JAI GURU DEV

MAHARISHI SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE

ENGLISH CORE
LOST SPRING – QUESTION BANK (2025-2026)
CLASS XII
1) Extract-based questions
Extract 1
Extract: “After months of knowing him, I ask him his name.”
1. Q (MCQ): Who is the speaker?
a) Mukesh b) Saheb c) Anees Jung ✅ d) A shopkeeper
Ans: c) Anees Jung (the narrator/author).
2. Q: Who is “him” in this line?
Ans: Saheb (Saheb-e-Alam), the ragpicker boy.
3. Q (SA): What does this line imply about the narrator’s relationship with the boy? (1-
mark)
Ans: The narrator has known him for months — shows familiarity and repeated
meetings.
4. Q (MCQ): “Months” implies the narrator’s contact was —
a) accidental b) brief c) sustained ✅ d) formal
5. Q (SA): Is asking the name significant? Why? (one line)
Ans: Yes — it leads to revealing the irony of his grand name vs. his poor life.

Extract 2
Extract: “Saheb-e-Alam — lord of the universe.”
1. Q (MCQ): What is ironic about this name?
a) It is humble b) It is grand and ironic ✅ c) It is religious d) It is common
2. Q (SA): What does “Saheb-e-Alam” literally mean?
Ans: Lord of the universe.
3. Q (MCQ): The irony lies in Saheb’s —
a) wealth b) name vs poverty ✅ c) education d) age
4. Q (SA): How does the author highlight irony around the name? (one line)
Ans: By contrasting the grand meaning with Saheb’s rag-picking life.
5. Q (MCQ): The author’s tone in noting the name is —
a) mocking b) sympathetic ✅ c) celebratory d) indifferent

Extract 3
Extract: “Garbage to them is gold.”
1. Q (MCQ): Who is “them”?
a) Bangle makers b) Children of Seemapuri c) Ragpickers ✅ d) Shopkeepers
2. Q (SA): What does this metaphor mean? (one line)
Ans: Garbage provides livelihood and hope; it is valuable to ragpickers.
3. Q (MCQ): “Gold” here suggests —
a) wealth b) survival & livelihood ✅ c) jewelry d) waste
4. Q (SA): Give one consequence of seeing garbage as gold.
Ans: Children grow up learning rag-picking; it becomes normalised as survival.
5. Q (MCQ): This line highlights which theme?
a) Patriotism b) Child labour & poverty ✅ c) Nature d) Education
Extract 4
Extract: “They appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon.”
1. Q (MCQ): To what does the simile compare the boys?
a) Crows b) Morning birds ✅ c) Cats d) Dogs
2. Q (SA): What does “disappear at noon” imply?
Ans: They vanish from the streets, returning to their slums or work areas — transient
presence.
3. Q (MCQ): The line emphasizes the boys’ life as —
a) steady b) carefree c) impermanent & vulnerable ✅ d) luxurious
4. Q (SA): What mood does the simile create? (one line)
Ans: A delicate and fleeting image; children are transient and ephemeral in the city
life.
5. Q (MCQ): Which literary device is used?
a) Metaphor b) Simile ✅ c) Alliteration d) Personification

Extract 5
Extract: “They have lost the spring of their life.”
1. Q (MCQ): “Spring” here symbolizes —
a) A season b) Youth/innocence ✅ c) Money d) Rain
2. Q (SA): What does “lost spring” mean for such children?
Ans: Loss of childhood, play, education; robbed of carefree years.
3. Q (MCQ): The tone of the line is —
a) Joyful b) Melancholic ✅ c) Sarcastic d) Angry
4. Q (SA): Which word indicates permanent loss?
Ans: “Lost” — suggests irretrievable deprivation.
5. Q (MCQ): This line underscores which central theme?
a) Beauty of nature b) Childhood stolen by poverty ✅ c) Historical change d)
Technology

Extract 6
Extract: “I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten-rupee note.”
1. Q (MCQ): Who says this?
a) The narrator b) Saheb ✅ c) A bangle maker d) Mukesh
2. Q (SA): What does the sentence reveal about rag-picking?
Ans: Occasional earnings give hope; small gains encourage continued scavenging.
3. Q (MCQ): The phrase “even a ten-rupee note” implies —
a) constant wealth b) rare valuable finds ✅ c) hoarding d) theft
4. Q (SA): How does the finding of small money affect the boys?
Ans: It sustains hope and motivates them to keep searching.
5. Q (MCQ): The sentence shows rag-picking is —
a) lucrative b) uncertain but sometimes rewarding ✅ c) illegal d) easy work

