Many people will love to whistle popular tunes in a joyful mood. A musician in Ongole has perfected whistling to mimic popular music with ease and keep the audience spell-bound in the process.
“Whistling is an art of producing flute-like sound,,” says ‘Eelapati’ A. R. Laya, who aims to set a world record of sorts whistling songs at a stretch for a record duration.
Gifted with the special talent, Laya, founder of Navarasa Kala Vedika, switched over from one song to another without taking a breath in between for 200 seconds during a stage performance here, winning the appreciation of one and all.
“I can perform for 342 seconds at a stretch,” says Laya while talking to The Hindu here after his breathtaking performance.
Laya, who has given over 2,000 stage performance in his 20-year music career in different parts of the country and abroad at the invitation of non-resident Telugus, has also created a record of sorts singing 100 select songs of legendary singer Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao here.
Mimic artiste“I can mimic voices of, among others, renowned playback singers Ghantasala, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam,” adds Laya proudly. The artiste has won among other awards the one in memory of thespian Eelapata Raghuramaiah, who had sung ‘padyams’ and songs through whistle.
