4.
Lost Spring
Q1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
Ans. Saheb is looking for gold in the garbage dumps. He is in the neighbourhood of the author. Saheb has come
from Bangladesh. He Came with his mother in 1971. His house was set amidst the green fields of Dhaka. Storms
swept away their fields and homes. So they left the country.
Q2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
Ans. One explanation offered by the author is that it is a tradition to stay barefoot. It is not lack of money. He
wonders if this is only an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty. He also remembers the story of a
poor body who prayed to the goddess for a pair of shoes.
Q3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.
Ans. No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea-stall. He is no longer his own master. His face has lost the
carefree look. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his shoulder.
The bag was his. The canister belongs to the man who owns the tea-shop.
Q4. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?
Ans. The city of Firozabad is famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making
bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry. Families have spent generations working around
furnaces, welding glass, making bangles for the women in the land.
Q5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry?
Ans. Boys and girls with their fathers and mothers sit in dark hutments, next to lines of flames of flickering oil
lamps. They weld pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to
the light outside. They often end up losing eyesight before they become adults. Even the dust from polishing the
glass of bangles is injurious to eyes. Many workers have become blind. The furnaces have very high temperature
and therefore very dangerous.
Q6. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans. Mukesh’s grandmother thinks that the god-given lineage can never be broken. Her son and grandsons are
bom in the caste of bangle makers. They have seen nothing but bangles.
Mukesh’s father has taught them what he knows—the art of making bangles. But Mukesh wants to be a motor
mechanic. He will go to a garage and learn, though the garage is far away from his home.
Q7. What forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans. Certain forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty. These include the
moneylenders, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians. Together
they impose a heavy burden on the child.
Q1. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?
Ans. Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle-maker of Firozabad. Most of the young men of Firozabad have no
initiative or ability to dream, but Mukesh is an exception. He has the capacity to take courage and break from the
traditional family occupation. He has strong will power also. He does not want to be a pawn in the hands of the
middlemen or moneylenders. He insists on being his own master by becoming a motor mechanic.
He can realise his dream by joining a garage and learn the job of repairing cars and driving them. He will have to
overcome many hurdles before he succeeds. Then comes transport problem. Money is the first one. He will have
to earn some money himself. The garage is a long way from his home. He will have to cover it twice everyday
anyhow—by walking on foot.
Patience, hardwork, firm will and the determination to learn will help him realise his dream.
Q2. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?
Ans. Child labour should be eliminated because the children employed at tender age as i domestic servants, dish-
washers at road-side dhabas and in hazardous industries making glass bangles, crackers etc. lose the charm of the
spring of their life. Their childhood is stolen. Burdened by the responsibility of work, they become adults too
soon. Most of them are undernourished, ill-fed, uneducated, and poor. They have a stunted growth.
Child labour can be eliminated only through concerted efforts on the part of government agencies, NGOs (Non-
Government Organisations), co-operative societies and political leaders. Mere passing of law will not help. Laws
should be enacted faithfully. The children thrown out of work should be rehabilitated and given proper food,
clothes, education and pocket money. Their feelings, thoughts and emotions should be respected. Let them enjoy
sunshine and fresh air.
