Twin Tantrums: 'You are twins but not similar'

Clash of personalties!

The time to tell the twins that they are not similar, has arrived. Ever since, Moid and Mateen (my seven-year-old twin brothers), started interacting with us, we kept telling them that they are twins and, therefore, similar. Our inability to distinguish them from each other also strengthened their belief that they are similar.
The Army Public School Junior Section, where they study, had declared the result. My mother went to the school to collect their result. On reaching the school, my mother had realised that one of the twins was looking sad. When she reached home, Moid asked her a question. Moid, who had got less marks than Mateen, asked mom, “Why we have different marks, when we are similar?”
Mom tried to explain to him that they are two different children. We the elder siblings also tried to explain the difference to him, but it was too late now. After each of our lengthy explanations, he would ask one question, “Aren’t we twins? Then why my marks are less than Mateen’s?”
It was then we realised our mistake. Now we see them as two children who have different personalities, likes and dislikes.
They are 7-year-old and will be 8 in January, 2011. Below is their profiles.

Moid:
Our mother declared Moid the younger twin. He is mom’s favourite. He has a weak physique as compared to Mateen’s. He eats very less and is picky about his food. If the food does not suit his mood, he will not eat it. He is choosy about his dressing. He never wears the clothing that he has worn in the morning. He wants washed clothes everytime. He will refuse to go to school, if he finds a small dot on his school uniform shirt. He decides what shirt he will wear over what jeans. He is about to turn eight. He shops his clothes and shoes himself. He often takes mom to three different shops before selecting his shoes. The clothing store (Mushrooms) staff know about Moid’s attitude. Moid goes in the shop and picks dresses himself. Mom has little to say except to pay the price.
When his school ends, he comes home with a clean uniform. There is almost no dust on his shoes and no dirt on his shirt. His bag is neatly packed. His toy cupboard looks like a military garrisan. All the toys are placed in a line. A few days ago, he was playing with a car on his bed and was about to sleep. He gave me the car, directing me to put it in his cupboard. When I opened his cupboard, he told me to place it between two certain toys with car’s back facing the wooden wall of the cupboard. He is meticulous about his stuff.
He cleans his shoes regularly and places them together at night. We often find his gloves neatly placed over each other next to his pillow. He liberally applies body sprays and perfumes and likes to always comb his hair. He spends ten minutes on average before the dressing table in the morning. Whenever I take him to barber, he tells the barber beforehand that how he wants his hair to be cut. Moid keeps an eye on the mirror to keep a check on the barber.
He is our family’s little artist. He sings songs when going to bed and wakes up the whole house singing latest Indian beats in the morning. He mimics everyone. Today, we were playing bedminton and he was calling for the prayer. He is fluent in Punjabi, which he has learnt from domestic servants. He has a good vocabulary of Punjabi curses, courtesy my dad and our grandmother. His teacher often tasks him to teach the computer science to his class fellows. Moid is a brainy person. He not only thinks, but thinks alternative after finding a solution. His drawing is good. He has started making family’s portraits. He drew my portrait in the shape of a cartoon carrying a gun in one hand and book in the other hand. He knows that I love reading books and guns. Moid loves money. He saves regularly and has a shopping wish-list as well.
He writes with his right hand. Moid is good with calculations and good with cheating in board games such as ludo and monoply. His hand-eye co-ordination often surprises us. He often relates faces of two people. He will point to a certain singer on the television and say she resembles a certain aunt of ours. He finds geometrical shapes everywhere. He has a good observation and keeps asking questions. He loves reading billboards. When he started playing cricket, he could barely lift the bat, but always played snicks. He daily packs his bag according to time table. He keeps his school bag as clean as himself. He expresses his feelings too often. If he likes the dew on the grass, he tells us. We all envy his aesthetic sense.

Mateen:
Mateen is healthier and stronger than Moid. He eats a lot. Whenever, we tell him to stop eating, his answer is, “my belly is a well”. He is least concerned about his clothing or personal hygiene. He comes home from school dirtier. He likes physical games. He is not as intelligent as Moid but somehow gets more marks then Moid. Sometimes, I see a bully in him. He is chatter box and will strike a conversation with everyone at anytime. His cupboard is a mess. All his toys are broken. His teacher has asked all children of his class to bring their favourite toy, he has not a single toy intact. His books are dogeared and torn. His bag looks like a dust bin and overstuffed. We can always tell about his last meal as he has some food smeared on his lips. His favourite way to eat his favourite food is to stuff his mouth full and pick the food in both the hands. He never bathes happily. We have a wrestling with him every morning to take him to bathroom. His vocal cords are very strong. His yelling can be heard from neighbouring houses as well. He writes with left hand. He never follows time table and pack his bag accordingly. He stuffs all the books in his bag and keeps going on for weeks. Recently, Mateen and Moid went to a toy shop with the mom. They both wanted to have cars. Moid bought a BMW replica car whereas Mateen bought a jeep, which suggests Mateen's keenness towards outdoor activities. Mateen will keep on running for hours and won't get tired. He often tries to lift my exercise weights. He gladly carries Moid's school bag, besides carrying his own bag. He will not only finish his food but will also have a take on other sibling's plates. We always find him munching something.
Mateen has a risky trait as well. He will go to our neighbour's house and tease their big bull dog. He has been strictly told not to go near the dog but he does whenever he gets a chance.
Whenever their is a crowd of children, Mateen is likely to be their gang leader. I went to pick them from their school days before Eid Qurban. Somebody's big bull was tethered near the school. The bull was surrounded by children of various ages. To my utter surprise and anger, Mateen was heading the group of children and they were teasing the animal who was getting uncomfortable amid so many children. Mateen's was shoving something (a wooden scale or pensil) in the animal's mouth. I had to drag Mateen out of the crowd.
Mateen is a muscle man, who believes that muscle power and dominance is answer to every problem.