Lost Spring
-by Anees Jung
Question Answers
Think as you read
Page no. 17
1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is
he and where has he come from? (2014, 16,22)
Ans: Saheb is a ragpicker. He is looking for 'gold' in the garbage
dumps. Sometimes he finds a rupee, even a ten-rupee note.
Saheb has come from Dhaka in Bangladesh. Now he is
living in Seemapuri. It is a settlement of ragpickers at the
outskirts of Delhi.
2. What explanations does the author offer for the children
not wearing footwear? (2015,23)
Ans: Travelling across the country the author has seen poor
children walking barefoot, without shoes. One explanation is
that it has become a tradition for them to stay barefoot. But the
author doubts it. The lack of money is the most valid
explanation. Children like Saheb can't afford shoes. When Saheb
gets a pair of shoes he does wear them.
3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain. (2012, 14,
20,22)
Ans: Saheb doesn't seem to be happy working at the tea-stall.
Now he feels bound and burdened. The steel canister he holds
now is very heavy. The plastic bag he used to carry on his
shoulder earlier was very light. The bag was his own. The
canister belongs to the master. Saheb is no longer his own
master.
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Think as you read
Page no. 20
1. What makes the city of Firozabad famous? (2015)
Ans: 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
making bangles for all the women in India.
2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles
industry.
Ans: Workers in the glass bangles industry have to work in sub-
human conditions. They have to face many health hazards. They
go blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. They
work in dark hutments. Moreover, the temperature around the
furnaces remains unbearably high.
3. How is Mukesh's attitude to his situation different from
that of his family?
Ans: Mukesh belongs to a family of bangle makers. But he has
no fascination for bangle making. He insists on being his own
master. He wants to become a motor mechanic. He wants to go
to a garage and get the required training for the job.
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UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
Page no. 20
1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of
people from villages to cities?
Ans: More and more people are migrating to cities. It has
become a general trend. People migrate from villages to cities.
There are many reasons for migration. First of all,. pressure on
land is increasing. Land can't provide job opportunities for all.
Overpopulation and lack of job opportunities have made the
people turn to cities. The second reason for migration is the
mechanization of farming. Hence, the landless labourers don't
get work at the farms. They are compelled to move to cities for
working in industries. The third reason is the destruction of
traditional arts and crafts in the villages. Artisans don't have
any market for their goods and crafts in the villages. They need
bigger markets for their products.
2. Would you agree that promises made to poor children are
rarely kept? Why do you think this happens in the incidents
narrated in the text?
Ans: Yes, the promises made to the poor children are rarely
kept. We live in a hypocritical world. We organize seminars to
eliminate child labour in the country. India has the dubious
distinction of having a maximum number of child-workers in
the world. The more hazardous the industry, the more child
workers it will employ.
Anees Jung presents a genuine analysis of poor children
employed in ragpicking and bangle-making industry. The
children of 10,000 ragpickers of Seemapuri expose the hollow
claims of the authorities. The worst part is that it happens just
on the outskirts of New Delhi. Ragpickers of Seemapuri and the
child workers in the glass industries of Firozabad have never
been to schools. They don't have even shoes. They have no
dreams, no initiative. They are the softest targets for
exploitation.
3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle
industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans: There are certain vested interests and forces that conspire
to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in
poverty. Anees Jung rightly analyses that there are two distinct
worlds operating in Firozabad. The first world consists of
families engaged in the business of making bangles. They are
exploited and are caught in a web of poverty. The other world
consists of 'sahukars or moneylenders, the middlemen, and the
policemen. Together under their eyes, 20,000 children work
illegally in glass furnaces with high temperatures. Even the
young fall into the vicious circle of middlemen. These agents
trapped their fathers and forefathers as well. If the young get
themselves organized they are 'hauled up' by the police. They
can't think of organizing themselves into a cooperative.
Powerful people keep the workers in the bangle industry
helpless and poor.
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TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT
Page no.20
1. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realize his dream?