Extract 7
Extract: “They slog their daylight hours.”
1. Q (MCQ): “Slog” means —
a) Play b) Work hard ✅ c) Sleep d) Cook
2. Q (SA): What image does this phrase create?
Ans: Continuous, exhausting labour during daytime.
 3. Q (MCQ): This phrase suggests children’s work is —
a) leisurely b) educational c) laborious & tiring ✅ d) creative
4. Q (SA): Give one effect of such slogging on children.
Ans: They lose time for schooling and play, leading to stunted growth.
5. Q (MCQ): Which social issue does it highlight?
a) Urban planning b) Child labour ✅ c) Festivals d) Transportation

Extract 8
Extract: “They are partners in survival.”
1. Q (MCQ): Who are partners?
a) Ragpickers b) Children and elders in slums ✅ c) Bangle traders d) Shopkeepers
2. Q (SA): Explain “partners in survival” (one line).
Ans: Entire families cooperate in work and poverty to survive together.
3. Q (MCQ): The phrase shows —
a) individualism b) family solidarity amidst poverty ✅ c) wealth d) independence
4. Q (SA): How does this affect children’s future?
Ans: They inherit poverty and the job culture, limiting upward mobility.
5. Q (MCQ): Which tone does the phrase carry?
a) Celebratory b) Fatalistic/critical ✅ c) Humorous d) Romantic

Extract 9
Extract: “Little has moved with time, it seems, in Firozabad.”
1. Q (MCQ): Which town is referred to?
a) Seemapuri b) Firozabad ✅ c) Dhaka d) Agra
2. Q (SA): What does the line imply about Firozabad’s industry?
Ans: It remains traditional and stagnant, especially bangle manufacture with poor
conditions.
3. Q (MCQ): The phrase “little has moved” suggests —
a) progress b) stagnation ✅ c) investment d) modernization
4. Q (SA): Give one reason for Firozabad’s stagnation.
Ans: Longstanding exploitative practices and lack of cooperative organization.
5. Q (MCQ): The line criticizes —
a) technological progress b) social and economic backwardness ✅ c) festivals d)
climate

Extract 10
Extract: “The bangle makers live like prisoners of tradition.”
1. Q (MCQ): Who are “prisoners”?
a) Children b) Bangle makers ✅ c) Teachers d) Merchants
2. Q (SA): What does “prisoners of tradition” mean?
Ans: They are trapped by customs and hereditary occupation, unable to change.
3. Q (MCQ): This extract primarily highlights —
a) physical imprisonment b) social bondage and backwardness ✅ c) wealth d) health
4. Q (SA): Suggest one social solution to this problem.
Ans: Organize cooperatives, provide education and alternative livelihood training.
5. Q (MCQ): The tone here is —
a) approving b) critical ✅ c) humorous d) neutral
Extract 11
Extract: “Mukesh dreams of being a motor mechanic.”
1. Q (MCQ): Mukesh’s ambition is to be —
a) a doctor b) a motor mechanic ✅ c) a teacher d) a bangle maker
2. Q (SA): Why is Mukesh’s dream significant?
Ans: It shows aspiration beyond hereditary bangle-work; a desire to escape poverty.
3. Q (MCQ): Mukesh’s dream contrasts with —
a) Saheb’s contentment b) his family’s bangle trade ✅ c) narrator’s dream d) city life
4. Q (SA): Does Mukesh’s family support his dream? (one line)
Ans: They show limited support — pride in rebuilding house, but structural barriers
remain.
5. Q (MCQ): Mukesh’s dream is an example of —
a) escapism b) social mobility aspiration ✅ c) indifference d) greed

Extract 12
Extract: “His house is being rebuilt.”
1. Q (MCQ): Whose house?
a) Saheb’s b) Mukesh’s ✅ c) Narrator’s d) Bangle trader’s
2. Q (SA): Why mention rebuilding? (one line)
Ans: It suggests some material improvement but doesn’t ensure better future.
3. Q (MCQ): The rebuilding implies —
a) prosperity b) superficial improvement ✅ c) educational reform d) migration
4. Q (SA): Does a rebuilt house guarantee Mukesh’s upliftment? (one line)
Ans: Not necessarily — material fixes don’t change exploitative occupational
systems.
5. Q (MCQ): The author’s tone about rebuilding is —
a) celebratory b) skeptical ✅ c) indifferent d) sarcastic

