Three peas in a pod

These triplets are on different academic paths at NTU. So what makes them similar?

by Foo Jie Ying / Main photo by Hillary Tan

Sampath tripletsFrom left: Sailesh, Lokeshh (on screen) and Sivanesh

 

Two’s company, and three’s a crowd?

Not for the Sampath brothers, who have shared an unbreakable bond since they were born – just minutes apart.

Lokeshh, Sivanesh and Sailesh, 23, have navigated life’s milestones together, from acing school exams to serving National Service, and are now thriving as NTU students.

“It’s great – you always have two built-in buddies with shared interests. If I’m bored at home, I can just pop into their room and disturb them,” says Sivanesh, a third-year economics & data science student.

Sailesh, a business & computer science student, agrees: “We were never really lonely, and I’ve always appreciated that.”

Triplets are rare in Singapore – only eight sets were born last year. It’s even rarer for triplets to be conceived through in-vitro fertilisation, like these Singaporean brothers.

This fun fact often doubles as an icebreaker that gets them the “oohs” and “aahs”. “The best part about being triplets? We never have to think of a fun fact about ourselves during orientation camps,” Sailesh quips.

It’s no surprise, then, that they attract stares when they’re out together, such as at their favourite hawker centre.

“It’s not that we expect people to come up to us like we are celebrities,” says Lokeshh, a Renaissance Engineering Programme (REP) student specialising in computer science. “But the staring and pointing can get awkward when we’re just trying to eat.”

Double takes

The Sampath brothers are mixed triplets – Lokeshh is fraternal while Sivanesh and Sailesh are identical. This means that while the three of them share similar traits, Sivanesh and Sailesh look more like each other.

This has led to plenty of amusing cases of mistaken identity around NTU – their first shared campus since primary school.

Sailesh recalls buying food from the caifan (mixed vegetable rice) stall at Canteen 11, unaware that Sivanesh had ordered from the same stall just minutes earlier.

“The caifan uncle was so confused and kept giving me a weird look. He said: ‘Boy, just now you never order, ah?’,” he says with a laugh.

Friends have often mistaken Sailesh for Sivanesh, and vice versa. “People have waved at Sailesh, thinking he was me, and I’ve had the same experience,” Sivanesh explains. “Sometimes, when someone says hi to me, I am genuinely unsure whether the person is Sailesh’s friend, or just greeting someone behind me.”

“When I’m having a bad day and these incidents happen, they cheer me up because they are quite funny,” he adds. “If I’m tired, though, I just play along.”

Even their mother isn’t immune, says Sailesh. “When she’s cooking with her back turned, she sometimes calls me Sivanesh because we sound the same,” says Sailesh. “It still happens now.”

Carving their own paths

Growing up together, the three brothers naturally share similar values, such as cherishing family ties and friendship.

While childhood fights were inevitable, they’ve grown calmer and now tackle problems logically. They’re grateful their parents never pitted them against each other but instead gave them space to discover themselves.

Lokeshh is the dependable one and the go-to for help. Sivanesh, the optimist, always sees the silver lining. Sailesh is open-minded and “the embodiment of chill,” as Sivanesh puts it.

As a child, Sailesh felt a strong need to stand out. “I wanted to do my own thing – whether through my choice of clothes or music. But that need faded as I grew older,” he shares.

Their interests diverged over time. Sailesh taught himself drumming, while Sivanesh and Lokeshh took to football, with Lokeshh also joining Tanjong Hall’s dance crew.

Even as life pulls them in different directions – Lokeshh is at the University of California, Berkeley, for his year-long overseas immersion as Sivanesh and Sailesh wrap up their third year at NTU – their bond remains unshakable.

“Life will bring unexpected challenges, but I know my brothers will always be there,” says Lokeshh. “Whatever comes our way, we’ll face it together.”

For the Sampath brothers, three isn’t a crowd – it’s a team.


This story was published in the Mar-Apr 2025 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.