Salman fulfills conjoined twins wish-Artcl

PATNA: It was a moment the two conjoined twins will cherish for the rest of their lives. Mercurial star Salman Khan showed his softer side, when he flew Saba and Farah to Mumbai and fulfilled their wish to tie a rakhi on his wrist.

The two sisters can't stop raving about their favourite star. "We are lucky that our wish was fulfilled by Salman bhaiya (brother). He invited us to Mumbai, met us and we tied a rakhi on his wrist," Saba and Farah said here on Saturday.

Salman also promised the sisters that he would visit their home in Samanpura in Patna after Eid.

"Salman bhaiya also promised us to give chance to participate in 'Dus Ka Dum' (show hosted by Salman)" the twins said.

"Salman is much more than a super-star. We will pray for his well-being," said Shakeel Ahmad, father of Saba and Farah.

Ahmad recalled that a few years ago, there was a ray of hope for his daughters when Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then crown prince of Abu Dhabi, decided to help the twins after seeing their photograph in an Indian newspaper. He announced he would bear the entire medical expenses of the operation to separate the conjoined twins.

"But after initial consultation at Delhi's Apollo hospital, everything was forgotten. We are left with only a promise. We are still waiting for the surgery," he said at the small roadside eatery he runs near Bakri Bazar here.

In 2005, after the Abu Dhabi crown prince offered to bear the estimated cost of $1 million for the operation, the twins were examined at Apollo Hospital. American neurosurgeon Benjamin Carson travelled to New Delhi to study them. He agreed to perform the risky operation assisted by Indian doctors.

Carson had said then that though the surgery was risky and there were chances of only one girl surviving, done early the operation would have led to better results.

Although the twins have distinct brains and are neurologically and psychologically normal, only one of them has kidneys.

But the delay in surgery has affected their health condition. They have been suffering from health problems and are getting weaker by the day, said Shakeel.