Question 1.

Why does the author say that the bangle-makers are caught in a vicious web?
Answer:
The author says that bangle-makers are caught in a vicious web because they
are not able to form co-operative societies for their betterment and are forced
to follow and obey sahukars and policemen.

Question 2.
Who is Mukesh? What is his dream?
Answer:
Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle-maker of Firozabad. He dreams of
becoming a motor mechanic and a car driver. In fact, he insists on becoming
his own master.

Question 3.
Why could the bangle-makers not organise themselves into a co-operative?
Answer:
Most of the young bangle-makers have fallen into the trap of the middlemen.
They are also afraid of the police. They know that the police will haul them up,
beat them and drag to jail for doing something illegal. There is no leader
among them to help them see things differently.

Question 4.
What does the writer mean when she says, ‘Saheb is no longer his own
master’?
Answer:
The writer meant that till Saheb was a ragpicker, he was a carefree boy, who
would work, have time for himself and enjoy the work he was doing. But from
the time he had started working in a stall with others supervising his work, he
changed. He had to become responsible and could not be free like earlier. He
was no longer his own master.

Question 5.
What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ convey?
Answer:
Spring is associated with childhood. Like spring, a child blooms in childhood.
However, abject poverty and thoughtless traditions result in the loss of child-
like innocence and much needed education. Millions of children like Saheb
and Mukesh lose the spring in their lives because they are compelled to do
hazardous work to provide a living for their family and themselves. Thus, the
title brings out the dejected life of the child labourers and their deprivation of
the blessings of childhood.

Question 6.
What is the condition of the children working in the glass furnaces of
Firozabad?
Answer:
More than 20,000 children illegally work in the glass blowing factories in
Firozabad. They work around furnaces in high temperature to weld glasses.
They work in dingy cells without light and air. Their eyes are adjusted more to
the dark than to the light outside. They work all day long. Many of them lose
their eyesight before they become adults.

Question 7.
Why don’t the younger ones of the bangle-makers do anything else?
Answer:
The years of mind numbing and hard toil kill the desire of making new
attempts to improve their condition and the ability to dream. In Firozabad,
doing any other work needs rebellion, strong will and the determination of the
bangle-makers to do something go along with the family tradition because of
lack of awareness, education and opportunities.

Question 8.
What did garbage mean to the children of Seemapuri and to their parents?
Answer:
For elders of Seemapuri, since they are ragpickers, garbage is a means of
survival. However, to the children of Seemapuri, garbage is wrapped in
wonder. Sometimes, they expect to find a coin, which raises their hope of
finding more.

Question 9.
What does Saheb look for in the garbage dumps?
Answer:
Saheb looks for some silver coins or currency note. It is as valuable as gold
for him.
Question 10.
“It is his karam, his destiny”. What is Mukesh’s family’s attitude towards their
situation?
Answer:
Mukesh’s grandmother regards it as their destiny. She says that they were
born in the caste of bangle-makers and have seen nothing but bangles in their
lives. Mukesh’s family had mutely accepted it as their destiny and had
stopped taking any initiative to change their fate.

Question 11.
How is the bangle industry of Firozabad a curse for the bangle-makers?
Answer:
Men have to work in dingy cells without air and light. As a result, they lose the
brightness of their eyes and go blind with the dust from polishing the glass
bangles. They are also exploited by moneylenders, police, bureaucrats and
politicians. They live in a state of intense poverty and have to go without food
for days. Therefore, it is a curse for them.

Question 12.
Describe the irony in Saheb’s name.
Answer:
Saheb’s full name is Saheb-e-Alam which means ‘Lord of the Universe’. But in
stark contrast to his name, Saheb is poverty-stricken, barefoot, homeless
ragpicker who scrounges the garbage dumps of Delhi for his livelihood. His
name is in total contrast to his very existence and is thus, ironical.