Ans: Mukesh belongs to a family of bangle-makers. The bangle-
makers of Firozabad are condemned to lead a life of poverty,
misery, and exploitation. But Mukesh seems to be an exception.
He has not let poverty kill his dreams. He doesn't want to follow
the traditional job of making bangles. He thinks and acts
differently than the other members of his family. He dreams to
be a motor mechanic. He wants to drive a car one day. Mukesh
seems to be determined. It is said that fortune favours the
brave. Mukesh's dream can be converted into reality. Only he
will have to find out a garage where can be admitted as an
apprentice. Within no time he will graduate himself to be a good
mechanic. If he wants to become a taxi-driver, first of all, he will
have, to learn how to drive a car. He will get a license only when
he clears the driving test. After that, he can join any travel
agency as a driver.
2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles
industry. (2020)
Ans: Working in the glass bangles industry is quite hazardous. It
employs about 20,000 children or tender ages. None of them
knows that it is illegal for children to work in such industries.
But nobody cares for the law in Firozabad. The bangle makers
work in the glass furnaces with high temperature. They work in
dingy cells without air and light. Their eyes are more adjusted to
the dark than to the light outside. That is why they often end up
losing their eyesight before they become adults. Mukesh's
grandfather became blind with the dust from polishing the glass
of bangles. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all their
initiative and the ability to dream. Thousands of boys and girls
sit with their fathers and mothers in dark hutments. They shape
pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles.
3. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?
Ans: It is a crying shame that India has the maximum number
of child workers in the world. It is a stigma that puts our heads
in shame. Childhood is the most tender age. A child needs love
and care. It is quite unfortunate that all the major industries
employ a large number of child-workers. About 20,000 children
work in the furnaces with high temperatures in the bangles
industry in Firozabad. The employment of children in such
hazardous industries is illegal. It is banned by the law.
But the laws against child-labour don't have teeth in them.
Those who employ children must be punished. And those who
employ them in hazardous industries must be sent behind the
bars. Only exemplary punishment can put an end to this
shameful practice.
Previous Year's Questions Answers
(2012-24)
1. What does Mukesh want to be? (2012, 15, 20)
Ans: Mukesh wanted to be a motor mechanic.
2. Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? Why? (2012, 14,
20,22)
Ans: See (Think as you read Page no. 17 Q. no. 3 Click here)
3. What is the significance of bangles in an Indian Society?
(2012, 17)
Ans: In Indian Society, bangles symbolize a married woman's
'Suhag', auspiciousness in marriage. It is customary for an
Indian bride to wear red bangles.
4. Describe the miserable plight of the people of Firozabad.
(2012, 14, 15, 17)
Ans: Firozabad is the centre of glass blowing industry where
families have spent generations working around furnaces,
welding glass, making bangles for all women of the country.
Born in the caste of bangle makers, they have seen nothing but
bangles. Despite hard labour they had never enough to eat or to
send their sons and daughters to school. As a result, what they
do is to teach the children what they do know- the art of bangle
making. In every dark hut of the town children with their
parents sit before flickering oil lamps welding coloured glasses
into bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to
the light outside. That is why many children lose their eyesight
even before they are adults. Ages of exploitation have killed
their initiatives and the ability to protest. They are so caught in
the vicious circle of middlemen that they cannot even think of
originating co-operatives. As a result, they have begun to believe
that born in the caste bangle makers they are doomed to suffer.
5. What is 'Lost Spring' about? (2013)
Ans: 'Lost Spring' is about the deprived childhood of some poor
children.
6. Where was the original home of Saheb's family? (2013, 20)
Ans: The original home of Saheb's family was in Dhaka in
Bangladesh.
7. 'Garbage to them is gold'. Why does the author say so
about the ragpickers? (2013)
Ans: The author said it because it is the garbage that gives them
food and the roof, so the garbage is like gold for them.
8. What is the irony inherent of Sabeb's full name? (2013, 16)
Ans: Saheb's full name Saheb-e-Alam means 'Lord of the
Universe'. It is ironical to name for a poor ragpicker like Saheb
who is not even a master of his own fate to call lord of the
universe.
