LOST SPRING
1. How apt is the title?
Ans. ‘Spring’, the most vibrant and colourful of all the seasons, symbolises renewal, birth or childhood.
Childhood is associated with the carefree enjoyment of life. It often is a period of unadulterated
[untouched / untainted] joy and playfulness. However, children like Saheb and Mukesh can’t do so as
they have to earn a living — their childhood is lost in the daily struggle for survival. Long-held
traditions and the misery brought on by abject poverty and exploitation have broken the spirit of
millions of children. The title ‘Lost Spring’ aptly brings out the impoverished lives of child labourers;
they are not only deprived of the true blessings of childhood but also robbed of their dreams.
2. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?
Ans. Generally, people migrate from villages to towns and cities either due to the consequences of natural
disasters or in search of better opportunities and employment, even though only a menial job. Saheb
and his family came to India for survival. They left Dhaka so as to escape the storms that had swept
away their fields and homes. They were trying to flee from a life of grinding poverty and near-
starvation. As a group of Seemapuri women in tattered saris stated, “If at the end of the day we can
feed our families and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields
that gave us no grain.” Ironically, their city life was in no way better.
3. ‘But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.’ In what context has this been said?
Ans. Saheb-e-Alam, the ragpicker, who yearns to go to school, feels excited when Anees Jung half-jokingly
asks him whether he would come if she starts one. In reality, this is just one of her offhand remarks
she is not going to build a school or be able to do so in that short period of time. Thus, the narrator
realises she is just one more among the myriad persons who make false promises to the
underprivileged without actually fulfilling any of them.
4. In what context does Anees Jung mention the story of a man from Udipi?
Ans. Anees Jung refers to the man from Udipi to highlight the plight of many, like the barefoot ragpickers,
who remain poverty-stricken and shoeless, generation after generation. A single pair of slippers is used
only on special occasions or by the whole family. If lucky, a mismatched or a discarded pair of shoes
[with holes] may be found to be worn. On the other hand, the economic condition of the priest in Udipi
has improved with the passage of time. Whereas the previous priest couldn’t, the present one is able to
afford a pair of shoes for his son. The previous priest’s son [the man from Udipi] always prayed for a
pair of shoes. When he finally gets a pair, he prays that he may never lose those. This indicates that
though he may have been lucky to get shoes, there are others in Udipi and across India, who still can’t
afford shoes. It may also indicate how one’s desires change with the passage of time.
5. What explanation does Saheb give about the tennis shoes he is wearing? What is the
narrator’s interpretation of his reply?
Ans. Saheb explains that the tennis shoes were given to him. The narrator surmises [assumes / concludes]
that they may have been discarded by a rich boy, who perhaps refused to wear them because of a hole
in one of them. In fact, Saheb doesn’t seem to be bothered by these hand-me-downs as for one who
has walked barefoot, even shoes with a hole is a dream come true. [Furthermore, though he has got a
pair of tennis shoes, he will never be able to actually play tennis, a luxury.]
6. What is Saheb’s reaction to working at the tea stall?
Ans. Saheb doesn’t seem happy to be working at the tea stall. Though he gets ₹800/- and his meals, his face
has lost its carefree look. Feeling bound by responsibilities, Saheb has had to give in to the inevitable
and compromise on his dreams. He gave up his independence for the sake of financial security. The
steel canister he holds seems heavier than the plastic bag he used to carry with ease. That canister
belongs to the tea stall owner whose orders Saheb has to follow. The bag he used to carry earlier was
his, that is, he was his own master. Earlier, he was free to do as and go where he pleased. Furthermore,
he used to roam the streets with his friends, an army of barefoot ragpickers. Saheb can no longer do
any of this.
7. What significance do bangles hold for Savita in contrast to other Indian women? When will
she realise their actual significance?
Ans. To Savita, the bangles hold no significance: she makes them to earn a living, something her whole
family has done for generations. To other Indian women, the bangles have sanctity: they symbolise
auspiciousness in marriage. Savita will realise their actual significance the day she becomes a bride,
when her head is draped with a red veil, her hands dyed red with henna, and red bangles rolled onto
her wrists. Yet, this change in her marital status will have no corresponding change in her economic
status. Savita will continue to make those bangles with the members of her new family and, like her
grandmother before her, not ever enjoy even one full meal in her lifetime. All she has to look forward
to are the added responsibilities of taking care of her new family and doing the household chores [as
Mukesh’s young sister-in-law has had to do].
8. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans. Mukesh is uninterested in pursuing the occupation of his family or caste. Wanting to be his own
master, he dares to dream of being a motor mechanic and of learning to drive a car. Mukesh is quite a
determined boy: he says that, to learn his desired trade, he would walk to the garage despite it being
quite far from his home. On the other hand, his family seems apathetic [uninterested] and has resigned
itself to the way things are. Unable to afford education for his sons, Mukesh’s father could teach them
only what he knows — the art of making bangles. Mukesh’s grandmother believes it is his destiny to
be a bangle-maker and implies that a God-given lineage can never be broken.
9. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans. All the families in Firozabad are engaged in bangle-making, with generations having worked around
the furnace, welding glass to make bangles. With hardly any money to send their children to school,
they have no chance to better themselves. Also, none of them knows that it is illegal for children to
work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light. Thus, the lack
of enforcement of this law has compounded the problem. Not only are these families caught in the
spiral of poverty, apathy, greed and injustice, but they are also shackled by the stigma of the caste into
which they are born. Long-held traditions, such as the belief that this is their fate or a God-given
lineage, and the circumstances around them prevent them from following another profession. These
bangle-makers don’t dare organise themselves into a cooperative as they are likely to be beaten up or
jailed for doing something illegal. Moreover, they have no leaders to help them see things differently.
