Lost Spring
Think as you read
1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where
has he come from?
A. Saheb is looking for any precious thing which he cannot afford to buy.
Things like a rupee, silver coin or a pair of shoes. He has come to the garbage
dump in the writer’s neighborhood. He lives in Seemapuri in Delhi and has
come from Dhaka.
2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing
footwear?
A. The author says that they do not wear footwear because it is a tradition in
their families to remain barefoot.
3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.
A. Saheb is happy that he has got work at the tea stall. He will get eight hundred
rupees every month and his meals too.
4. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?
A. Firozabad is famous for glass blowing industry.
5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
A. People who work in the glass bangle industry lose their eyesight.
6. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his
family?
A. Mukesh dares to dream and has a way out of his situation. He aspires to
become a motor mechanic. On the other hand, his family does not dare to
dream. They are too tired and scared to do something to come out of their grim
situation.
Understanding the text
Q1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from
villages to cities?
A. 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 rear their children in a better
way. As cities have more opportunities for work, this makes them migrate from
the villages to these big cities.
Q2. 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?
A. Yes, I agree that the promises made to poor children are rarely fulfilled. In
the story the writer jokingly offers the rag picker boy to join a school that she
would open. In fact, she does not intend to open a school. She speaks
mindlessly but the boy takes it to be true and later asks her if the school has
opened. There are many such hollow promises in the boy’s life because the
person who makes the promise never intends to fulfil it.
Q3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of
Firozabad in poverty?
A. The writer tells us that the bangle – makers of Firozabad are 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.
Q4. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?
A. Mukesh dared to dream and wanted to become a motor mechanic. He wanted
to drive cars too. He took the initial step by aspiring to do something different
from the family business. I think that Mukesh can realize his dream with
determination and hard work.
Q5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
A. The poor bangle makers in Firozabad work in dangerous conditions. The
furnaces have very high temperatures and no ventilation. Hence, they are prone
to ailments like lung cancer. While polishing the bangles, the dust harms their
eyes and many lose their vision. They remain in dark for long hours and so are
unable to see during the daytime.
Q6. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?
A. 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.
Extract Based Questions: Just for your reference
1. His dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets that fill his town
Firozabad, famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in
making bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry where families
have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles
for all the women in the land it seems.
i. Mirage here means _____
a. An aeroplane
b. A hope that cannot be achieved
c. An image seen in hot weather in the deserts
d. none of these
ii. Why every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles?
a. They don’t know any other work
b. Firozabad is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry
c. They don’t dare do anything else
d. All of these
iii. Find a synonym of fireplace.
iv. Why does the author say that “making bangles for all the women in the land
it seems”?
2. “Go to school,” I say glibly, realising immediately how hollow the advice
must sound.
“There is no school in my neighbourhood. When they build one, I will go.”
“If I start a school, will you come?” I ask, half-joking. “Yes,” he says, smiling
broadly.
A few days later I see him running up to me. “Is your school ready?”
“It takes longer to build a school,” I say, embarrassed at having made a promise
that was not meant. But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak
world.
i. What does glibly mean?
a. Spoken confidently but without careful thought
b. Done with confidence and careful thought
c. spoken in a serious manner
d. Careless attitude
ii. A few days later I see him running up to me. “Is your school ready?”
This shows
a. The boy wants to go to school
b. The boy is showing her down
c. the boy does not want to work and wants to escape to a school
d. The boy likes her
iii. Why is the narrator embarrassed?
iv. Why does she say that promises like mine abound in every corner of his
bleak world?
4. He stops at the door of one such house, bangs a wobbly iron door with his
foot, and pushes it open. We enter a half-built shack. In one part of it, thatched
with dead grass, is a firewood stove over which sits a large vessel of sizzling
spinach leaves. On the ground, in large aluminium platters, are more chopped
vegetables. A frail young woman is cooking the evening meal for the whole
family. Through eyes filled with smoke she smiles. She is the wife of Mukesh’s
elder brother.
1. Wobbly means ______
a. Strong b. wooden c. trembling d. All of these
ii. Shack means ______
a. Shop b. Hut c. room d. None of these
iii. Find a synonym of ‘weak’
iv. Why are her eyes filled with smoke?