Question 13.
What does the reference to chappals in ‘Lost Spring’ tell us about the
economic condition of the ragpickers?
Answer:
The ragpickers were extremely poor. They did not have any money to buy
chappals. They were poor and impoverished. They lived a hand-to-mouth
existence. They were exploited and had no other work to do. They did not
have a house to live in too.

Question 14.
“Listening to them, I see two distinct worlds…” In the context of Mukesh, the
bangle- maker’s son, which two worlds is Anees Jung referring to?
Answer:
The author, Anees Jung very distinctly sees the two worlds of the bangle-
makers and the makers of the society. On one side exists the poverty-stricken
families burdened by the stigma of caste, illiteracy, pall and gloom, while on
the other side, there is the sahukars, middlemen, policemen, keepers of law
and the bureaucrats, who ensure that these poor people continue to be
entangled in the vicious circle of poverty. Both these worlds are in stark
contrast to each other.

Question 15.
Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India?
Answer:
Saheb’s parents belonged to Dhaka in Bangladesh, where they lived amidst
green fields. They and the other ragpickers left their homes many years ago
and migrated to India in search of a livelihood, as their homes and fields were
destroyed in storms. This forced them to come to India, where they settled in
the slums of Seemapuri.

Question 16.
What job did Saheb take up? Was he happy?
Answer:
Saheb took up work at a tea stall, where he had to perform several odd jobs,
including
getting milk from the milk booth. He was not happy, as he had lost his
independence. Though he earned ? 800 and got all his meals free, he was no
longer his own master.

Question 17.
Whom does Anees Jung blame for the sorry plight of the bangle-makers?
Answer:
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 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.

Question 18.
What was Mukesh’s dream? In your opinion, did he achieve his dream?
Answer:
Mukesh’s dream was to become a motor-mechanic. It is no doubt difficult for
Mukesh to achieve his dream, as he is torn between his desires and his family
tradition, which he cannot escape. Besides, he has to face a number of
obstacles in the form of sahukars, middlemen, bureaucrats, lawmakers,
politicians, etc. However, his will to work hard, and his strong determination
could make him achieve his dream.

Question 19.
In spite of despair and disease pervading the lives of the slum children, they
are not devoid of hope. How far do you agree?
Answer:
In spite of growing up amidst despair and disease, children who live in the
slum have the desire to achieve something big in life like Mukesh. This shows
that they are not devoid of hope. Saheb, a ragpicker, is eager to go to a
school and learn. Mukesh, who , works in dark, dingy cells, dreams of
becoming a motor mechanic, which is very much against his family tradition.

Question 20.
Was Saheb happy working at the tea stall?
Answer:
No, Saheb was not happy working at the tea stall. He had lost his carefree
look. He was less contented as he was burdened with responsibilities. The
rag-picking plastic bag though heavy, seemed lighter than the steel canister.

Lost Spring Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer

Type
Question 1.
Grinding poverty and tradition condemn the children of ragpickers or bangle-
makers to a life of exploitation. Such children are deprived of all opportunities
in life. Mukesh, who opts out of the existing profession of his forefathers by
resolving to start a new job of a motor mechanic symbolises the modem
youth. What lesson do we learn from Mukesh’s example?
Answer:
It is not only the grinding poverty but also the tradition that condemns the
children of ragpickers or bangle-makers to live a life of exploitation. On one
side is the family, trapped in poverty and burdened by stigma of the caste they
are born in, on the other side, they are trapped in the vicious circle of inhuman
sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the so-called keepers of law, the
bureaucrats and the politicians. All of them have created a situation from
which there is no way out.

The trapped do not have the guts to break out of it. Mukesh, in fact, is like a
ray of hope with his dreams of becoming a motor mechanic. He wants to opt
out of the existing profession of his forefathers. He has resolved to start a new
job as a motor mechanic. The long distance to the garage where he will learn
the work of a motor mechanic does not deter him. He is prepared to walk. But
he is firm. He symbolises the youth of his clan. If this persists, the day is not
far when a new generation will bring brightness and hope to the dark and
dingy homes of these poverty-ridden workers.

