LOST SPRING ANSWER KEY

Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow:

Ans . -bangle makers of Firozabad .
b) -They cannot organise themselves into cooperatives and have fallen into a vicious circle of
‘sahukars’, middlemen, bureaucrats, politicians and the police so they get condemned to poverty and
perpetual exploitation.
c) - organize a cooperative so that they get the profit - not fleeced by the middlemen .
d) Lost Spring -Anees Jung

2. a) Anees Jung
b) - small boy who picks rags for a living- hails from Dhaka.
c) - fields were destroyed by the storm.
d) – valuable things they find in the garbage.

Q 3 . His face, I see, has lost the carefree look. This means as per the assumption of the
author, in his looks, Saheb is …….
a) not burdened with the responsibility, b) burdened with the responsibility
c) Burdened but without any responsibility, d) Not burdened but feels responsible
Ans: b) burdened with the responsibility
Qn. Choose the appropriate statements for ― Saheb is no longer his own master!
(i) Saheb carries his bag for rag picking, (ii) Saheb works in a tea stall.
(iii) Saheb is paid 800 rupees, (iv) Saheb carries a canister.
a) (i)(ii) & (iii), b) (i)(ii) & (iv), c) (i)(iii) & (iv), d) (ii)(iii) & (iv)
Ans. d) (ii) (iii) & (iv)
Qn. Read the statements given below.
Choose the correct statement to analyze the mental condition of Saheb-e-Alam.
a) He seems to be dignified working at the tea-stall.
b) He seems to be proud collecting milk from the milk booth.
c) He seems to be responsible carrying the steel canister.
d) He seems to be enjoying his freewheel at the tea-stall.
Ans. c) He seems to be responsible carrying the steel canister.
Qn. Select the option/options that does NOT explain Saheb’s nature of thinking in his new
job at the tea stall.
(i) He thinks collecting milk is a part of his new job.
(ii) Canister is heavy but thinks he should carry it for survival.
(iii) He is earning 800 rupees and all meals, so he should justify the job.
(iv) He is a servant now; he can have a carefree life.
a) Only option (iii),
b) Both options (ii)&iv
(iv), c) Both options (i)&;iv
(iv), d) Only option (iv)
Ans. d) Only option (iv)
Qn. Choose the option that most appropriately fills in the blanks, for the following
description of the given extract.
People migrate from villages to cities in search of a better life. They want to earn money so
that they can lead a good life and (i)_______their children in a better way. As cities have more
(ii)________for work, this makes them migrate from the villages to these big cities.
(iii)________all miseries and challenges of life at young age, Saheb even finds a job in a
tea stall, shifting from rag picking to (iv)_________his struggle for survival.
a) (i)give; (ii) scope; (iii) controlling; (iv) continue
b) (i) rear; (ii) opportunities; (iii) Accepting; (iv) prove
c) (i) provide; (ii) jobs; (iii) Denying; (iv) stop
d) (i) leave; (ii) chances; (iii) Chasing; (iv) deal
Ans. b) (i) rear; (ii) opportunities; (iii) Accepting; (iv) prove

6. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below:
Assertion: The police haul up the youth if they make a union.
Reason: The policemen are very efficient & arrest the wrong-doers promptly.
a. Both A & R are correct. R is the correct explanation of A
b. Both A & R are correct. R is not the correct explanation of A
c. A is correct, R is wrong
d. Neither A nor R is correct
Ans. c. A is correct, R is wrong

Answer the following in about 30-40 words.

1. - meaning the ‘Lord of the universe’. But Saheb is poverty stricken, barefoot, homeless rag
picker who scrounges the garbage dumps -. name is in total contrast to his very existence and
- deeply ironical.
2. - children are precious beings, cared for and looked after right from their infancy- children in
Seemapuri are offspring of homeless rag pickers- parents are unable to provide for them and
they end up picking rags at an early age for their survival and as support to their parents.
3. - a large vote bank for various political parties - ration cards to benefit political sharks in
the election process. Using these cards they can get grains from government agencies.
4. Glass furnaces are ill-lit-unhygienic, and dingy-Working long hours in these conditions bends
the backs of children- lose vision, have respiratory problems-become old before their time.
5. gave up his freedom as a rag picker for a salaried job at a tea stall- Mukesh insisted on
being his own master- determined to be a motor mechanic in future
6. Serving middlemen, -lack of education and acute poverty has broken the spirit of the younger
generation also. - organising themselves into a cooperative movement will only make them
bear the wrath of police- lack a leader amongst them and are aware that the vicious circle of
sahukars, middlemen, politicians and police would not allow the cooperative movement
 7. - Like the affluent children of his neighbourhood, he also wants to go to school and to
play. But poverty and the necessity to make both ends meet throw him in a vicious circle
of rag picking.- taking up a job at a tea stall is an attempt to be master of his destiny-
further enslaves him.
8. By virtue of their birth, extreme poverty, lack of education and opportunity, they have to take
up the profession of bangle making at an early age. Their destiny becomes a curse as once in
this profession, they are in the grip of a vicious circle.

9. - first is the world of poverty ridden family and caste stigma which dictates compromise and
second - sahukars, middlemen, policemen, bureaucrats and politicians which dictates
oppression.

10. Comment on the title ‘Lost Spring’.

-Childhood of human life is the spring period of one’s life. Children like Saheb and Mukesh
lead a miserable and pathetic life - forced to do labour to earn living- they do not get
education. - deprived of the normal pleasures of childhood-lose their spring i.e childhood

1. For most women, bangles are dreams in glass but for bangle makers of Firozabad they are a
vicious circle they cannot wriggle out of. Comment.
Bangles – red, green, blue, yellow etc. – symbol of Suhag – auspiciousness in marriage – in today’s
world – fashion statement for the young and old women alike – glass bangles of varied hues adorning a
woman’s wrist provide – visual treat – music of their own with their sweet clinking and tinkling –
rainbow colours and bright hues bangles – spread joy and happiness in the lives of women –Ironically –
bangle makers lead a miserable life – underdeveloped industry, lack of basic amenities and infrastructure
– glass furnaces- ill lit – ill ventilated – dingy hovels with high temperatures –barely have a full meal a
day - live in shacks – temporary roofs, crumbling walls and wobbly doors - lose eyesight at a young age
– live in a dark world – no help no hope.
2. Explain the significance of title ‘Lost Spring’.
Ans: In this lesson, the author Anees Jung examines and analyses the grinding poverty and tradition that
condemn children to a life of exploitation. Saheb ragpicker -parents left behind a life of abject poverty in
Bangladesh- family, like the many other families of rag pickers lives in Seemapuri- in miserable
condition- writer pained to see Saheb, whose name means the ruler of the Earth- lose the spark of
childhood- proceeds to talk about Mukesh- wants to be his own master. Hailing from Firozabad, the
center of India’s bangle making and glass-blowing industry- has always worked in the glass-making
factory-family does not know -illegal for children to work in such close to furnaces -high temperatures-
exposed to various health hazards -losing their eyesight - work in dark and dingy cells.
bangle maker of Firozabad -burdened - have lost their ability to dream. The writer’s observation - poor
hopeless people -a pawns in the games that are played by Sahukars, middlemen, policemen, bureaucrats,
and the politicians.