Extract 13
Extract: “Children accept their destiny without rebellion.”
1. Q (MCQ): Which trait is highlighted?
a) Daring b) Acceptance ✅ c) Anger d) Joy
2. Q (SA): Why do children accept without rebellion?
Ans: Poverty, social conditioning, lack of alternatives and fatalism.
3. Q (MCQ): This attitude reflects —
a) empowerment b) suppression & helplessness ✅ c) happiness d) education
4. Q (SA): One consequence of acceptance is —
Ans: Perpetuation of the cycle of poverty across generations.
5. Q (MCQ): The statement evokes which emotion?
a) Hope b) Sympathy/anger ✅ c) Joy d) Indifference

Extract 14
Extract: “Bangle industry has not moved with time.”
1. Q (MCQ): Which sector is criticized?
a) Education b) Bangle industry ✅ c) Agriculture d) IT
2. Q (SA): What traditional problems persist in the industry?
Ans: Low wages, child labour, hazardous conditions, middlemen exploitation.
 3. Q (MCQ): A suggested remedy is —
a) more children working b) cooperatives & training ✅ c) closing industry d) raising
prices
4. Q (SA): What is a cooperative? (one line)
Ans: A group of workers forming a collective to share profits and control production.
5. Q (MCQ): The author urges for —
a) nostalgia b) reforms and organization ✅ c) inaction d) migration

Extract 15
Extract: “They are content with little hopes.”
1. Q (MCQ): What does this say about aspirations?
a) High b) Limited ✅ c) Unlimited d) Aggressive
2. Q (SA): Give one reason for low hopes.
Ans: Poverty and social norms limit exposure and opportunities.
3. Q (MCQ): The word “content” here is —
a) positive b) ambiguous/tragic ✅ c) triumphant d) ironic
4. Q (SA): How does acceptance of little hopes affect society?
Ans: It maintains low expectations and inhibits social change.
5. Q (MCQ): The author’s attitude is —
a) indulgent b) critical/compassionate ✅ c) mocking d) neutral

Extract 16
Extract: “The lanes reeked of garbage and disease.”
1. Q (MCQ): Which sense is invoked?
a) Sight b) Smell ✅ c) Hearing d) Taste
2. Q (SA): What living condition is described?
Ans: Filthy, unsanitary environment that endangers health.
3. Q (MCQ): This environment contributes to —
a) good health b) disease & low life expectancy ✅ c) tourism d) commerce
4. Q (SA): Mention one health risk.
Ans: Infections, respiratory illnesses or stunted growth.
5. Q (MCQ): The author uses this to evoke —
a) beauty b) pity & urgency ✅ c) humor d) nostalgia

Extract 17
Extract: “They dream of different things.”
1. Q (MCQ): Who are “they”?
a) Bangle makers b) Children like Mukesh & Saheb ✅ c) Traders d) Teachers
2. Q (SA): What does this indicate about children?
Ans: Even poor children have diverse dreams and aspirations.
3. Q (MCQ): This counters which stereotype?
a) That poor children are content ✅ b) That all children want to be bangle makers c)
That all dream alike d) That no one dreams
4. Q (SA): Name one dream mentioned in the text.
Ans: Mukesh wants to be a motor mechanic; others sometimes dream of going to
school.
5. Q (MCQ): The line highlights —
a) homogeneity b) individuality & hope ✅ c) conformity d) despair
Extract 18
Extract: “Their hands blackened with dye and dirt.”
1. Q (MCQ): Which group is described?
a) School children b) Bangle makers ✅ c) Ragpickers d) Farmers
2. Q (SA): What does this physical image convey?
Ans: Hazardous working conditions and direct contact with chemicals.
3. Q (MCQ): Blackened hands symbolize —
a) beauty b) labour & exploitation ✅ c) wealth d) cleanliness
4. Q (SA): Give one long term effect of such work.
Ans: Health problems, skin diseases and reduced life expectancy.
5. Q (MCQ): The author wants readers to feel —
a) amusement b) concern & compassion ✅ c) amusement d) indifference

