Of the 125 participants shortlisted, only three were from India; Svara was the only child among these. Image used for representative purpose.
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Svara Menon, a nine-year-old resident of Bengaluru, recently won laurels at the 46th World Whistling Championship (also known as the World Whistlers Convention) held from May 30 – June 2 in Kawasaki, Japan. She entered the Recorded Accompaniment Category–Child Division of the competition and took second place.
“We didn’t really think it would take this kind of a turn in life,” said her excited mother, Binitha Shajesh, explaining that her daughter started whistling as a hobby. Then, on YouTube, Binitha saw a girl from Chennai who set a Guinness World record for whistling continuously for 18 hours. ”That’s when I thought there is some scope of development here for her hobby,” explained Binitha. “I thought maybe we should give it some direction, which is why we found a coach for her.”
Not that this was without its challenges. For starters, there is little awareness about professional whistling in India, making even finding a coach challenging. It was this coach, two-time world champion Nikhil Rane, who suggested that Svara participate in this contest.
Of the 125 participants shortlisted, only three were from India; Svara was the only child among these.
Talking about her experience of the country, she says that she found it very soothing and clean and enjoyed the food there. “My favourite memory was getting on the stage and facing my fears, just whistling and coming back and being relieved that it’s done,” said Ms. Svara, a class IV student at Chaman Bharatiya school. Besides whistling, she enjoys drawing, gymnastics, and dancing.
