15.

Blow Hot, Blow Cold

There was a woodcutter. Everyday in the morning he used to go

to the forest to cut wood. In the evening he would sell the wood
in the city. One day he went deep into the forest. It was a very
cold winter. His fingers were becoming numb. Every now and
then, the woodcutter would put down his axe and bring his
hands close to his mouth. Then he would blow hard on them to
warm them.
While he was cutting wood Mian
Balishtiye was watching him from a corner.
Mian Balishtiye saw that the woodcutter
kept blowing on his hands. He began to
wonder what all that was about! But he
could not understand it. He got up
thinking that he would go and ask the
woodcutter. After walking a little, he came
back thinking that the woodcutter may
not like being asked. Finally, Mian
Balishtiye could not help himself. He went
hopping to the woodcutter and said, “Hello
brother, if you don’t mind can I ask you
something?”
Seeing this tiny person the woodcutter
was amazed and amused. But, he hid his smile and said, “Of course,
of course, ask what you want to.” “All I want to ask is why do you
blow from your mouth on to your hands?” said Mian Balishtiye.

Teacher’s Note : It would be good for the children to know that this story has
been written by Dr. Zakir Hussain, former President of India. He has written many
stories for children. It could be discussed why an imaginary character like Mian
Balishtiye could have been used.

139
 The woodcutter replied, “It is too cold. My hands are frozen,
so I blow on them to warm them up a little. Then, when they get
cold again I warm them again by blowing.”
Mian Balishtiye nodded, “Oh, ho, so that’s it!”
And with that he moved off. But he stayed nearby and kept a
close watch on him.
Soon it was afternoon. The woodcutter began to think of
lunch. He picked up two stones and made a chulha. He lit a fire
and put a small handi (pot) filled with potatoes to boil. The wood
was damp, so the woodcutter bent down and blew on the fire to
help it burn. Balishtiye was watching him from a distance. “Arre”,
he said to himself, “There he goes again – blowing from his
mouth! Does fire come out of his mouth?”
The woodcutter was feeling very hungry. He took out a potato
from the handi. He tried to eat it but the potato was too hot. He
again began to blow on it – ‘foo, foo’.
“Arre,” said Balishtiye to himself, “He’s blowing again! Now
what? Is he going to burn the potato?” After blowing a few more
‘foo, foos’ on it, the woodcutter put it in his mouth and began to
eat it.

140 Looking Around

 Now Mian was very surprised! He just could not stop himself
and off he went hopping to the woodcutter. “Hello brother”, he
said, “If you don’t mind, can I ask you a question again?”
The woodcutter replied, “Not at all. Ask whatever you want.”
Mian Balishtiye said, “This morning you told me that you
blew on your hands to warm them up. Now you are blowing on
this potato, which is already so hot. Why do you want to make
it hotter?”
“No, no, my little friend. This potato is too hot. I am blowing
on it to cool it down.”
When he heard this, Mian Balishtiye’s face became white. He
began to tremble with fear, and started to back away.
The woodcutter was a good man. He said, “What’s wrong
Mian? Are you trembling because of the cold?”
But Mian Balishtiye kept going backwards. When he was a safe
distance away, he said to himself, “What kind of a creature is this?
Surely he must be a ghost or a djinn. Blow hot, blow cold with the
same breath! It is just not possible!”
That’s right there are some things which just cannot be – but
they are!
– Zakir Hussain
Do this
Miya Balishtiye was confused when he saw the woodcutter
blowing on his cold hands to make them warm and on the
hot potatoes to cool them.
 Have you warmed your hands in winter by blowing on them
when they are cold? How does it feel?
 Blow hard from your mouth onto your hands. How
did you find the air from your mouth as compared
to the air around? Was it hotter, or cooler?
 Now put your hands at some distance from your mouth, and
blow again. Does the air from your mouth feel warm? Why?

Blow Hot, Blow Cold 141

Think and tell
Can you think of any other way in which you use the warmth
from your breath?

 Fold a piece of cloth 3-4 times. Now bring it close to your

mouth and blow hard on it. Did the cloth become warm?
 Balishtiye saw that the woodcutter was trying to cool the hot
potatoes by blowing on them. What would have happened if
he had eaten the potatoes without cooling them?
 Have you ever burnt your tongue when you ate or drank
something that was too hot? How do you cool some food
when it is too hot?
 If you were to cool these three hot things – dal, roti, rice – in
which ways would you do so?

Picture 1
Mini tried to cool her tea by blowing on it.
Which do you think will be hotter – Mini’s
tea or the air she blew from her mouth?
Picture 2
Sonu was feeling very cold. He kept
blowing on to his hands. Now think
and write, which will be cooler –
Sonu’s hands or his breath?