9. Who is the author of 'Lost Spring'? (2014, 12)
Ans: The author of 'Lost Spring' is Anees Jung.
10. What does the author of 'Lost Spring' find Saheb is doing
every morning? (2014, 15)
Ans: The author of 'Lost Spring' find Saheb scrounging garbage
dumps in the streets of Delhi every morning.
11. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where
is he and where has he come from? (2014, 16,22)
Ans: See (Think as you read Page no. 17 Q. no. 1 )
12. What explanations does the author offer for the children
not wearing footwear? (2015,23)
Ans: See (Think as you read Page no. 17 Q. no. 2 )
13. What is Firozabad famous for and how? (2015)
Ans: See (Think as you read Page no. 20 Q. no. 1 )
14. Why do the young inhabitants of Firozabad end up losing
their eye-sight? (2016)
Ans: In Firozabad most families are engaged in the glass-
making industry. In every dark hutment, young boys and girls
sit with their father and mothers welding pieces of coloured
glass into circles of bangles in front of flickering oil lamps. Their
eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside.
That is why they often lose their eyesight even before they
become adults.
15. What does 'garbage' mean for the elders of Seemapuri?
(2017)
Ans: For the elder of Seemapuri garbage mean the means of
survival. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads.
16. Where does Mukesh live? (2017,22)
Ans: Mukesh lives with his family in a half-built shack in a dirty
overcrowded bangle makers colony in Firozabad.
17. Why have Saheb and his family migrated to Seemapuri?
(2018)
Ans: Saheb and his family have migrated to Seemapuri because
their homes and fields were swept away by many storms.
18. What are the two different worlds in Firozabad? (2018)
Ans: Anees Jung rightly analyses that there are two distinct
worlds operating in Firozabad. The first world consists of
families engaged in the business of making bangles. They are
exploited and are caught in a web of poverty. The other world
consists of 'sahukars or moneylenders, the middlemen, and the
policemen. Together under their eyes, 20,000 children work
illegally in glass furnaces with high temperatures. Even the
young fall into the vicious circle of middlemen. These agents
trapped their fathers and forefathers as well. If the young get
themselves organized they are 'hauled up' by the police.
19. Describe the bangle makers of Firozabad. How does the
vicious circles of Sahukars, the middlemen never allow
them to come out of poverty? (2018,22)
Ans: Most people in Firozabad are engaged in making glass
bangles. But these people who have spent generations working
around furnaces, welding glass, and making bangles for all the
women of the country have always led a miserable life. They
have never earned enough money even to feed their families.
Few of them can afford to send their sons and daughters to
school. As a result, they teach their children what they know -
the art of bangle making. Therefore in Firozabad today there
are more than 20,000 children working in glass furnaces with
high temperatures in dingy cells without air and light. Ages of
continuous suffering have made them believe that born in the
caste of bangle makers they are doomed to suffer for god-given
lineage cannot be broken. In fact, they are victims of the worst
kind of exploitation by the vicious circle of Sahukars, the
middlemen, the policemen, and bureaucrats. This vicious circle
of middlemen has never allowed the bangle makers to be
organized in co-operatives. If the young get themselves
organized they are 'hauled up' by the police. It is in the interest
of the vicious circle to keep these bangle makers in a perpetual
state of poverty. There is no leader among them to help them to
get out of this situation. These helpless bangle makers are
trapped in a spiral that moves from poverty to apathy, to greed,
and to injustice.
20. What was the promise made by Anees Jung to Saheb?
(2018)
Ans: Anees Jung promised Saheb that she would start a school
and asked him to come.
21. Where does Saheb originally hail from? (2019)
Ans: Saheb originally hails from Dhaka in Bangladesh.
22. What is the actual name of Saheb? What does it signify?
(2019)
Ans: The actual name of Saheb is 'Saheb-e-Alam'. It signifies
'Lord of the Universe'.
