Reportage: Bijoy Venugopal. Photograph: S K Kotian

Anish, who had returned to Bangalore after his final exams, received an affectionate welcome from his friends when he arrived in Mumbai for the convocation. They treated him to ‘bumps’, usually reserved for birthdays. For a few days, he relived the familiar joys of campus life.

“We are extremely proud of him,” says Devdatta Gangal of Thane (second from right), who studies the same course as Atish.

Initially, the twins had their friends flummoxed. “They were absolutely identical,” says Himanshu Nema of Bhopal (extreme right). “We called them déjà vu.”

The differences in their personalities emerged after their internships in May 2003, when Atish went to Canada for his practical training, and Anish to the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland. “I made friends from different backgrounds and lifestyles,” says Atish.

“A lot of people would owe their grades to Anish,” says Anshul Acharya of Pune (extreme left).

“I used to sit in his room till 3 am, asking him yeh padhao, woh padhao (teach me this, teach me that),” says Devdatta.

“He’s the most helpful guy in this hostel, even if you knock on his door at three in the morning,” adds Himanshu. “The day before the exam his room would be like a mandir -- you’d find a big crowd inside and a whole lot of chappals outside!”

“Twenty years hence, I think he should win a Nobel Prize,” says Devdatta.