Question 2.
How is Mukesh more ambitious in life than Saheb? Give a reasoned answer.
OR
How is Mukesh’s attitude towards his situation different from that of Saheb?
Why?
Answer:
Mukesh is definitely more ambitious than Saheb. Unlike most of his friends in
Firozabad, Mukesh did not want to follow the profession of making bangles.
No one else could dare to think of breaking the conventional style of living.
Mukesh dreamt of becoming a motor mechanic. He had already decided to go
to a garage and learn about cars. Though the garage was a long way from his
home, he was prepared to walk that distance. He insisted on becoming his
own master.

Saheb, on the other hand, had sacrificed his freedom as a ragpicker to take
up a salaried job that would pay him 800 rupees and give him all his meals.
Now, he was no longer his own master. He had lost his carefree look (which
he had when he was a ragpicker). The can that he carried seemed heavier
than the bag he carried as a ragpicker, for this job was not to his liking.

Question 3.
The barefoot ragpickers of Seemapuri live on the periphery of Delhi, yet
metaphorically speaking, miles away from it. Comment
Answer:
The barefoot ragpickers of Seemapuri live on the periphery of Delhi, yet
metaphorically speaking, miles away from it, sums up the true condition of the
ragpickers of Seemapuri. Seemapuri is a slum area, which houses
approximately 10,000 ragpickers. They live in mud houses with roofs of tin
and tarpaulin. There is no sewage, drainage or running water. They came
here from Bangladesh in 1971 and have been living here ever since without
any identity of their own or permits, but they have ration cards and their
names figure in the voter’s list.
Women wear tattered saris. Survival in Seemapuri means ragpicking. This is
an example of the gross negligence and apathy of the Delhi Government. It
has failed to do anything for them. Though Seemapuri is so close to Delhi,
almost on its periphery, but the glitter and glamour advantages like
education,proper facilities for living a clean and decent life are beyond the
reach of these slum dwellers of Seemapuri, which is so close to Delhi, yet so
far.

Question 4.
The bangle-makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone
happy, but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate.
Answer:
The bangle-makers of Firozabad live in utter poverty, generation after
generation. They believe that they are the people who are destined to work as
glass bangle- makers. They make beautiful bangles for women, but they live
in the dark. The workers have to look at the hot bright furnaces while polishing
bangles. While welding pieces of coloured glass into bangles, they have no
other option but are forced to sit near flickering lamps. Hence, they are forced
to stay in dark room huts and their eyes are not in a position to see the
daylight outside. They become blind quite early in life. They are in a vicious
circle tossed around by moneylenders, middlemen and politicians. Instead of
helping them, the law enforcing authorities only prey on them.

Question 5.
Give a brief account of the life and activities of people like Saheb-e-Alam
settled in Seemapuri.
Answer:
Saheb is a poor boy belonging to a refugee family from Bangladesh. His
family came to Delhi and settled in the trans-Yamuna area called Seemapuri.
Here, they have no work to do. They pick garbage for their livelihood. Saheb
also, like others, looks and searches the garbage dumps for some coins.

They leave their houses in the morning with a bag on their back to collect
something from the garbage. They remain barefoot. It has become their habit
not to wear any footwear. The families like Saheb’s left behind a life of abject
poverty in flood-hit areas of Bangladesh and came to India. They move to big
cities in the hope of getting some work. In the absence of work, they begin
ragpicking.

Question 6.
‘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?
Answer:
Yes, I fully agree that ‘Lost Spring’ explains abject poverty. Saheb-e-Alam
came along with his family from Bangladesh to Delhi. His family settled on the
banks of the Yamuna river. Here, they have no work to do and no house to
live in. So they began the work of ragpicking. His family lives a hand-to-mouth
existence. Thus, this lesson deals with the plight of street children like Saheb-
e-Alam, and Mukesh of Firozabad working in a glass bangle factory. The
children of such families are forced to labour early in life and denied the
opportunities of going to school. These children are trapped in the vicious
circle of social stigma, tradition, poverty and exploitation. Thus, the title of the
story rightly explains and brings out the depravity of child labour in our
country.

