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!