LOST SPRING
BY Anees Jung
Anees Jung is one of India's most prominent female authors,
journalists, and columnists. Her writing is characterized by its
deep empathy and a focus on social issues, particularly the
lives of women and children in India.
The themes in "Lost Spring" are
1. The Cycle of Grinding Poverty
2. Stolen Childhood and Child Labour
3. The "Vicious Circle" of Exploitation
4. The Burden of Tradition and Caste
5. Apathy of Society and Government
6. Resilience and the Power to Dream
Q1. What is the irony in the name 'Saheb-e-Alam'?
Ans: The name means "Lord of the Universe," but Saheb is a poor
ragpicker who walks barefoot and scrounges through garbage to
survive. His reality is the exact opposite of what his name represents.
Q2. Why does the author say that the ragpickers of Seemapuri
live in a state of "perpetual poverty"?
Ans: They live in structures of mud with roofs of tin and tarpaulin,
devoid of sewage, drainage, or running water. They have no identity
except ration cards that get them grain, and survival in Seemapuri
means ragpicking.
Q3. "Garbage to them is gold." Why does the author say so about
the ragpickers?
Ans: For the parents, garbage is a means of daily bread and a roof
over their heads. For the children, it is "wrapped in wonder," as they
occasionally find a silver coin or a ten-rupee note, giving them hope
of finding more.
Q4. What is Mukesh’s attitude toward his family business of
bangle making?
Ans: Mukesh is a rebel. Unlike his family, who have accepted their
fate as "God-given lineage," Mukesh insists on being his own master.
He dreams of becoming a motor mechanic and is willing to walk a
long distance to a garage to learn.
Q5. Why can’t the bangle makers of Firozabad organize
themselves into a cooperative? Ans: They are caught in a "vicious
circle" of middlemen, police, bureaucrats, and politicians. If they try
to organize, they are hauled up by the police, beaten, and dragged to
jail for doing something "illegal."
Long Answer Questions
Q1. Describe the two different worlds mentioned by Anees Jung
in the context of Firozabad.
Ans: The author observes two distinct worlds:
The World of Poverty and Caste: This world is burdened by
the stigma of the caste in which the bangle makers are born.
They are caught in a cycle of poverty and suppressed by age-old
traditions.
The World of the Sahukars: This is the "vicious circle"
consisting of the sahukars (moneylenders), middlemen,
policemen, keepers of the law, bureaucrats, and politicians.
Together, these two worlds impose a heavy baggage on the child
that he cannot put down. Before he is even aware, he accepts it
as naturally as his father did.
Q2. "Lost Spring" is a story of stolen childhood. Discuss with
reference to Saheb and Mukesh.
Ans: The title "Lost Spring" refers to the loss of childhood—the
"spring" of human life.
Saheb: He loses his freedom when he takes up a job at a tea
stall. Even though he earns ₹800 and all his meals, he is no
longer his own master. The steel canister feels heavier than the
plastic bag he used to carry.
Mukesh: He lives in the dark, dingy cells of Firozabad, where
children lose the brightness of their eyes before they become
adults. They work in high temperatures, welding glass, which
robs them of their health and vision. Both boys are victims of
social and economic forces that force them into labor, stealing
the joy and innocence of their childhood.
Extract Based Questions
A.
"I will be a motor mechanic," he announces. "Do you know anything
about cars?" I ask. "I will learn to drive a car," he answers, looking
straight into my eyes.
1. Who is 'he' in the passage?
Ans: Mukesh
2. What does the phrase "looking straight into my eyes"
suggest?
Ans: It suggests his determination, honesty, and confidence.
3. How is his ambition different from his family’s reality?
Ans: His family believes bangle making is their destiny, while
he wants to break the cycle and work with machines.
B.
"Why do you do this?" I ask Saheb whom I encounter every morning
scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps of my neighbourhood.
Saheb left his home long ago. Set amidst the green fields of Dhaka,
his home is not even a distant memory. "There were many storms that
swept away their fields and homes," his mother tells him. That’s why
they left, looking for gold in the big city where he now lives.
1. What does the author mean by "scrounging for gold"?
Ans: It refers to searching for items of value (like coins, scrap metal,
or recyclable plastic) that can be sold for money. For a penniless
child, even a one-rupee note is as precious as gold.
2. Why is Saheb’s home "not even a distant memory"?
Ans: Because he was very young when they left Dhaka due to natural
calamities (storms), and the struggle for survival in the present has
completely erased the memories of the past.
3. Identify the literary device in "scrounging for gold".
Ans: Metaphor. Garbage is compared to gold because of its life-
sustaining value for the ragpickers.
4. What is the tone of the author in this extract?
Ans: Empathetic and observant.
C.
This morning, Saheb is on his way to the milk booth. In his hand is a
steel canister. "I now work in a tea stall down the road," he says,
pointing in the distance. "I am paid 800 rupees and all my meals."
Does he like the job? I ask. His face, I see, has lost the carefree look.
The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry
so lightly over his shoulder.
1. Why does the steel canister seem "heavier" than the plastic
bag?
Ans: The plastic bag belonged to him (freedom), whereas the canister
belongs to the tea stall owner (bondage). The "weight" is symbolic of
the burden of responsibility and loss of independence.
2. What does the "loss of the carefree look" imply?
Ans: It implies that Saheb is no longer his own master. The transition
from ragpicking to a structured job has traded his childhood freedom
for financial security.
3. "I am paid 800 rupees and all my meals." Does this make
Saheb happy?
Ans: No. Despite the steady income, he is unhappy because he has
lost his agency and the "spring" in his step.
D.
"I will be a motor mechanic," he announces. "Do you know anything
about cars?" I ask. "I will learn to drive a car," he answers, looking
straight into my eyes. His dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust
of streets that fill his town Firozabad, famous for its bangles. Every
other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles.
1. Why is Mukesh’s dream compared to a "mirage"?
Ans: A mirage is an illusion. Mukesh’s dream seems nearly
impossible to achieve because he is trapped by the social and
economic stigma of his caste and the glass industry.
2. What does "looking straight into my eyes" indicate about
Mukesh?
Ans: It indicates his determination, fearlessness, and the fact that he
has not yet been defeated by the "vicious circle" of poverty.
3. What is the irony of Firozabad being "famous for its bangles"?
Ans: The irony is that the bangles (symbols of suhaag and
auspiciousness) are produced in dark, dingy cells by people whose
own lives are filled with darkness, poverty, and blindness.
E.
“Why not organise yourselves into a cooperative?” I ask a group of
young men who have fallen into the vicious circle of middlemen who
trapped their fathers and forefathers. “Even if we get organised, we
are the ones who will be hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged
to jail for doing something illegal,” they say. There is no leader
among them, no one who could help them see things differently.
1. What is the "vicious circle" mentioned here?
Ans: It is the inescapable trap created by middlemen, moneylenders,
policemen, bureaucrats, and politicians who exploit the poor.
2. Why is there "no leader among them"?
Ans: Because years of mind-numbing toil have killed their initiative
and ability to dream. They are too exhausted by the struggle for
survival to think of a revolution.
3. What does "hauled up by the police" reveal about the system?
Ans: It reveals the systemic corruption and injustice where the law
enforcers protect the exploiters instead of the exploited.