Extract 19
Extract: “They live amid the stinking lanes.”
1. Q (MCQ): Which adjective describes lanes?
a) Clean b) Stinking ✅ c) Bright d) Bustling
2. Q (SA): How does such setting affect children’s upbringing?
Ans: Exposure to filth impedes health, schooling and self-esteem.
3. Q (MCQ): “Stinking lanes” implies need for —
a) sanitation & civic action ✅ b) more roads c) festivals d) shops
4. Q (SA): Suggest one immediate civic step to improve living condition.
Ans: Regular garbage collection and clean water supply.
5. Q (MCQ): This description appeals to —
a) logic only b) emotions and ethics ✅ c) math skills d) history

Extract 20
Extract: “What is permanent is not the craft but the poverty.”
1. Q (MCQ): What is permanent according to the line?
a) Craft b) Poverty ✅ c) Culture d) Skill
2. Q (SA): Explain in one line.
Ans: Even if craft continues, poverty persists across generations due to structural
issues.
3. Q (MCQ): The line critiques —
a) economic systems ✅ b) art evolution c) weather d) education
4. Q (SA): What solution does the author hint at? (one line)
Ans: Social, economic reforms — organization and alternative livelihoods.
5. Q (MCQ): The author’s tone is —
a) optimistic b) critical & realistic ✅ c) celebratory d) playful
2) Short answer questions
1. Q: Describe Saheb’s life before he moved to Seemapuri.
Ans: Saheb originally came from Dhaka, Bangladesh, where his family lived among
green fields. Storms destroyed their crops and homes; forced migration brought them
to Delhi. In Seemapuri he became a ragpicker, scavenging in dustbins for valuables.
The dramatic change from farm life to slum scavenging shaped his lost childhood and
identity.
2. Q: What does “garbage has a meaning different from me” convey?
Ans: For the ragpickers, garbage isn’t mere waste but livelihood — a source of
income, items for sale, or materials for living. The narrator contrasts her perspective
(seeing garbage as refuse) with theirs (treasure). This highlights social disparity: the
same city object means poverty and hope for some, indifference for others.
3. Q: How does Anees Jung portray the ragpickers’ daily routine?
Ans: Jung describes their dawn appearances, sludgy lanes, constant scavenging and
returning by noon. They “slog their daylight hours” searching for rags, coins, and
scraps. The routine is depicted as relentless, skillful, and normalized — children learn
ragpicking as survival, showing how poverty structures daily life and priorities.
4. Q: Compare Saheb and Mukesh in aspirations and circumstances.
Ans: Saheb’s life is marked by aimless scavenging and minimal ambition; he accepts
ragpicking. Mukesh, though poor, aspires to be a motor mechanic and shows pride.
Mukesh’s family is involved in bangle-making, while Saheb’s family survives by
ragpicking. Mukesh’s ambition suggests a flicker of hope absent in Saheb.
5. Q: How does the author present the bangle industry of Firozabad?
Ans: Jung shows Firozabad as stagnant, with families trapped in hazardous bangle
production. The industry is exploitative: low wages, child labour and hazardous dyes
are common. Traditional techniques persist, and lack of organization keeps workers
vulnerable to middlemen. The city’s glitter hides a history of suffering.
6. Q: Why does the author say the children are “partners in survival”?
Ans: The phrase means that children actively participate in earning and household
survival: collecting rags, assisting in bangle making or selling. They are co-
contributors, not dependents, because poverty forces them into adult responsibilities
early, making survival a collective family task rather than a solely adult burden.
7. Q: Explain the social causes behind child labour in the chapter.
Ans: Key causes are poverty, lack of education access, migration (loss of farmland),
cultural acceptance of hereditary trades, unemployment, and exploitative middlemen.
Families depend on every member’s earnings; thus children work. Structural neglect
and weak enforcement of laws also perpetuate child labour.
8. Q: What is Anees Jung’s attitude toward the ragpickers?
Ans: Jung’s tone is sympathetic, observant and critical. She humanizes the ragpickers
with vivid images and empathy while criticizing social apathy and systemic neglect.
She neither patronizes nor scolds but documents their reality to prompt reflection and
social responsibility among readers.
9. Q: How does the environment of Seemapuri affect children’s health and education?
Ans: Filthy lanes, exposure to pollutants and hazardous work lead to diseases and
poor nutrition, hampering physical and cognitive development. Time spent working
excludes schooling; lack of clean facilities discourages attendance. Thus environment
directly undermines both health and access to education.
