[Link] is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps?
Where is he and where has he
come from?
Ans: Saheb is looking for coins, which is considered as ‘gold’ in the story, in garbage
dumps.
He is presently living at Seemapuri, which is at the periphery of Delhi. He has come from
Bangladesh in 1971.
[Link] explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
Ans: The narrator found that children across the country walk barefoot in cities and on
village roads. It is not lack of money always, but a tradition to stay barefoot. But the
narrator wonders about the fact that the children are walking barefoot to explain away a
perpetual state of poverty.
[Link] Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.
Ans: No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea stall. As he was no longer his own master
by working at the tea stall at a meagre salary of 800 with meals. The steel canister , which
he was carrying in his hand, seemed heavier than the plastic bag he was carrying over his
shoulder. Therefore, he left the tea stall.
4. Mention the hazards of working in the glass industry.
Ans: The glass bangle industry offers very unhealthy environment to the people. They
have to work in the glass furnaces with high temperature in dingy cells. Their eyes are
more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. This makes them blind before they
become adults.
5. How is Mukehs’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans: Mukush’s family looks at the family profession of bangle making as ‘karam’ or
destiny. His grandmother perceives it as ‘god-given. They are ready to die out of
blindness and grim poverty, but won’t defy this profession. On the other hand, Mukesh
wants to be a motor mechanic and is therefore considered to be an iconoclast as he dares
to deviate from taking to his family tradition of bangle making.
Short Questions:
[Link] does the author say that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web?
What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in
poverty?
Ans. The writer tells us that Certain forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle
industry of Firozabad in poverty– stricken. They are burdened by the fact of the particular
caste in which they are born – bangle – makers. They have to continue the traditional
profession. Further, the society has formed a harsh circle around them. The money –
lenders, middlemen, policemen, law – keepers, officers and politicians altogether form a
barrier around them and tie them in the grip of poverty. They cannot escape from it.
.
[Link] could the bangle makers not organise themselves into a co-operative?
Ans: The bangle makers are trapped in the vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen,
policemen, bureaucrats and politicians. If they tried to organise themselves, they would
be beaten by police and put in jail.
[Link] to them is gold. Why does the author say so about the ragpickers?
Ans: Garbage is gold to the rag pickers of Seemapuri because it provides them with food
and is a means of survival. Moreover, it is gold also because the ragpickers can find stray
coins and currency notes in it.
9. Can Mukesh realize his dream of becoming a motor mechanic?
Ans: Man is a product of his environment around him. It is difficult to realise his dream
as he is torn between his desires and his family , which firmly believes that the art of
bangle making is a God given lineage that cannot be escaped. However, he is ambitious
and is willing to walk a long way to the garage to give wings to his dreams.
10. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?
Ans. Forcing a child to work is a crime. This is so in order to prevent exploitation of
children. If forced to work, Children cannot enjoy their childhood. They cannot get
proper education. Also, when they are forced into hazardous works, they get ailments at a
young age. This destroys their future. Their parents overlook all these facts as they need
money. So, the government has to become proactive and take measures to check child
labour and enforce the law strictly.