Blown away

“There are in and out whistlers —you have to learn how to breathe properly if you’re going to be whistling. The commonest form is pucker whistling,where you purse your lips. A few whistle through their teeth. They’re known as smiling whistlers.” One of the group’s smiling whistlers,Farooque Baig,demonstrates his technique,to our disbelief. It’s a little hard to imagine that the perfectly timed rendition of Pukarta Chala Hoon Main is coming from behind that grinning mouth.

For a group formed only six years ago,the IWA has grown phenomenally. From a handful of enthusiasts to over 400 members,the expansion of the group proves that whistling is a passion like any other,with the group even performing on television,in

India’s Got Talent and Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega. “I don’t even remember how long I’ve been whistling. All I can say is that when I read that such a group existed,I was so excited to find this platform that I’d joined the IWA within one hour.” reveals Karam. The others present have similar stories. Uday Shirur too read a media report about the group,while Sharad Karnad had found it courtesy Google. Others,like Ajit Abhyankar,Anil Shinde and Shashank Inamdar found out through word of mouth.

“We’d always been ‘bathroom whistlers’ and had to be content with performing at the occasional family function,” says Abhayankar,“Now we regularly perform at concerts and if there’s no performance in the offing,then we hold internal competitions.”

The upcoming concert will see six whistlers and two vocalists on stage. “We’re trying something different this time,” says Karnad,“instead of whistling the vocals,we’ll be whistling the music. This is quite unsual since most people instinctively tend to whistle the vocalists’ portions of the song.” And as usual,they’ll perform audience requests and will get the crowd to sing along. “That’s how we all have fun.”

IWA performs at Kala Ghoda on February 14 at 3 pm