A day before his performance, veteran whistle artiste K Siva Prasad presents a calm, nonchalant demeanour. Smooth yet focused, relaxed yet determined, he continues to practice his skill, regardless of his surroundings.
Known as the Whistle Wizard, a title given to him by The Indian Express in 1981, Siva Prasad has been practising whistle art for the past 45 years. Till date, he has travelled 25 countries and performed in 10,000 music concerts in his illustrious career.
The veteran musician is now gearing up for another unique concert, circled around a patriotic theme.
“This is a unique form of art in the world of music. So far in my career, I have crossed all barriers of language and on Independence Day, I felt it is my duty to offer my salutations to our great country, through this art music,” says Siva Prasad.
After his performance, the Whistle Wizard will also release his album titled Mera Bharat, Mera Saas (My Nation, My Breath).
Reflecting on how he began his musical journey, Siva Prasad, who is the ninth child in his family, says his family members were his greatest inspiration.
“In those days, it was a trend to copy elders. My elder brother K Parthasarathy would whistle, 24 hours a day and I would copy him. My family loved classical music. When I first attempted a full song with my whistle art, my relatives and family members were astonished. They encouraged me to practise more and it soon became a regular feature,” recalls the 60-year-old.
Siva Prasad soon became a showman of sorts in his neighbourhood and he would be asked to perform whenever there was any special occasion or if anybody’s friends or relatives came over. On one such occasion, he was introduced to Kona Prabhakara Rao, the former Governor of Maharashtra. Rao was fascinated with his whistle music and soon introduced him to several politicians and musicians.
“At first, I was rejected by all the great musicians as they looked down upon whistle music. They felt whistling was a cheap activity and urged me to learn an instrument instead. But Rao was relentless, he insisted that I possessed a unique talent and later introduced me to the great carnatic vocalist Dr Balamuralikrishna, who eventually became my guru,” shares the veteran musician. Though Siva Prasad is a globally acknowledged musician, he admits that doubted himself at times.
“Generally in India, any experiments or anything that is new, won’t be appreciated. So I invited a lot of discouragement initially, and when great musicians rejected me, I began to doubt myself,” he concedes.
However, like every successful person, he too had a turning point in his career, a moment where he knew this was what he was born to do.
“I attended an event where Dr Balamuralikrishna was the chief guest and K Prabhakar Rao, who was the governor at the time, was also present. Suddenly during the event, he called me and asked me to perform. I sang Balamuralikrishna’s favourite song in Bhairavi Raagam and he immediately stood up and applauded. He also volunteered to teach me polish my talent and that was when I started believing in myself,” reveals a nostalgic Siva Prasad. After decades of practise, the Whistle Wizard has mastered almost every technique there is in whistle music, but he continues to learn and wishes to pass on his wisdom to young students.
“My ambition is to come up with new albums on a regular basis. I would like to pass on my knowledge to the younger generation, and there is so much more technology available today. I currently have 16 students training under me and I’m teaching in a small school in my house,” the musician reveals.
Encouraging more youngsters to take up whistle music, Siva Prasad points out that it is a lung exercise and has immense health benefits and could also cure diseases like Hypnophilia.
The legendary artiste also drives home the point that no matter how talented or successful you are, it’s important to keep honing your skills and stick to the basics.
“Even today I practise for three to four hours everyday, regardless of whether there is a programme or not,” he quips.
Whistle Wizard K Siva Prasad will perform at Harihara Kala Bhavan, Secunderabad, today from 6:30 to 7:30 pm.