23. Give a brief description of Seemapuri? (2020,24)
Ans: Seemapuri is a place on the periphery of Delhi. It is a
settlement of more than 10,000 ragpickers, who come here from
Bangladesh in 1971. They live here with no identity or permits.
But they have ration cards that enable them to vote and buy
grains. Food is more important for them than their identity.
Children grow up to become partners in survival. And survival
in Seemapuri means ragpicking.
An army of barefoot children appears in the morning
with their plastic bags on their shoulders. They disappear by
noon. In Seemapuri garbage has different means for the
children and elders. For the children, it means something
wrapped in wonder. They may find a rupee, even a ten rupee
note or a silver coin. There is always hope of finding more. But,
for elders garbage means of survival.
Seemapuri may be on the periphery of Delhi yet it is miles
away from it, metamorphic. There is no sewage, drainage on
running water. It is unimaginable that it is a part of Delhi, the
capital of India. Delhi represents the developed and prosperous
face of India, but Seemapuri is a little belt.
24. Write briefly on the hazard of working in the glass
bangle industry? (2020)
Ans: See (Talking about the text Q. no. 2 Click here)
25. Whom did Saheb observe standing at the fenced gate of
the neighbouring club? (2023)
Ans: The author finds Saheb standing by the fenced gate of a
neigh bour hood club. He is watching two young men dressed in
white playing tennis.
26. Why, according to the writer, the advice she gave to
Saheb seems hollow? (2023)
Ans: Anees Jung advised Saheb-e-Alam to go to a school. The
advice sounded hollow to her because there were no schools in
the slum where Saheb -e-Alam lived.
27. Who is Savita? (2024)
Ans: Savita is a young girl who is forced to work as a bangle
maker in the streets of Seemapuri, a slum in Delhi. Savita was
seen making bangles in the streets of Seemapuri. She works as a
bangle maker along with her mother and sister.
28. Write a short note on the significance of the title 'Lost
Spring'. (2024)
Ans: The title 'Lost Spring' conveys how millions of children in
India lose out on living the 'spring' of their lives, that is their
childhood. ... Poverty forces these young children to work in the
most inhuman conditions as a result of which they miss out on
the fun of childhood which hampers their growth.
29. How does Saheb's like change when he starts working at
the tea stall? (2024)
Ans: Saheb's life changed for the better when he started
working at the tea stall. He was able to provide financial
stability to his family, attend school, gain independence,
broaden his perspective, and gain self-respect.
Important Questions - Answers
1. What promise was made by the author? Why did she feel
embarrassed?
Ans: Anees Jung promised Saheb that she would start a school
and asked him to come. She was embarrassed because she had
made a false promise of starting her own school which she
really had not meant.
2. How much is Saheb paid in his job?
Ans: Saheb is paid eight hundred rupees per month besides
giving him all his meals.
3. Who is Mukesh in the chapter lost spring?
Ans: Mukesh is a young worker in the bangle making industry
of Firozabad.
4. What is Saheb wearing?
Ans: Saheb was wearing a discoloured shirt and shorts and also
a pair of tennis shoes with a hole in one of them.
5. What does the garbage means for the children and elder
of Seemapuri?
Ans: Garbage for the children of Seemapuri was mean
something wrapped in wonder and for the elders means of
survival.
6. Why is Mukesh's dream a mirage? (Mirage= illusion)
Ans: Mukesh dreams to become a motor mechanic. He wants to
drive a car too. That's why he wants to learn how to repair cars
and drive them. But his dreams was like a mirage. He lives in a
dusty of Firozabad, a town which is famous for its bangles.
Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles.
Families have spent generation for making bangles for women.
By considering Mukesh's current living situation, his dream look
unreal and very difficult to achieve.
7. Where was Saheb work after giving up ragpicking?
Ans: Saheb worked at a tea stall down the road after giving up
ragpicking. He was paid eight hundred rupees and all his meals
of the day.
8. How does Saheb get the shoes he is wearing?
Ans: Saheb has got a pair of tennis shoes from a rich boy who
has discarded them because of a hole in one of them.
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