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The Story Of How I Learnt to Whistle!

There is always a special Joy associated with doing something which we’ve never done before. It might be something trivial, but it is never insignificant, at least for us.


When I was a kid, I was amazed by the way people used to cycle. I used to wonder how people could just move around so quickly. I wanted to learn how to cycle, and I did. Next I was fascinated by the way people drove motored vehicles. Without much effort from their side, people who drove two wheelers could move even faster. I learned to drive, and I was happy I was able to do something, which amazed me initially.

There are a lot of such instances in various stages of my life. Naturally.  I was lucky enough to find the right people at the right time to learn what I wanted. Touch wood. Now, when I was in college, I very badly wanted to learn to whistle.  You could say I developed the inclination to learn, seeing the way my Dad used to whistle. My god, He used to (and he still does) whistle wonderfully well , with such intensity that people near him, would have to close their ears. Well, this was not the only reason I wanted to learn. Men whistling is not something extraordinary. It was someone else.

Sunitha, My cousin, whistles wonderfully well. She whistles continuously and with the same intensity my dad whistles. At family parties, the rest of us (cousins)would look at her, with a sense of admiration, and with a tinge of jealousy on being unable to whistle as proficiently as her. Now you know who my actual inspiration was. So there was always this desire, deep down, to whistle. We used to ask her how she did it , she would explain it to us in a very simple way. But when she does it, the whistling sound would come, but when we tried the same “Verum Kaathu than varum” (We’ll just be blowing air, sans any sound)

I told you earlier, I was lucky to meet the right people, at the right time. I Happened to meet a relative from my cousins’ in laws side, and somehow I got to know that SHE(yes yes, another She) could whistle wonderfully too(From then on I started calling her “Guru”, and I still do). I immediately asked her to teach me how to whistle, she did, but with the same results all over again. Just air, nothing else came out. But this time I was determined to learn. I promised not to give up trying.

One Sunday, much mom’s annoyance, I was trying hard or rather practicing hard to whistle. My mom looked at me with indifference as to why I was hell bent on doing it. I told her, “May be, it did not matter much to You, But for me, it does”. After a while, I was still practicing and then all of a sudden, it happened.

Yes, I had done it. The intensity of the whistle was good, for a beginner. I was surprised and shocked. My mother was equally surprised and shocked. I couldn’t believe that I had finally done it. Yes, I learned to whistle and I could actually whistle. I tried again, and Yes, I whistled. It did not happen just by chance, I could actually whistle. My joy new no bounds that day. I was flying in the air and telling people I know that I could whistle. I was so happy. I told my mom that I felt as if I was given a Nobel Prize.

No, I am not exaggerating. It actually felt that way. Years of hopelessly watching others whistle, yearning to whistle , but not being able to, despite following the exact procedures(Open, Fold, position, Blow), and one day , out of the blue,  accomplishing my dream, was something I was really happy and proud of. Trust me, It felt great, as though I had done the impossible. You need to have done something extraordinary to experience that wonderful feeling. 

If not for Sunitha. My Inspiration. I’m enternally Thankful to her 🙂

You might wonder, what is so great about it. Well, as far as I’m concerned, I wanted to learn how to whistle, more than anything else. The very fact that I tried hard, found the right people, and never gave up, stands testimony to the priority it had. I was elated that I had accomplished something which I wanted. As simple as that. I wanted to do something, I did it. That’s it.

In your Wish list of the things you would want to learn/do/achieve, whistling might not feature in the top of your list, it might not even feature in your list, but the thing is, it has a very high priority on my list, and it matters a lot because I judge myself by my list and not of others’.

Happy Whistling!

60 thoughts on “The Story Of How I Learnt to Whistle!”

  3. There is a girl in our group who could whistle (biggle actually – if you know the difference) louder than most guys. We call her 'Poriki' much to her dismay of course :D.

    Great than you can now 'Whistle Podu' to all glory 😛

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  4. nice 🙂 reminds me of my 8 th std… getting a swollen mouth trying to whistle for more than an hour and the painful hit i got on my back from my mom after my first loud whistle 😦

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  7. teehee, this is a cute post! How do you whistle, using your fingers or just making a 'O' from your lips? My husband can get out an entire song ka tune by whistling. I envy him a lot!!

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  12. Wonderful! But be careful- don't tell others that you are a 'whistle blower'! These days their safety is at risk!
    Also apart from the 'guru; you found there are two others- Vijay for for teaching whistling to Tamilians ( Pokkiri) and Salman for North Indians.
    Enjoyed the post.

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  13. One of my friend whistles songs for hours. I am always fascinated to see people whistling, and sadly when I tried to learn them, I failed badly. So since then I used to carry with me either a pen cap or actual whistle to compensate for them..especially when I go for movies or culturals!

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  15. Loved the post, you accomplished something which you always wanted to do, no matter how minuscule it may sound to others. Loved the spirit with which you learned to whistle.
    “Ash ku oru whistle podu”! hehe! Sorry about my bad Tamil.

    PS: I still don't know how to whistle. 😦

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  19. Ha ha. It did not result in swollen mouth after those gruelling practice sessions for me . And my mom gave a pat on my back, with a sense of apprciation. 🙂 Lucky me 🙂

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  28. I used to feel that way Earlier Vaish. I guess that is what inspired me to learn without giving up…It's nice to know that what I wasn't capable of earlier, I am capable of doing it now 🙂

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  30. Hi Akshay,
    I guess the spirit of learning was because how badly I wanted to learn it…Yes, however trivial things may seem, accomplishing it, always gives a special satisfaction. 🙂
    And thank You , your tamil is perfect 🙂

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  32. In our times i.e.when I was growing up , whistling was not considered a good thing and was associated with roadside Romeos and Majnus making passes at girls. Still it was something not everyone was capable of doing as it required a particular positioning of lips and movement of tongue and to blow out air the right way . Despite everything , whistling is something , I wanted to learn and be able to do but my efforts did not meet with any notable success . I used to envy the boys who would easily whistle out the tune of a full Bollywood film song. Whistle-blowers is now a respectable term denoting people who dare to raise a voice against any wrong practice or injustice being done. Now practice did make you perfect and justifiably , you had a sense of achievement and accomplishment. I wonder if Anna Hazare for all his crusading zeal and some modicum of success can literally blow a whistle !

    Nice post no doubt !

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  34. Thank You Sir 🙂 Gone are the days when whistiling was frowned upon. It's becoming somethig cool these days 🙂 and Yes, the very thought of having done something which I've always wanted to, is heartening 🙂

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  43. I fake it. Whenever lot of people are whistling around me. I pose as if I am also doing it. I can't. I asked Alok to teach me but all in vain. I will find a tutor for myself. BTW, great work Ash…

    *A fake whistle from my side*

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  45. Lol..

    I can whistle!!!! Love doin it in cinema halls. It used to be fun. But can't do it with two fingers 😦 ….

    P.S. There should be some whistling competition. That would be fun 😀

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  46. I think till date I have learnt a lot from all my friends , I am what I am , who i am because of the people around me ..

    If I start writing it will take years telling all that i have learnt

    hey i guess i can ask you to teach me how to whistle .. I can whistle with my lips but the way other people whistle with a finger in their mouth I could never do that ..

    .. I am not getting update of ur posts.. i missed the previous post ..
    Bikram's

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  50. Oh, you should write in your Blog about the things you learnt, you could help us all learn a few things as well 🙂
    And, I haven't changed any Settings Bikram! I'll check it though!

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