
DATE: Sunday, May 11, 1997                  TAG: 9705090105

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KRYS STEFANSKY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  105 lines

3 OF A KIND AFTER CAUSING FOUR YEARS OF CONFUSION AT VIRGINIA WESLEYAN. THE IDENTICAL KHANNA TRIPLETS MOVE ON

ANGELICA I. and Man M. Khanna are packing up a U-Haul today, a 14-footer parked on the Virginia Wesleyan campus. They'll stuff in three stereos, three hair dryers, three sets of clothes, CDs, tennis rackets, posters and doodads. When it's full, they'll add three daughters and hit the road for Dumfries, Va.

The triplets have graduated and they're going home.

The Khannas' empty nest is about to bulge once more with Heera, Moti and Punna.

Dad says he's thrilled. Mom's got her fingers crossed. The girls kind of wish college weren't over just yet.

It was four years ago when Man Khanna first unloaded a U-Haul in front of Gum Hall. Since then, he's packed and unpacked that truck at the end of every spring semester and again in the fall - more times than he cares to count.

Time flew.

When they moved into their specially approved three-person dorm room as freshmen, the dark-haired lookalikes created a stir on campus wherever they went. ``There they are - the triplets! Heera, Moti, Punna. . . or is that Moti, Heera, Punna? Or is it. . . ?''

In the beginning, nobody knew their names. By the time they collected their diplomas in matching caps and gowns yesterday, everybody knew who they were.

When their college careers began in the fall of '93, the separation was hard on the whole family. Up in Northern Virginia, Dad missed his girls - desperately. The girls missed home. And Mom, well - she was hardly ever seen in line at the grocery store once her daughters left.

Life has changed in these four years. The girls grew to love school and living here. Man Khanna bore up under the phone bills - an hourlong call on the parents' 800 number each Sunday night. And Mom kind of enjoyed throwing together a little bite of whatever for herself and the only other person in the house.

Four years ago, who would have known. Somebody might have predicted that the triplets would move into the same dorm room. Or that Dad would cry when they left for a semester at Oxford. But who knew they'd come back and decide three's a crowd?

Heera moved out and the girls spent the last two years in two rooms. Not too far apart. Side-by-side, connected by a bathroom they still shared.

Then again, it was a given that Dad would drive down every chance he got.

``They said they'd visit a lot and they did,'' said Punna. ``They came for everything.''

There was plenty of reason. The girls, all three social sciences majors, seemed to be everywhere on campus. Heera was on the dance team, Moti played tennis, Punna practically minored in sports, playing field hockey, softball and lacrosse.

College has been a blast.

The first semester the triplets all signed up for the same classes.

They pledged the same sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma - was there any other choice for a set of identical triplets? All three got work-study jobs in the library. They moved around campus like an eager amoeba, shyly making friends and becoming more outgoing by the day.

So now? What's next? Their three wishes spill out.

Heera got a taste of England and craves more. She wants to spend a year living and working in Europe. Punna plans to take a cross-country train trip with friends. Moti wants to come back to school and dreams of moving back here.

Then they look at each other and wonder how they can stop being that triplet unit, doing everything together.

``We get upset when we don't see each other,'' said Punna.

But there are other considerations. Paybacks on their student loans start in six months. And they wish they had a better career plan.

``It's kind of depressing,'' said Moti. ``We came here not knowing what we wanted to do and we still don't.''

Mom had hoped for computer-science classes.

But math was not their strength, said Dad. Don't worry, there's plenty of time to hammer out three careers.

``I always want that they should have a good life,'' he said. ``I'm here for them. Whatever it takes, I'm here.''

So they'll unpack the U-Haul - again - and then, for a while anyway, take back the jobs they held in high school - retail sales at the outlet store for Nordstrom's in Potomac Mills mall.

They would like a car.

``We did four years here with no car,'' said Heera and rolled her eyes. ``Our friends have been very good to us.''

Eventually, there will be a car, said Dad, an automobile sales rep.

The girls reassure themselves that they'll get used to living back home.

``We haven't lived at home in four years, just the summers and two and a half weeks at Christmas,'' Punna said.

Of course, on the up side, Mom likes to take them shopping.

Oh no, they're the ones who love to shop, she protested, laughing.

Then there's one sure bright spot - no more cafeteria food.

``I hope when somebody has the day off they'll cook dinner,'' said Mom.

And in her parents Heera sees another plus: ``They're lenient. We don't really have a curfew.''

She might do well, though, to check with Mom on that.

``We always had the curfew by 11 o'clock,'' she said. ``Twelve at the latest.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Motoya Nakamura/The Virginian-Pilot