CBSE Grade 12 Lost Spring previous years' questions
Short Answers (3-4 Marks)
What does the writer mean when she says, ‘Saheb is no longer his own master’? (Delhi 2000)
Saheb now works in a tea stall down the road, earning ₹800 and meals, but he has lost his freedom. The
heavy steel canister he carries belongs to his master, unlike his light plastic bag from rag-picking days; he
follows orders and lacks his carefree look.
Do you think Saheb was happy to work at the tea stall? (All India 2000)
No, Saheb is unhappy despite the pay. His face has lost the carefree expression; the canister feels
heavier than his bag, symbolizing bondage—he is no longer his own master but bound to the tea stall
owner.
What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ convey? (All India 2000)
It conveys how poverty robs millions of Indian children of childhood's "spring"—the joyful phase of life.
They toil in harsh conditions, missing education and play, stunting growth like Saheb and Mukesh.
Why does the author say bangle makers are caught in a vicious web? (All India 2010)
They spiral from poverty to apathy, greed, and injustice: sahukars, middlemen, police, bureaucrats, and
politicians exploit them. Mind-numbing toil in furnaces kills dreams; no cooperatives form due to fear.
Who is Mukesh? What is his dream? (Delhi 2012)
Mukesh is a Firozabad bangle-maker's son working in glass furnaces. His dream is to be a motor
mechanic, insisting "I will be my own master," breaking from family tradition despite odds.
Garbage has two meanings for Seemapuri residents. Comment. (Comptt. All India 2012)
For children, it's wonder—eyes light up finding rupees or notes, wrapped in hope. For parents, it's
survival: daily bread, shelter from scraps sold.
Describe the irony in Saheb’s name. (Delhi 2016)
Saheb-e-Alam means "Lord of the Universe," but he is a barefoot ragpicker scrounging garbage in slums
—complete contrast to his majestic name and wretched reality.
Long Answers (5-6 Marks)
The bangle-makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles but live/die in squalor. Elaborate. (Delhi
2010)
Firozabad bangle-makers toil in stinking lanes choked with garbage, hovels where humans/animals
coexist primitively. Children like Mukesh work dingy, airless furnaces at high heat, risking blindness
young; poverty, caste stigma trap them. Sahukars/middlemen exploit, police harass cooperatives—
vicious web ensures perpetual penury despite adorning women nationwide. No progress; mind-numbing
labor kills dreams.
Describe Seemapuri squatters' life. (Comptt. All India 2010)
Bangladesh refugees (1971) live in 10,000 mud/tarpaulin huts sans sewage/water—wilderness turned
hell on Delhi's edge, yet "miles away" metaphorically. Rag-picking is survival art: garbage=gold for
food/shelter; kids partner parents barefoot. Ration cards > identity for grain/votes; women prefer it to
storm-ravaged Dhaka fields. Childhood lost to toil.
‘Lost Spring’ shows poverty/traditions condemning people to poverty. Agree? (All India 2011)
Yes—Saheb (ragpicker migrant) scavenges dumps barefoot, later tea-stall slave; Mukesh's family in
furnace hell accepts "karam" (destiny), no school/cooperatives. Vicious circle: poverty, caste, exploiters
(sahukars/police/politicians) numb initiative. No compassion/education perpetuates stolen childhoods,
unfulfilled dreams.
Circumstances keeping bangle industry workers poor. (Delhi 2015)
Web of poverty/caste; dingy furnaces blind kids young. Sahukars seize profits, middlemen/police crush
cooperatives, bureaucrats/politicians ignore. Elders echo "destiny," youth dreamless; no escape from
hovels, endless toil.
How is Mukesh’s attitude different from Saheb’s? (Delhi 2015)
Mukesh rebels, dreaming mechanic despite furnace fate, walking miles to garage—daring optimism.
Saheb accepts tea-stall drudgery, loses carefree freedom as rootless migrant sans ambition; Mukesh
breaks "karam."
CBSE Class 12 Lost Spring questions from past 5 years (2021-2025 exams) emphasize extracts, MCQs,
short (40-50 words), and long (120-150 words) types. Recent patterns include term-wise papers (2021-
22), competency-based questions, and comparisons with other chapters like Deep [Link]+2
Very Short Questions (1 Mark)
Why does Saheb-e-Alam roam the streets barefoot? (CBSE 2019 Set 1, relevant 2021-25 pattern)
Extreme poverty deprives him of basics; he dreams of shoes, but his family's condition makes it
unattainable, symbolizing deprivation.
What does garbage mean to Seemapuri children? (CBSE 2020 Set 2)
It is a means of survival—food, money, valuables; eyes light up like finding treasure.
Why does the author say Saheb has lost his carefree look? (CBSE 2022 Term 2)
Tea stall work burdens him with responsibility, replacing freedom; canister weighs heavier than bag.