Question 7.
What contrast do you notice between the colour of the bangles and the
atmosphere of the place where these bangles are made?
Answer:
The dusty streets of Firozabad, the bangle-making district, are overflowing
with garbage and the stink is overwhelming. The hovels where the bangle-
makers dwell have walls that are crumbling down, with unstable doors and no
windows. The conditions are so terrible that families of humans and animals
live together.

The drabness and lack of colour in the lives of these people contrast starkly
with the colour of the bangles which lie everywhere “sunny gold, paddy green,
royal blue, pink, purple, every colour born out of the seven colours of the
rainbow”. The unhappiness and tedium in the lives of the bangle-makers
contrasts the joy and merriment that their bangles will bring to the women who
will buy and wear them.

Question 8.
What did the writer see when Mukesh took her to his home?
Answer:
The writer realised that it was a slum area. The lanes were stinking and were
choked with garbage. The homes looked like hovels. Their walls were
crumbling. The doors were wobbly, with no windows. The homes were
crowded with humans and animals living together. Mukesh’s home looked like
a half-built shack. In one of its parts, a firewood stove had a large vessel on it.
A frail young woman cooked the evening meal. She was the wife of Mukesh’s
elder brother. As Mukesh’s father came in, she brought her veil closer to her
face. The old man was a poor bangle-maker. Even after long years of hard
labour, he had been unable to renovate his house. He was unable to send his
two sons to school. Mukesh’s grandmother was also there. Her husband had
become blind with dust from the polishing of glass bangles.

Question 9.
Describe the difficulties the bangle-makers of Firozabad have to face in their
lives.
OR
Describe the circumstances which keep the workers in the bangle industry in
poverty.
Answer:
The bangle-makers of Firozabad live in utter poverty generation after
generation. They believe that they are the people who are destined to work as
glass bangle-makers. They make beautiful bangles for women but they live in
dark. The workers have to look at the hot bright furnaces while polishing
bangles. While welding pieces of coloured glass into bangles, they have no
other option but are forced to sit near flickering lamps. Hence, they are forced
to stay in a dark room and their eyes are not in a position to see the daylight
outside. They become blind even before they become adults. Their life is
embroiled in a web that is created by the moneylenders, middlemen and
politicians. Instead of helping them, the law enforcing authorities only prey
upon their misfortunes.

Question 10.
In the lesson ‘Lost Spring’, Saheb and Mukesh are deprived of their childhood
pleasures and education. Nobel Peace prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and
Malala Yousafzai have been fighting for the rights of the children. Motivated
by these activists, you write an article on the topic, ‘Evils of child labour and
denial of education’. You are Mahesh/Malvika. Write your article in about 125-
150 words.
Answer:
Evils Of Child Labour and Denial Of Education
By Malvika
Child labour has been a major problem not only in India but also in all the
developing countries. It is a great social problem. We often find children
working in dhabas, factories, tea stalls, fields and homes. They often become
ragpickers and street performers. All this deprives children of a normal,
carefree childhood. Schooling becomes a distant dream, and a perpetual state
of poverty becomes a reality. Dreams become a mirage.

Child labour is often borne out of the need for survival. Often the reason is to
increase the income of a poor family. Industries often employ children under
14, in the hope of reducing the labour cost in their organisation.
In a developed society, where every citizen counts and all citizens have to
have proper education, health care support, games and entertainment, a child
with less or absolutely . no education finds it hard to survive.

Taking up a small job as a domestic help or in a restaurant for a nominal

salary of ₹ 750-1800 per month, does not leave a child with enough time for
primary and secondary education. All this renders a child completely illiterate,
unskilled and perhaps unhealthy. Free education should be provided to poor
children to motivate their parents to send them to school.

