I’m Ishma, a Bangalore based music enthusiast who loves all things music and writing. This website is an ode to all good things music brought into my life.

If  you’re curious why I called my website Whistling Wagon Musician, allow me to share a story from my life that’s very close to my heart –

My musical journey literally started in a Wagon (train carriage) when I was 5-years old. My family, including several cousins, uncles, and aunts took a train from Bangalore to Delhi on an annual summer holiday that everyone had been looking forward to. Bangalore to Delhi by train took over 45 hours, so us cousins, loaded with snacks, board games, comics, etc, found the train journey more exciting than the destination itself.

Someone started a game of Antakshari* and I gladly chimed in with whatever bits and pieces of songs the 5-year-old me knew. Serendipitously, my music teacher, Sudha Murthy ma’am was traveling in the adjacent compartment of our train coach. So with my parent’s permission, she held my hands and led me to her seat. My most vivid memories from the holiday are how she gently held my palms for the following hours and asked me to listen to her sing some simple Swaras and Aalap and then repeat after her. She then spoke to my mum and convinced her to let me join formal vocal music classes. After the trip, I immediately started my training and continued to learn Carnatic vocals from her for the next 15 years before moving to guruji Pt. Parameshwar Hegde, to learn Hindustani vocal music.

Long story short, I owe whatever little I know about music, to that journey on a whistling wagon where I met my beloved and first music teacher, Sudha ma’am.

(*Antakshari is a fun song game played between two groups. It’s famous in South Asia, especially in India.)
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Please continue to support Indie artists, especially now when live gigs are banned. Tune into and share live music streams of your favorite artists, buy music and merch directly from artist’s e-commerce channels, consider donating to your favorite artists. There are so many ways you can support music industry workers even during these unprecedented times.