PROSE LN 2 LOST SPRING
Q1. In what sense is garbage gold to the ragpickers?
Ans: For the ragpickers, garbage is equivalent to gold in that it provides them with a livelihood. Garbage provides
them with their daily rations and a place to live.
Q2. What did garbage mean to the children of Seemapuri and to their parents?
Ans: The author claims that garbage is gold to ragpickers because, to children, trash is a source of amazement. They
anticipate receiving some cash, jewels, or both in it. They occasionally discover a rupee or even a ten-rupee note, if
luck is on their side. Adults use garbage as a source of income.
Q3. Give a brief account of the life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri.
Ans: Anees Jung notes in “Lost Spring” that Saheb-e-Alam’s life and activities are entirely dependent on garbage.
That is, in truth, garbage is their daily sustenance, and to them it is no less than gold. The poor rag pickers are
generally barefoot, which she says is “an excuse to justify a permanent state of poverty”. They currently reside in
mud structures with tin and tarpaulin roofs, without sewage, drainage, or running water. Whenever they can find
food, they set up their tents. They have been residing in Seemapuri for more than 30 years without an identity or
permission. They do, however, carry ration cards which enable them to vote.
Q4. Garbage to them is gold. How do ragpickers of Seemapuri survive?
Ans: For the inhabitants of Seemapuri, nothing else matters except survival. They set up their tents wherever there
is food. The people of Seemapuri rely on garbage collection and ragpicking to provide for their daily needs and a roof
over their heads. Finding money in the trash—whether it be one rupee or ten—can occasionally make someone’s
day, especially if they are a child. It gives them hope. Hence the writer’s statement that “garbage to them is gold” is
true.
Q5. What does the writer mean when she says, ‘Saheb is no longer his own master’?
Ans: The author intended Saheb to be a carefree youngster who worked and still had time for himself when he was
a ragpicker. Yet as soon as he began working at the tea shop, he lost his freedom because he was forced to work for a
master and obey his commands. He could no longer act however he pleased. As a result, he was no longer his own
master.
Q6. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall ? Explain.
Ans: Saheb was not happy working at the tea stall. There was fixed earning and food to suffice his hunger but he had
lost his freedom. Earlier, working as a rag picker, his earning was meagre, but he had enjoyed his work as he was not
accountable to anyone. Thus he was no longer his own master.
Q7. What makes the city of Firozabad famous ?
Ans: The bangle manufacturing sector is well known in Firozabad. In Firozabad, bangle manufacturing is a way of
life for every family. It is the hub of India’s glass blowing industry, where families have spent years welding,
producing glass, and creating bangles for ladies while surrounded by furnaces.
Q8. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps ? Where is he and where has he come from?
Ans: In pursuit of “gold,” Saheb rummaged through and explored the garbage heaps. He lived in a slum outside of
Delhi called Seemapuri with thousands of other rag pickers. He had left Bangladesh with his parents after numerous
storms destroyed their home and farmland.
Q9. How was Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family ?
Ans: Mukesh was prepared to leave the family’s history and vicious cycle of glassmakers. He followed his tender
heart’s desire to train as a mechanic. In order to obtain the training and abilities he needed, he willingly undertook
the burden of walking a significant distance to the garage. He therefore had the courage to pursue his dream.
Q10. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry ?
Ans: Workers in the glass bangle industry toiled their daylight hours working near hot furnaces in dingy cells having
no proper lighting and inadequate ventilation. At times they lose their eyesight because of the dust emitted while
polishing glass bangles. In Firozabad, children also laboured in glass bangle industries where they fell prey to such
hazardous working atmosphere.
Q11. What trade does the family of Mukesh follow? Why does the writer feel that it’s difficult for Mukesh to break
away from this tradition?
Ans: Engaged in bangle making for decades, it is difficult to break away from this trade. He belongs to the caste of
bangle makers. His family is caught in the web of sahukars, the middlemen, policemen, politicians and bureaucrats,
from which there is no escape.
Q12. What does Saheb do for a living? Why?
Ans: Saheb is a rag picker. His family has left the life of poverty behind in Dhaka to pursue their dream of finding a
better life. The children like him have no access to education and are forced into rag picking.
Q13. Why did people migrate from the village in Dhaka to Delhi?
Ans: Their homes and farmland were destroyed by numerous storms. Political unrest at the period made life for
these people very tough, and their fields eventually turned to desert. They left their home in Dhaka and moved to
Delhi in the hopes of finding better living, educational, and employment possibilities.
Q14. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear ?
Ans: The author had seen children walking barefoot, in cities as well as on village roads. It was customary for them
to remain barefoot because they believed that their ragged clothing and being barefoot emphasized their ongoing
poverty and tracked an ancient tradition that had been retained by the suffering rag pickers.
Q15. What does garbage symbolise for adults and children?
Ans: Garbage has a different connotation for kids than it does for adults. When they discover a rupee or ten-rupee
note inside, the children’s eyes light up with wonder. They eagerly explore the trash in the hopes of discovering
more. But so far, it is a means of survival for the elderly.
II. LONG ANSWERS QUESTIONS:
Q1. How does the story, ‘Lost Spring’ highlight the apathy of society and those in power to end the vicious cycle of
poverty? Support your answer with textual evidence.
Ans. In this story, ‘Lost Spring’s Saheb and Mukesh were the two main characters in two different stories and both of
them suffered extreme poverty. In the first story Saheb was a child who did rag picking with his family to fulfil their
needs. After a few days he started working in a tea stall and he is no longer his own master as he worked under
[Link] the other side mukesh belonged to a family of bangle makers and works in bangle making industry
along with his family but he was focused and determined for his aim to become a motor mechanic. Both Saheb and
Mukesh were unable to move out of poverty and live a normal life,as they got no opportunities and it was almost
impossible for them to fulfil their dreams. This was because the upper class people, politicians and officials did not
help them at all ,rather they pushed them down in poverty for their greed. Also they did not have much knowledge
about their rights and the importance of education, as no one told them about [Link] both just followed the old
customs and worked in poverty as no one guided them. Even the people who have the power to help them showed
lack of interest in helping them. That is why this vicious cycle of poverty continues and the poor people become
more poor and the rich become richer. If the upper class people and the men in power would have helped them to
get out of poverty and get educated, then both Saheb and Mukesh would definitely be able to fulfil their dreams and
enjoy their life like others. Also, it is the duty of common people to make them aware of their rights and tell them
how they can move out of poverty stricken life so as to make them succeed in life.
Q2. Certain traditions and lineage, condemn thousands of children to a life of abject poverty and choke their
aspirations. • Do you agree? Explain. • How can we change this? Suggest some ways to tackle this issue. (QB)
Ans. Yes, I do agree that ‘Lost Spring’ narrates the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn thousands of people
have succumbed. The story written by Anees Jung revolves around the pitiable condition of poor children who have
been forced to live in the slums and work hard in dirty conditions. The first part tells the writer’s impression about
the life of poor rag pickers who have migrated from Bangladesh but now are settled in the Seemapuri area of
Delhi. The second part narrates the miserable life of the bangle-makers in the town of Firozabad. The stark reality
of these families is that, in spite of back-breaking hard work that they put in, they cannot have two square meals a
day. Besides, false and blind belief in traditions does not let their children take up other respectable and better
paying jobs which will improve their financial situations.