The government should come forward with schemes for upliftment of the poor
and unemployed. This will take away the burden of earning their livelihood
from the tender shoulders of poor children. Hence, no child should be
engaged as labourers, both from a legal point of view as well in the interest of
the child’s future.

Question 11.
“Butpromises like mine abound… in their bleak world.” Saheb and others like
him spend their life on unfulfilled promises. One role that the youth can play to
improve their conditions is by volunteering in programmes like, ‘Each one
Teach one’. You are Vibha Raghunathan, the Head Girl of Bal Vidyalaya,
Rohtak. You and some other students of the school are touched by the plight
of the slum kids, who would love to be educated but can’t because of their
poor economic conditions. You and your friends wish to make a difference by
teaching these kids. Draft a notice, in not more than 50 words, making an
appeal for generous help and inviting other students for the same purpose.
Answer:
Bal Vidyalaya, Rohtak
Notice
11 May 20XX
Eact One Teach One
A school trip is being planned to the nearby slums on every Sunday. The
purpose of this trip is to teach the slum children. Those who are interested in
being a part of this noble cause can attend a meeting at 4:00 p.m. on
Tuesday, 2 June 20XX at the school auditorium.
Vibha Raghunathan
Head Girl

Question 12.
Garbage to them is gold. How do ragpickers of Seemapuri survive?
Answer:
Seemapuri is on the outskirts of Delhi. It is comprised of migrants from
Bangladesh who survived through ragpicking. These refugees are provided
with no amenities of sewage, drainage or running water and is unlike the life
of glitter and glamour in Delhi. Poverty prevails here from corner to corner.
Ragpicking meant survival for them. It assumed proportions of fine art.

For the children of course it proves to be fun. They scrounge through the
garbage to discover valuables in them. Saheb, the main character has
resigned to this life. The ragpickers who came here way back in 1971, live in
mud houses, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin. For all these years, they have had
no identity, ho permits yet possess ration cards and have their names in the
voter’s list. All of them know that garbage would ensure their daily bread and a
roof above their heads.

Question 13.
For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of
survival.” What kind of life do the ragpickers of Seemapuri lead?
Answer:
Seemapuri is on the outskirts of Delhi, comprising migrants from Bangladesh,
who survived by way of ragpicking. These refugees, who settled down here in
1971 have no amenities of sewage, drainage or running water and is unlike
the life of glitter and glamour in Delhi. Poverty prevails here from corner to
corner. Ragpicking is the only means of survival for them and at times it
assumes proportions of fine art. For the children of course it proves to be fun
and they scrounge through the garbage to discover valuables in them.

Saheb, the main character has resigned to this life. The dwellers here live in
mud houses, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin. For all these years, they have had
no identity, no permits yet possess ration cards and have their names in the
voter’s list. All of them know that garbage would ensure their daily bread and a
roof above their head.

Question 14.
What change do you find in Saheb’s life when he stops ragpicking and starts
working at a tea stall?
Answer:
When Saheb started working at the tea stall, his face lost the carefree look
which he used to have when he was a rag picker. He was no longer his own
master now. He had to do what the owner of the tea stall asked him to do. He
carried heavy metal canisters, instead of light plastic bags and these canisters
were not even his own. The plastic bags were his own. He was not happy
working at the tea stall as he had lost his freedom.

Question 15.
Do the poor have the right to dream? Why then does the author call Mukesh’s
dream ‘a mirage’?
Answer:
Dream comes naturally, and everybody has a right to it whether rich or poor. It
is true that Mukesh had challenges in life, but he was very optimistic though
the dream was like a mirage for him. He belonged to a family that was in the
marginalised category of the society. He disliked his profession of bangle-
making that blinded children at an early age and gave no proper food or
shelter.

He wanted to become a motor mechanic even though he had been working

for years in the bangle-making factory. He knew about the vicious circle of
politicians and middlemen, yet he had a dream to fulfil one day.