10. Q: What solution does the writer propose for bangle makers?
Ans: Jung suggests organization (cooperatives) to empower bangle makers — pooling
resources, controlling production and profits, reducing middlemen exploitation. She
highlights education and alternative livelihood training as essential. Organization
could raise wages, improve conditions and break hereditary poverty cycles.
11. Q: Discuss the meaning of the title “Lost Spring.”
Ans: The title symbolizes lost childhood and innocence (“spring” as youth and
vitality). Poverty robs children of carefree play, education and dreams, replacing them
with labor and survival. The “spring” of their lives has been taken away — the
poem/story poignantly captures this stolen season.
 12. Q: Why do some children accept their fate without rebellion?
Ans: Socialization, lack of awareness, fear of starvation, cultural norms, and absence
of role models make acceptance common. Economic dependence compels
compliance; rebellion risks family survival. Over generations, fatalism deepens,
reducing expectations and protest against systemic oppression.
13. Q: How does the narrative shift from Seemapuri to Firozabad contribute to the
chapter?
Ans: The shift broadens the theme: from ragpickers’ immediate poverty to industrial
exploitation. It shows two faces of lost childhood — scavenging in slums and
hazardous cottage industry. The contrast underscores that poverty’s forms vary but
consequences (stolen childhood) are shared.
14. Q: What role do middlemen play in perpetuating poverty in Firozabad?
Ans: Middlemen control market access and fix low prices, extracting profit from
vulnerable artisans. They provide loans, materials and buyers but keep workers
indebted and underpaid. Lack of direct market access and bargaining power keeps
bangle makers trapped economically.
15. Q: How does Anees Jung use imagery to evoke sympathy for the characters?
Ans: She uses visceral images — “stinking lanes,” “blackened hands,” “garbage as
gold” — to make the reader feel the filth and toil. Human details (names, dreams)
personalize suffering. Such concrete details create empathy rather than abstract pity,
making injustice immediate.
16. Q: Describe an incident that shows children’s ingenuity in the chapter.
Ans: Children skilfully separate useful items in garbage, spotting coins, and
salvageables; they know which bins may yield goods and work cooperatively. Their
scavenging exhibits learned techniques and acute observation, turning scavenging into
a practiced skill for survival.
17. Q: How does the author highlight gender aspects (if any) in bangle making?
Ans: While the chapter focuses on family labour, women often do delicate bangle
work at home. The narrative hints at gendered division: women’s domestic tasks also
become economic labour. Both genders share exploitation, but women may face
added household burdens.
18. Q: Why is education presented as an inadequate remedy in some cases?
Ans: Education alone cannot overturn structural poverty without parallel economic
opportunities. Costs, need for child income, poor facilities and lack of jobs for
educated poor limit its effectiveness. Education must be accompanied by livelihood
reforms and social support.
19. Q: How do the children’s dreams act as a moral appeal in the story?
Ans: Dreams (Mukesh’s mechanic dream) showcase innate human aspiration and
potential; they contrast starkly with harsh reality, prompting moral unease. The author
uses dreams to appeal to readers’ conscience: these are lives worth investing in, not
exploiting.
20. Q: Suggest three actionable steps the government/civil society could take to help such
children.
Ans: (i) Enforce anti-child-labour laws and provide rehabilitation; (ii) establish
vocational training and cooperatives for adults; (iii) ensure access to free, quality
schooling with midday meals and healthcare to reduce dependence on child income.
3) Long answer / Essay-type questions
1. Q: Examine the theme of “stolen childhood” as presented in “Lost Spring.”
Ans:
[~130 words]
 Anees Jung poignantly presents “stolen childhood” through vivid portraits of Saheb
and Mukesh. Both boys display truncated youth: Saheb scavenges in garbage, while
Mukesh helps in hazardous bangle work. Childhood activities—play, schooling and
carefree learning—are replaced by labour, responsibility and resignation. Jung uses
images (stinking lanes, blackened hands) and contrasts (field life in Dhaka vs slum
life) to show how environmental and economic forces steal the “spring” of their years.
Importantly, Jung highlights systemic causes—migration, exploitative middlemen,
social conditioning—rather than individual failings. This frames childhood loss as a
social injustice requiring collective remedy: education, organization, legal
