When she whistles, it is as clean as a whistle – literally.
For the 46-year-old city housewife, whistling has been her passion since childhood. After fulfilling a majority of her responsibilities towards family she is now keen on carving a name for herself in the field of music.
Madhira Roja Prasannatha, who has been enthralling music lovers with rendition of songs through whistling, is all set to enter the record books this month-end.
“I am planning to set a record and I will be singing for Wonder Book of Records, a Mumbai –based outfit which showcases amazing feats and incredible achievements,” she has told The Hindu.
Roja Prasannatha will be whistling as many 42 songs, both in Telugu and Hindi along with Annamayya and Thyagaraja kritis in three hours. “Earlier, I only learnt whistling Telugu film songs and now I have added Hindu film songs to my repertoire. Presently I am learning Carnatic music. I want to whistle songs of different genre,” said the whistling sensation. She is also taking enough precautions to maintain her stamina to successfully meet the challenge.
Popular among
music circles
Affable Roja Prasannatha is popular among music circles and exhibits her skills at marriages, house-warming ceremonies, and public programmes. Several musical outfits allot a slot for her to showcase her talent. “Roja madam is well known for her renditions of intricate songs such as ‘Mahaprana deepam’ from Sri Manjunadha film,” says senior artiste H.V.R.S. Prasad of Sumadhura Kala Niketan. Most of the programmes organised by the mahila outfits in the city invariably features a performance by Roja Prasannatha to showcase women empowerment. Roja Prasannatha says that as a teenager she picked up whistling. “My mother used to chide me as she considered the habit not suitable for a girl.”
Undeterred, Prasannatha practised in private. Soon she emerged as a proficient whistler and then began to exploit avenues to exhibit her talent.
