STD XII ENGLISH

LOST SPRING

# Which advice did the narrator give Saheb? Why did the author realize that her advice was
‘hollow?’

On meeting Saheb, the narrator advised him to go to school. But when she gave an afterthought, the
author realized that the thought of going to school had never occurred to children like Saheb. For
them rag-picking was more meaningful than schooling and learning so going to a school and learning
was beyond their reach. When she realized this, the narrator felt that her advice was hollow.

# Why was the author embarrassed when Saheb asked her if her school was ready?

Seeing Saheb ruining his childhood picking rags, the author once asked him if he would join her
school if she started one. Saheb gave her a positive answer. Another day when the two met, Saheb
asked her if her school was ready. The author suddenly felt speechless as she had not meant to start
a school as Saheb had expected.

OR The writer, Anees Jung, had asked Saheb if he would join her school in case she had opened one
and Saheb’s answer was positive. She had not expected this rag-picker as having any passion for
education because she was prejudiced about this. When she saw Saheb running to her and asking if
her school was ready, Anees Jung felt embarrassed.

# Why should there be a hard time for Saheb to believe the meaning of his name?

Saheb’s full name is Saheb-E-Alam which means the Lord of the Universe. Being a poor rag picker,
Saheb cannot believe that the Lord of the Universe is supposed to be a rag-picker like him and
therefore he will struggle to believe the meaning of his name.

# How does the author reason the barefoot tradition of the rag pickers?

The rag pickers of Seemapuri are traditionally barefooted. The author is doubtful about the origin
and reasons behind this tradition of the rag pickers. She believes that it is an excuse to explain their
poverty. But on the other side she sees the possibilities of the traces of an ancient tradition
preserved by the poor rag pickers.

# What does the story the man from Udipi told the author tell about the blindness to traditions and
religious stigma?

A man from Udipi (Udupi) once told the narrator his own story when he was a boy and his father a
priest in the temple. As a young boy he would go to school past this old temple and stop briefly to
pray for a pair of shoes. Thirty years later when the author visited his town and the temple, she saw
a lot of modern instances in the town and lifestyle of the people. The author means to indicate the
timely changes education brings to people and how the illiterate rag pickers remain unchanged,
carrying the rotten traditions.

# Under what circumstances did Saheb’s family have to leave his country? (3 marks)

Saheb is a rag-picker who lives in Seemapuri on the Delhi-UP border. He came to Seemapuri from
Bangladesh with thousands of others forced by natural calamities there. During that time people had
to take a crucial decision in their life. On one hand they could stay back in Dhaka so that they could
have a home and address and on the other they could leave their country where crop failure and
draught brought them to near ruin. It was under this circumstance Saheb’s family had to leave their
country.

# How is Seemapuri both near and far away from Delhi?

Seemapuri is a backward area on the periphery of Delhi. Geographically it is very close to Delhi
whereas its traditions, standard of life and people are far behind the time. Delhi is the national
capital territory of India so its life standards are glowing and growing. In Seemapuri one can still see
the backward India where people live like animals.

# Food is more important for survival than an identity. How is this statement true in the lives of the
Seemapuritan rag pickers?

Thousands of rag pickers live in Seemapuri. They do not have any identity in their society or in the
country yet they are happy for the fact that here they don’t need to starve. While they were still in
the draught-hit Bangladesh, they had their houses and address but they were starving. By
abandoning their country of origin and reaching Seemapuri, they were deprived of their address but
here they had food to eat.

# How did Seemapuri turn out to be a better place for the Bangladeshis?

Seemapuri was a deserted area when the Bangladeshis arrived here three decades ago. They were
forced to come here due to the repeated famine and other disasters in Bangladesh. They loved
Seemapuri because they could survive here. They had food and shelter here.

# How do you understand rag-picking having the proportions of a fine art in Seemapuri?

Like any other art form, rag-picking possesses certain talents and rules. One needs guidance and
inborn talents to be a successful rag picker. He should know where to find garbage, what to take,
what to ignore, what time is best for it and so on. In Seemapuri, every child is taught the essential art
of rag-picking.
# "It seems that for children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents.’
Explain.

In Seemapuri survival means rag-picking. The elders have made it their profession for a fixed wages
whereas for the children rag-picking is a game of treasure-hunting. They work through the garbage
with a hope that one day they would get a gold coin or a rupee note from the garbage heap.

# Why is Saheb keenly watching the neighbourhood tennis players?

Sometime Saheb can be found outside the club watching people play tennis. He is not interested in
playing tennis. He was content to watch the game from outside. He is more interested in using the
swing which the gatekeeper let him use before closing.

# Whether Saheb likes or not, he is altogether changed for all his prosperity. What is the change?
What does this change suggest?

