycling to school, twins helping their parents in small shops, or elderly siblings finishing each other’s sentences with practised ease. In most places, twins spark curiosity. 

In Kodinhi, they are simply part of everyday life.

Over the years, this quiet village has become famous as India’s “Twin Town”, drawing the attention of scientists, journalists, and now even advertisers intrigued by its extraordinary story. 

But beyond the statistics and global fascination lies something far more meaningful — a community that transformed a rare biological mystery into a shared cultural identity.

The numbers behind Kodinhi’s twin phenomenon

Kodinhi’s twin phenomenon is remarkable by any measure. In a village of around 2,000 families, there are believed to be anywhere between 400 and 550 pairs of twins. 

The twinning rate here is estimated at 42 to 45 twin births per 1,000 deliveries, several times higher than the Indian average.

What makes it even more unusual is that the pattern has continued for decades. Every year, new pairs of twins are born, almost as though the village itself carries an invisible rhythm that science has yet to decode.

Researchers from India and abroad have spent years........

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