enforcement and livelihood reforms. The narrative appeals to empathy and ethical
action, not merely pity.
2. Q: Analyse Anees Jung’s narrative technique and tone in the story.
Ans:
[~130 words]
Jung employs an engaged, observational first-person narration that blends reportage
with empathetic reflection. Her tone is documentary-like yet compassionate — she
records facts (names, scenes) but adds moral judgment via ironic details (Saheb-e-
Alam’s name) and evocative imagery. The narrative alternates close human detail
with broader social observations, creating both intimacy and wider critique. The use
of specific, concrete scenes—visits to homes, lanes, the bangle-workshop—gives
credibility and immediacy. Jung’s language is simple but sharp; metaphors such as
“garbage is gold” encapsulate harsh socioeconomic realities. Overall, the technique
balances storytelling with social analysis, making the reader both witness and critic.
3. Q: Discuss the economic and social structures that trap families in Firozabad and
Seemapuri.
Ans:
[~130 words]
Families in Firozabad and Seemapuri are trapped by interlinked economic and social
structures: hereditary occupations, dependence on exploitative middlemen, inadequate
wages, and lack of social security. Migration (loss of farmland) forces families into
urban slums where informal labour is the only option. Cottage industries like bangle-
making remain unorganized; lack of cooperatives ensures middlemen control prices
and supply. The educational system and civic infrastructure fail to reach these
pockets; health hazards and unsanitary conditions further reduce productivity and life
chances. Social norms accepting child labour and limited mobility, together with
weak law enforcement, perpetuate the cycle. Breaking this trap requires structural
reforms: organization, education plus jobs, sanitation and active government
intervention.
4. Q: How does the author use individual stories (Saheb and Mukesh) to illuminate
wider social problems?
Ans:
[~140 words]
By focusing on Saheb and Mukesh, Jung personalizes abstract socio-economic
problems. Saheb’s name and scavenging life show displacement and the indignity of
survival; Mukesh’s dream and household reveal the hereditary nature of cottage
industries. These micro-narratives act as representative case studies illuminating
migration, child labour, exploitation and lack of social mobility. Rather than distant
statistics, their lived experiences translate systemic failures into human consequences:
stolen childhoods, hazardous work, and lost hope. The individual stories create
emotional resonance, compelling readers to empathize and to see policy failures as
 personal tragedies. This narrative strategy — from specific to general — is effective:
it humanizes the social critique and makes solutions feel urgent and morally
necessary.
5. Q: Evaluate the role of education in the story — its promises and limits.
Ans:
[~125 words]
Education appears as both promise and insufficient remedy. Jung suggests schooling
could offer escape, skill and dignity (the “spring” might return). Mukesh’s dreams
imply aspiration that education can amplify. Yet structural issues limit education’s
effectiveness: children must earn, schools may be inaccessible or low quality, and
even educated poor may lack employment opportunities. Thus education alone,
without economic reform, cooperatives, and enforcement against child labour, cannot
fully liberate families. Jung’s nuanced stance advocates education as necessary but
not sufficient — it must be linked to job creation, social support and systemic change
to transform lives meaningfully.
6. Q: What literary devices does Anees Jung employ to strengthen the chapter’s impact?
Give examples.
Ans:
[~125 words]
Jung uses metaphor (“garbage is gold”), contrast (Dhaka’s fields vs Seemapuri lanes),
irony (Saheb-e-Alam’s grand name), vivid imagery (“stinking lanes,” “blackened
hands”), and anecdotal detail to create emotional and moral force. Repetition of
images of filth and labour solidifies the oppressive setting. Her reportage style,
combining factual observation with reflective comment, lends credibility and pathos.
The juxtaposition of individual dreams with grim realities heightens poignancy. These
devices work together: concrete imagery evokes sympathy; irony provokes critique;
narrative voice bridges empathy and analysis, making the social commentary both
persuasive and memorable.
7. Q: Propose a five-point plan (policy + community) to improve conditions described in
the chapter.
Ans:
[~125 words]
(i) Enforce anti-child-labour laws with rehabilitation programs and conditional cash
transfers for families sending children to school.