Saheb was once a rag picker and now works in a tea-shop, carrying milk for a better, fixed wages.
Unlike the others in his family and caste, Saheb’s willingness to opt another line of work other than
the traditional way of following his lineage is a mark of change in his life.

# Why is Saheb not his own master?

Saheb was his own master when he was a rag picker. He was not accountable to anyone nor was he
to work for someone. But now Saheb is working for a tea shop, having to carry milk from a milk
booth. Even though he is paid Rs.800 and all his meals, Saheb has lost his freedom to roam with his
friends and to be his own master.

# How does Anees Jung explain the over sensitivity of the poor rag pickers to the rich men’s
promises?

Anees Jung strongly believes that the poor people are over sensitive to the promises of the rich. She
had experienced this in the case of Saheb who believed the fake promise of starting a school given
by her.

# How far is the change good for Saheb?

Saheb was once a carefree boy, with no responsibilities and tensions, and of course, no
achievements in life. But now he is a responsible boy, earning more than anyone in his society does.
While the others go on a lazy life, Saheb-e-Alam is rising to a prosperous life. Soon he will be rich and
leading a different life and a model for the rest of him.
# How is Mukesh’s attitude different from that of Saheb, both two sides of the same coin?

Mukesh and Saheb belong to slums and are forced to work as children. Saheb is cool and lack much
determination in life. He is less expressive. Changes happened to him unexpectedly. Mukesh is
determined and well planned. He is practical too. Unlike the rest of his people, Mukesh is ready to
rebel with the social set up and is optimistic about his bright future.

# What is the incongruity of Mukesh’s dreaming to be a motor mechanic?

Mukesh belongs to a bangle-making family in Firozabad. His people believe that they have to keep
up with the traditions and that they have to do no other work other than bangle-making for the
auspiciousness of marriage in the country. But Mukesh wishes to be a motor mechanic which is out
of question in his tradition.

# How does the author narrate the child labour prevailing in Firozabad?

Around 20,000 children are working in glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without
air and light. Here they slog their daylight hours, often losing the brightness of their eyes. Their eyes
are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. Due to this they often end up losing their
eyesight before they become adults.

# Karam and God-given lineage amply tell the sad picture of the stigma of religion that rules the poor
people of India? Explain.

India is still primitive in many spheres of life even in our time. A big majority of Indians in the villages
still believe the division of labour system that began centuries ago. When one is not doing any better
in life due to the unwillingness to adopt another profession, they accept it as God’s plan and do the
same work as if it is a God given lineage.

# Which are the two hurdles that Mukesh has to break away for a better existence?

Mukesh has realized that being a bangle maker will not alleviate his poverty and therefore he wishes
to become a motor mechanic to be successful in his life. But doing any job other than bangle making
is out of question in his society. He has to first convince his family and society of the need of
undertaking another profession. If the society lets him choose his way, Mukesh has to face a group
of middlemen, politicians and their watchdogs, the police of Firozabad, who are altogether the sole
beneficiaries.

# In what sense is Mukesh’s father a failure?

Mukesh’s father was once a tailor before he became a bangle maker in Firozabad. He was a failure in
his life as he could not teach his two sons nothing other than the art of bangle making.
# Explain: Daring is not part of his growing up.

Mukesh’s society does not dare to question the social evils that they suffer under the middlemen
and politicians and policemen. Most people here believe that they are asked by god to carry on this
unprofitable profession of bangle making while some people blame their destiny for their
wretchedness. So no one is allowed to think differently and the question of how to overcome the
curse of the middlemen usually doesn’t arise among them because if any one dared to rise against
them, they are suppressed.

# What do you mean by ‘stigma of caste?’

Religion has the power to make anyone anything. Once one got trapped by any religion, he is no
more ruled by reason; superstitions start ruling them. He finds reason for any senseless act of him in
the mirage created by the religion. This illusion is called stigma of religion.

# What is the vicious circle for the people of Firozabad? Why is it called so?

People of Firozabad live in an illusionary world. Bangle makers over generations, they believe that it
is a God-given work that they are doing and feel proud of being bangle makers. In fact this
superstition is a trap for them. They are in an inescapable whirlpool, surrounded by beliefs and
traditions. They do not understand that the rich people and the politicians want them believe such
beliefs.

# Do you think Mukesh will reach his goal of becoming a motor mechanic? Give reasons.

Yes, there are all the possibilities that Mukesh will one day become a motor mechanic. First of all it is
his unique ambition in life that he shares with none else in his society. He is aware of the hurdles he
has to face. His dream is a very reasonable and not far from his reach if he could overthrow the
middlemen or run away from them. If you have another question or another answer, kindly ask us or
answer us down there in the box.