Short Answer Questions (2-3 Marks, 40-50 Words)
What factors have made Saheb's game inaccessible? (Recent PYQ)
Poverty forces rag-picking over play; no shoes, no field access—garbage dumps replace games, stealing
carefree childhood.
Describe Firozabad bangle makers' life. (CBSE 2020 Set 1)
They live in inhuman hovels, work suffocating furnaces risking blindness; poverty, debt, middlemen trap
them in cycles despite hard labor.
Lost Spring: contrast between promise and reality. (CBSE 2021 Set 1)
Spring symbolizes hope, but poverty crushes dreams—Saheb settles for job sans shoes; Mukesh dreams
mechanic amid odds, highlighting denied opportunities.
Long Answer Questions (5-6 Marks, 120-150 Words)
‘Where there is a will, there is a way.’ Compare Douglas (Deep Water) and Mukesh (Lost Spring) on
courage, determination. (CBSE Recent, 2023-25 pattern)
Both show grit: Douglas conquers hydrophobia through persistent practice, turning fear to triumph.
Mukesh defies bangle-making fate, dreaming mechanic despite poverty/furnaces. Douglas' willpower
beats personal terror; Mukesh's against systemic barriers. Similar pursuit of goals via determination, but
Douglas succeeds individually, Mukesh hopes amid exploitation. Exemplifies resilience.
How does the author highlight social injustice? (CBSE 2023 Set 2)
Through Saheb/Mukesh: poverty exploits kids into labor, systems fail protection; society normalizes
suffering in slums/furnaces. Urges challenging inequalities via awareness.
Extract-Based MCQs (Recent Term Papers)
Extract: Conversation reflects _ of speaker. Ans: concern.
Garbage for children: (A) livelihood. Parents: survival. Reveals: [Link]+1
Mukesh: Dream motor mechanic. Obstacles: poverty/social pressure. Quality: determination.
ADDITIONAL
NCERT Flamingo Chapter 2 Lost Spring includes textbook "Think it out" questions at lesson ends and
inset extracts with inference tasks. These solved answers follow CBSE guidelines, using textual evidence
for 1-2 marks [Link]+2
Textbook Questions: Saheb-e-Alam Section
1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps?
Saheb searches garbage dumps for "gold"—scraps like plastics, metal, coins, or discarded items sold for
survival; for children, it's "wrapped in wonder."[Link]+1
2. Has Saheb found gold? What else does he find?
No gold, but rupees or ten-rupee notes thrill him; eyes "light up," fueling hope of more in endless heaps.
3. What does Saheb say, "I have nothing else to do"?
Rag-picking fills idle time; no school nearby, survival demands it over play or education.
4. What does the writer mean by "hollow" advice?
Suggesting school sounds empty without access; she feels embarrassed by unfulfilled promises like hers.
5. Why does Saheb not know his name's meaning?
"Saheb-e-Alam" ("Lord of the Universe") contrasts barefoot ragpicker life; irony lost on him.
6. What do evening shadows suggest?
End of scavenging day; army of barefoot boys vanishes like morning birds, childhood fleeting.
7. Why barefoot despite chappals?
Tradition excuses poverty; one boy's mother didn't fetch them, another discards mismatched pair.
8. Udipi boy's prayer?
For shoes, granted but "let me never lose them"—priest's son now wears them, unlike [Link]
Inset Task: Expressions Inference
Infer meanings:
Scrounging: searching hungrily.
Dump: refuse heap.
Metric ton: 1000 kg.
Trek: arduous journey.
Pitch: temporary camp.
Mirage: illusory [Link]+1
Textbook Questions: Firozabad Bangle Makers
9. Firozabad famous for?
Glass-blowing industry; families weld bangles generationally amid dust, poverty.
10. Health hazards for children?
High-temperature furnaces in dingy cells cause early blindness, health risks; illegal but ignored.
11. Mukesh's home description?
Half-built shack: sizzling spinach stove, frail bahu veiled; coexists with animals in hovels.
12. Father's achievements?
Taught bangle-making to sons despite tailoring; no renovation, schooling—poverty persists.
13. "Karam, his destiny"?
Grandmother blames fate for grandfather's blindness; resigned to caste, no escape.
14. Savita's bangles significance?
Worn by women it seems; she'll realize later as wife/mother, now naive child worker.
15. Young men's echo?
Lament elders' fate; years of toil kill initiative, dreams.
16. Why no cooperative?
Fear: police harass leaders; sahukars, middlemen, politicians exploit.
17. Two worlds trapping them?
Family poverty/caste; exploiter nexus (sahukars-politicians) crushes organization.
18. Mukesh's silence on plane?
No planes over Firozabad; unseen dreams impossible.