THE SEA WHISPERER

Manu knew she was a whale in her past life. Or if you don’t believe in past life then she had to be a whale in human form in this life.

Remember those old-time radios where you had to catch the frequency by turning the antenna? Manu’s ears seemed to have a built-in antenna that could pick up this low frequency whale sonar and she tuned into these conversations each time she played her flute.

The first time Baba had given her the flute, the villagers of Bunbuna Gaon had laughed. What would a deaf girl do with a flute? But Baba held her fingers and showed her how to feel music. Her fingers sensed the pressure as the air that she breathed into the flute escaped the seven holes that Baba had painstakingly carved into the bamboo reed. Manu took to the flute like fish to the sea and she learnt, bit by bit.

Her fingers sensed the pressure as the air that she breathed into the flute

Baba would sometimes ask her, ‘Why do you play the flute Manu?’ Manu would point to her brain and sign: ‘It’s very noisy inside. Flute calms me down.’

Baba would prod