Brokers, middlemen, policemen, bureaucrats, and politicians all form a vicious circle of exploitation
that only results in poverty for the workers of the bangle industry.
10. Describe the conditions in which the inhabitants of Seemapuri and Firozabad, respectively,
live.
Ans. Seemapuri is a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it in terms of the living or
economic conditions of its residents. Despite still being a wilderness, it is now occupied by the
Bangladeshi immigrants turned ragpickers. Its inhabitants reside in structures of mud, with roofs of tin
and tarpaulin [even if it is a leaking roof], devoid of sewage, drainage or running water.
Similarly, the bangle-makers of Firozabad reside in shanties with stinking lanes choked with garbage.
They live in hovels with crumbling walls, wobbly doors, no windows. These dwellings are crowded
with families of humans and animals coexisting in a primeval state. Mukesh’s house is a half-built
shack with a broken wall — in one part of it, thatched with dead grass, is a firewood stove. The
unkempt yards are often covered in mounds of bangle spirals. Bangle making goes on in dark
hutments, lighted mostly by flickering oil lamps in lines. Thus, the living conditions of the residents of
both Seemapuri and Firozabad are abysmal [dreadful / terrible].
11. Despite highlighting the plight and the hopes and dreams of the child labourers, Anees Jung
often comes across as being a tad insensitive. Justify.
Ans. Yes, Anees Jung does make certain comments that may be deemed insensitive. She glibly tells Saheb,
the ragpicker, to go to school, even half-jokingly asking him whether he would come if she started
one. She knows full well that she is not going to build a school or be able to do so in that short period
of time. The narrator asks one of the ragpickers why he isn’t wearing chappals, and embarrasses
another of Saheb’s friends by commenting on the mismatched pair of shoes he is wearing. She asks the
Bangladeshi immigrants why they left their beautiful land of green fields and rivers. When Mukesh
speaks of wanting to be a motor mechanic or of learning to drive a car, Anees Jung discomfits him by
asking if he also dreams of flying a plane.
12. Write about the issue of child labour. What do you feel about the dreams of the poor and the
reality that faces them?
Ans. It is a known fact that, in India, many children are forced to work at a very young age and are denied
the chance to go to school. Society’s callousness and the political cast given to the suffering of the
poor only add to their plight. A child labourer isn’t fed well though he is made to work for long hours
in abysmal conditions. Not only his health but his very life is endangered, too. Besides this, he is likely
to be both physically and mentally abused. The child labourer has no option but to work, even in such
conditions, because leaving the job means starving.
Society doesn’t respond with sensitivity or understanding to the plight of these children. The common
belief is that they have neither the desire nor the right to better themselves. For example, the
explanation for a person walking barefoot is that it is the tradition to do so. Actually, circumstances
force the poor into this vicious spiral of living in penury, thus thwarting their dreams. Their childhood
is stolen as they have to earn a living.
Anees Jung profiles two stories of courage. One of the children, Saheb, dreams of owning a pair of
shoes. Ultimately, he does get a discarded pair of tennis shoes with a hole in one of them, given to him
by someone. Saheb spends most of his time looking for scraps or money in garbage. Though yearning
to be his own master, finally, he has to give up his dreams for the sake of financial security. The other
boy, Mukesh, has refused to accept his circumstances thereby opening new vistas for himself. Though
belonging to a family of bangle-makers, he dares to dream of becoming a mechanic and, even, of
driving cars. This is far more practical and realistic than the far-fetched dream of flying planes,
something he has had no exposure to.
Often, promises are made that aren’t kept. Anees Jung trivialises Saheb’s wish for an education by
glibly asking him if he would attend her school if she were to build one. She knew full well that she
had no plans to do so. Thus, society displays its apathy and insensitivity when Saheb is made his
master’s slave and Mukesh is asked if he ever dreams of flying planes.
13. Comment on the narrator’s voice in this lesson.
Ans. The narrator’s voice is a third-person omniscient (all-seeing, all-knowing) point of view. It allows the
readers to draw their own conclusions as well as form opinions and interpretations from the narrative,
without overt commentary. It is analytical, too, as it provides an explanation of the bangle makers’
circumstances and the social structures.
14. How does ‘Lost Spring’ reveal society’s apathy towards the underprivileged or those below
the poverty line? Draft an article, in 120 – 150 words, titled ‘Society Neglects the
Underprivileged’.
15. Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow:
When I sense a flash of it in Mukesh, I am cheered. “I want to be a motor mechanic,” he repeats.
a) Who are ‘I’ and Mukesh?
‘I’ is Anees Jung, the narrator / writer, and Mukesh is the child bangle-maker she interacts with.
b) What does ‘it’ refer to?
‘It’ refers to daring — to do something else [in terms of an occupation] and not what is expected of
him. OR ‘It’ may refer to the ability to dream or to take the initiative to achieve one’s goals.
c) How does Mukesh plan to achieve his goal?
To achieve his goal of becoming a motor mechanic and of learning to drive a car, Mukesh plans to
go to a garage to learn. Despite it being a long way from his home, he is willing to walk there.
d) What trait of Mukesh does this interaction highlight?
This interaction highlights Mukesh’s determination / tenaciousness and never-say-die attitude. He
may be considered ambitious even.