Her caller tune is a whistle — clear and startling. Startling because when she comes on the phone, her voice is mellifluous and it is difficult to relate her to the whistle one heard earlier.
Swetha Suresh is among those rare women who have chosen the less-trodden path of making a living out of whistling tunes. At 24 years of age, she has already worked in five films, is an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer and is now learning western music. She already holds a record for whistling for 18 hours continuously and made it to the Book of Records in the country and Asia.
It all began at the age of 15 years when she broke into whistling songs based on the carnatic music she was training in. “I wanted to learn carnatic vocal, but instead started whistling. It sounded great.”
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Her parents’ encouragement helped. “I am now learning to replicate western music through whistling. That is why I am learning western vocal,” says Swetha, who will be flying to Tokyo to participate in the World Whistlers Convention.
“In India, whistling is taboo. But it is a beautiful art form. I want to try this competition,” she says.
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At the event, she plans to perform the song Minsara poove from the Rajinikant-starrer Padayappa and dance as she whistles. She is also planning to take up western numbers.
Finance is a problem, she admits. Though she has sought help from relatives, she is hoping to find a sponsor for the trip. “I am going with my mother and it will cost me Rs. 1 lakh per person.”
In the long run, she is hoping to train students interested in learning whistling as an art form. “There are techniques to learn, everything is different from how one sings and whistles into a microphone. As a member of the Indian Whistlers’ Association, which is creating a syllabus, I want to teach others the techniques,” she says.