# How are politicians, agents, middlemen and policemen responsible for the misfortunes of the
people of Firozabad?

Firozabad may offer a livelihood for thousands of bangle makers but there a number of businessmen
and politicians who make a living out of them. Having found the bangle-makers of Firozabad their
potential source of income, these people keep the population of Firozabad perpetually illiterate and
under the shadow of fear and superstitions. Even when the poor and suppressed people come
forward to organize trade unions, they beat them up and put them in prisons until their ability to
revolt is subdued. Neither is Saheb privileged nor is Mukesh fortunate. They will be, only when they
break away from the stigma of religion and caste and many others. A change in the attitude of the
poor people towards their work and the choice they are supposed to make.
# How is Saheb essentially different from Mukesh? What is common for the two boys?

Both Mukesh and Saheb are similar and different from various aspects and outlook of their life. The
two are poor and downtrodden but they have high expectations and self-esteem. On one side,
Saheb is cool and composed but Mukesh is ambitious and focussed. He has only one dream –
become a motor mechanic. Saheb was his own master but he gets ready to sacrifice the freedom of
being an easy-going, carefree chap. This brings Saheb very closer to Mukesh whose only dream is not
mixed with another.

# A vicious circle is a trap that you try to get out from, all the time, but fail. In Firozabad, people have
made all attempts to get out of the vicious circle that the agents, politicians, religions and policemen
have together imposed. Discuss the plight of the slum people.

Although Firozabad flaunts its colourful and glowing glasses and bangles, the people who work at
the bottom level have a different story to tell. All that their eyes can see is their children’s their
parents’, their brothers’ and their sisters’ plight. Stifled by superstitions and trapped by traditions
and politicians, they have no freedom of expression or movement. They cannot sell their hard work
in the open market because they are bound to work for agents who alone have the right to sell. If
they organize against injustice, they get beaten up and dragged into jail. At a very early stage of life
they are blinded due to the intense heat they are exposed to. They cannot choose to do another
profession because they fear doing anything other than bangle making. They have been
brainwashed by religion so that they believe that bangle-making has got some divine connection and
that they have been made God’s chosen ones to make bangles for the entire nation. Politicians
suppress them and keep them uneducated for mere votes and middlemen keep them poor to keep
their wages low. Besides, policemen work for their masters, the politicians and the agents, by scaring
the poor people, suppressing them, not allowing them to get organized.
Q) Give a brief account of life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in
Seemapuri.
A) The author’s acquaintance with Saheb and other barefoot ragpickers introduced her
to Seemapuri. It is a slum area located on the periphery of Delhi. The residents of
Seemapuri consist of people who left Bangladesh in the 1971 War and are basically
refugees.
Saheb’s family is among them. The area does not have facilities of sewage, drainage
or running water. About 10000 ragpickers live here. Their only means of livelihood is
ragpicking, and they treat rags as valuable as gold. These ragpickers have lived here
for more than thirty years without any identity. They do not have permits but have
ration cards, with which they can get their names on the voter’s list and also buy
grains at subsidised rates.

Q) Lost Spring’ explains the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn thousands of
people to a life of abject poverty. Do you agree? Why/Why not?
A) ‘Lost Spring’ is a good narration of grinding poverty and traditions to which thousands
of people have succumbed. The story revolves around the pitiable condition of poor
children who have been forced to live in slums and work hard in dirty conditions. The
story is divided into two parts. The first part tells the writer’s impression about the life
of poor ragpickers who have migrated from Bangladesh, but now have settled in the
Seemapuri area of Delhi.
The second part narrates the miserable life of the bangle makers in the town of
Firozabad. The stark reality of these families is that in spite of back-breaking hard
work that they put in, they cannot have two square meals a day. Besides, they are
victims of exploitation by those above them and also suffer the consequences of
blind belief in traditions.

Q) The bangle makers of Firozabad live and die in squalor.

A) Firozabad is the hub of India’s glass-blowing industry where families have spent
generations making bangles to adorn married women. The stark reality of these
families is that in spite of the back breaking hard work that they put in, they cannot
have two square meals a day.They work in deplorable conditions and many lose their
eyesight early. To top it all, they live in unhygienic conditions where there is a lack of
basic amenities too.The sad reality is that the workers cannot organise themselves
into a cooperative. They are devoid of all enthusiasm and do not dare to dream of
anything better. The fear of the police and lack of leadership among themselves have
confined them to a vicious circle of poverty, indifference and greed. Thus, while they
bring happiness to everyone’s life, their own life is steeped in poverty and squalor.

Q) Whom does Anees Jung blame for the sorry plight of the bangle makers?
A) Anees Jung blames the middlemen, the policemen, the lawmakers, the bureaucrats
and the politicians for the sorry plight of the bangle makers. These people conspire
against and exploit the poor bangle makers. They pay them meagre wages, do not
let them form co-operatives, and compel their children to join the same trade at an
early age.