Whistleblowers, whistle cautiously

In a country where most people still look at critics of governments and other 'establishment' establishments as, at best, rude, and, at worst, anti-social ingrates, how is the whistleblower generally perceived? For one, whistling in public is seen as vaguely impolite, the open puckering of lips to let controlled air out in order to produce sound is not yet seen as a civil act. For another, while spitting and its grosser form, expectorating or hawking - the dragging out of phlegm and mucus up one's throat to finally fling it - have a long tradition, in the subcontinent, no scriptures, mythologies or legends find much mention of a whistle. While modern Russia has managed to exorcise the old Slavic superstition that whistling indoors brings poverty, having no mention either for or against the act leaves us without any real moral compass regarding whistle-blowing.

One may regard whistling different from blowing a mechanical whistle. But both are calls for attention - the former to oneself; the latter to others or as a warning. Blowing a whistle in many societies signifies pleasure or even a show of innocence when one is suspected of something dodgy. Here, whistle-blowing is still associated first with dubious activities like eve-teasing. Till that changes, expect Pandoras and Pegasuses to be the domain of Hellenic cultures.