Hearing the wind

Sheetal was talking to her husband Ramesh.

"Children are so amazingly intelligent!", Sheetal mused. She was a school teacher.

"Why do you say?". Ramesh wasn't exactly disagreeing.

"Well, we had a small competition in our class. The theme was to suggest ways to hear the wind."

"Hear the wind - interesting!"

"Yes, we announced three prizes and an additional consolation prize."

"So, you're excited about the ideas children sent in."

"Yes"

"Have you announced the prizes?"

"Yes"

"What was the consolation prize?"

"Anoop brought in a wind chime."

"Nice. And why was that a consolation prize?"

"Well, it was a nice idea, but he just bought a wind chime from the shop. It wasn't exactly innovative."

"What was the third prize?"

"Shanthi took me to the garden where the wind was blowing. She folded a news paper, faced my ear to the direction the wind was blowing and placed the folded news paper over my ear. Of course, I heard the wind loud and clear."

Ramesh smiled brightly. "The second prize?"

"Karthik came close to my ear and blew air into my ear!"

Ramesh laughed. "Cute! Certainly better than Shanthi. So, I am curious; what was the first prize?"

Sheetal steadied herself and said - "Anita came over to me and handed a chit to me."

"A chit?"

"Yes, she wrote 'Just close your eyes and listen'"

Ramesh was stunned. "Indeed! Just close your eyes and listen! So what was the first prize?"

Sheetal smiled sheepishly.

"A wind chime!"