142 Looking Around

  For what other things do you blow air from your
mouth?

Make a paper whistle

 Take a piece of paper 12 cm long and 6 cm 1
wide.
 Fold the paper into half (as in picture 1). 2
Tear it off a little in the centre to make a small
hole (as shown in picture 2).
3
 From both the sides, fold the paper upwards
(picture 3).
 Hold the paper between your fingers and put
it to your mouth.
 Blow on it and hear the whistle. Whose whistle
was louder - your’s or your friend’s?
 Blow gently and also blow hard and make
different sounds.

Blow in different ways

 Make whistles of the things given below. Write in a sequence–from
the loudest to the softest whistle.
- Wrapper of a toffee
- A leaf
- A balloon
- The cap of a pen
- Any other thing
Teacher’s Note : Children take time to understand the concept of hot and cold
air. Through the activity, we can try to enable children to understand that the air
coming out of our mouth can be cold or hot as compared to the temperature
outside. It is not expected that children will be able to understand all this at one
go. It is important to link this concept with different experiences of children.

Blow Hot, Blow Cold 143

 Have you seen people playing different musical instruments
like flute, dholak, been ...., guitar, mridang , etc. Can you
recognise their sounds with your eyes closed? Find out more
about these musical instruments. Collect their pictures too.

Write
 Can you name some things which produce
melodious or pleasing sounds when we blow
into them.

Do this and discuss

 Have you seen someone blowing on their
spectacles to wipe them clean? How does the
air from the mouth help in cleaning the
spectacles?
 Take a glass. Bring it near your mouth and
blow hard on it. Do this two or three times.
Does the glass look hazy?
 Can you make a mirror hazy in the same way? Can you
tell by touching the mirror what made it hazy? Is the air
you blew from your mouth dry or wet?
 Put your hand on your chest. When you breathe in, does
your chest come out or go in.
Measure your chest
– Take a deep breath in
– Ask your friend to measure your chest with a thread.
Measurement____________
Teacher’s Note : Air blown out from our mouth is hot and the mirror cold. The
hot air that we breathe out contains water vapour which turn into tiny droplets of
water when it comes in contact with the colder mirror. This makes the glass
moist and hazy.

144 Looking Around

 – Now breathe out. Again ask your friend to measure
your chest. Measurement____________
– Was there any difference in the two measurements
of your chest?

How many breaths in one minute

– Put your finger under your nose. Can you feel any air
when you breathe out from your nose?
– Count how many times in one minute do you breathe
in and breathe out.
– Jump 30 times. Did you feel breathless?
– Now again count how many times in one minute you
breathed in and out.
– What was the difference in your count before and
after jumping.

The clock inside you

You have all heard the ‘tick tick’ of the clock. Have you seen a
doctor using a stethoscope to listen to our chest? What do
you think she hears? Where is the sound coming from? Is
there a clock inside your chest that keeps ticking away?
Do you want to listen to your heartbeat? Take a rubber tube
as long as the distance from your shoulder to your elbow. At one
end of the tube fix a funnel. Place the funnel on the left side of
your chest. Put the other end of the tube to your ear. Listen
carefully. Did you hear a dhak dhak sound?

Teacher’s Note : To help children time one minute the teacher can say ‘start’
and ‘stop’ in the activity for counting breaths.

Blow Hot, Blow Cold 145

 Snake tells the flow of air!
 For this take a round paper 10-15 cms wide. Cut
this paper in a spiral shape (as shown in picture 1).
Picture 1
 To hold this snake tie a thread on both sides.
 Tie a knot or a button to make it hang. Now the
snake is ready to move.

 Hang this snake near a hot thing. For this you

can take hot tea, water or a burning candle. Now
see from the top, in which direction the snake
moves. Picture 2
– Whenever the air flows upwards it will move in a
clock-wise direction. When the air flows downwards
the snake will move in the opposite direction.
– Stand with this snake below a fan. Look in which
direction it moves. Take this paper snake to
different places and observe its movement.
– Can you understand from the movement of the
snake - if the air is moving upwards or downwards?

What we have learnt

 While playing, Amit hit a wall. His forehead was
swollen. Didi immediately folded a scarf (4-5 times),
blew on it and kept it on Amit's forehead. Why do you
think didi did this?
 We blow to cool hot things as well as to warm them.
Give examples of each.

Teacher’s Note : The ‘snake game’ can give an idea to children about the
direction of air flow. When the hot air rises the snake moves in a clockwise
direction. When the cold air comes down (as it is heavier) the snake moves in an
anti-clockwise direction as happens under a fan. To find out the direction in
which the snake is moving we must remember to view it from above.

146 Looking Around