(ii) Launch vocational training centers tied to actual job opportunities, e.g., mechanic
apprenticeships for youths like Mukesh.
(iii) Promote worker cooperatives in Firozabad to cut out middlemen, improve
bargaining power and wages.
(iv) Improve sanitation and health services in slums (regular garbage removal, clean
water, clinics).
(v) Public-private partnerships for microcredit and skill certification to diversify
livelihoods away from hazardous trades. Together these steps address immediate
welfare and structural causes.
8. Q: How does migration play a role in the narrative of Lost Spring?
Ans:
[~125 words]
Migration is a root cause of the characters’ plight. Saheb’s family left Dhaka after
storms destroyed crops, forcing relocation to Delhi slums. Such rural-to-urban
displacement severs community ties and thrusts families into precarious informal
economies. Migration increases vulnerability: lack of land, unstable incomes, and
 poor housing push children into work. Jung implies that climatic and economic
shocks, unmanaged by social safety nets, lead to cycles of urban poverty. Migration
thus explains how otherwise agrarian lives transform into scavenging or cottage
industry dependence — a central mechanism behind the “lost spring.”
9. Q: Discuss the ethical responsibilities of readers of this story.
Ans:
[~130 words]
Readers have an ethical call to witness, empathize and act. Witnessing means
acknowledging that such suffering exists nearby, not abstractly. Empathy should
translate into civic action: supporting policies that ban child labour, fund education,
and empower workers. Ethically, readers should challenge complacency and
consumer choices that perpetuate exploitation (e.g., cheap goods built on low wages).
Educators can use the narrative to foster social awareness; NGOs can direct resources
to the affected. Jung’s story implies moral responsibility: awareness without action is
complicity — readers must advocate for systemic reforms and humane policies.
10. Q: Assess whether the chapter offers any reason for optimism.
Ans:
[~120 words]
While primarily critical, the chapter contains modest signs of hope: Mukesh’s clear
dream of becoming a mechanic, the rebuilding of a house, and the author’s very act of
documenting these lives to stir public conscience. Suggesting cooperatives and
education points toward solutions. However, Jung remains realistic; she warns that
without structural change, such hopes are fragile. Thus optimism is conditional —
possible only if social will, policy intervention and grassroots organization follow.
The chapter’s hopeful elements are seeds that require commitment to grow into
lasting change.
4) CBSE previous-year questions
Selected PYQ — Short-answer (40–60 words)
(a) CBSE 2024 / Sample style
Q: “Why has Mukesh stopped going to school?” (short)
Ans (≈50 words):
Mukesh’s schooling is irregular due to poverty and family responsibilities. Even though he
has dreams, economic pressures and involvement in the family’s bangle business limit his
attendance. Also, the lack of infrastructure and the need to help at home mean education
takes a backseat to immediate survival.
(b) CBSE 2022 / 2023 style
Q: “How is garbage different for the elders and children?” (short)
Ans (≈50 words):
For elders, garbage is a steady means of income and survival; they know the salvage value
and treat it as livelihood. For children, garbage offers more than survival — it is adventure,
hope, and the possibility of finding something valuable, giving them dreams and momentary
pleasures even amid hardship.
Selected PYQ — Extract based (1-mark / 2-mark)
(c) CBSE 2021-2024 style extract
Extract used in past papers: “Children grow up in them, becoming partners in survival.”
Q: Who are “them”?
Ans (1-line): The slums/encampments of Seemapuri — families living there, where children
grow up helping in survival.
Selected PYQ — Long answer (120–150 words)
(d) CBSE 2023 Board styled long question
Q: “Bring out the author’s concern for the bangle makers of Firozabad.”
Ans (≈140 words):
Anees Jung visits Firozabad to examine the lives of bangle makers and finds an industry
mired in exploitation. She notes families living amid filth, working with hazardous dyes and
tools for meagre wages. Her concern is twofold: humanitarian (the immediate suffering and
health risks) and structural (the hereditary nature of poverty and the merchants’ exploitation).
She criticizes the absence of organization — no cooperatives to give workers bargaining
power — and the complacency that allows such crafts to remain unmodernized and unjust.
By recounting personal anecdotes and vivid images, Jung calls for reforms: education, worker
organization, and legal protection. Her empathetic reportage is an appeal for both moral and
policy action.