Lost Spring Important Questions Short Answer Type Questions (3-4 marks)

Question 1.
What does the writer mean when she says, ‘Saheb is no longer his own master’? (Delhi 2000)
Answer:
Since Saheb now works in a tea-stall, he is now bound to his master and feels burdened. The
steel canister he carries is very heavy as compared to his light plastic bag. The bag was his
own and the canister belongs to his master whose orders he now has to follow. So he is no
longer his own master.

Question 2.
Is it possible for Mukesh to realize his dream? Justify your answer? (All India 2000)
Answer:
Mukesh’s determination is going to prove instrumental in helping him to realize his dream.
His dream can become a reality only if he is able to find a garage where he can be taken in as
an apprentice and then he will have to learn how to drive a car. He will then be able to
graduate himself to be a good mechanic.

Question 3.
Do you think Saheb was happy to work at the tea stall? Answer giving reasons. (All India
2000)
Answer:
Since Saheb now works in a tea-stall, he is now bound to his master and feels burdened. The
steel canister he carries is very heavy as compared to his light plastic bag. The bag was his
own and the canister belongs to his master whose orders he now has to follow. So he is no
longer his own master.

Question 4.
What does the title, ‘Lost Spring’ convey? (All India 2000)
Answer:
The title ‘Lost Spring’ conveys how millions of children in India lose out on living the
‘spring’ of their lives, that is their childhood. The best phase of life is lost in the hardships
involved to earn their livelihood. Poverty forces these young children to work in the most
inhuman conditions as a result of which they miss out on the fun of childhood which hampers
their growth.

Question 5.
Why does the author say that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web?(All India 2010)
Answer:
The author says that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web which starts from poverty,
to indifferences, then to greed and finally to injustice. Mind-numbing toil kills their hopes
and dreams. They cannot organise themselves into cooperatives and have fallen into a vicious
circle of ‘sahukars’, middlemen and the police so they get condemned to poverty and
perpetual exploitation.

Question 6.
What does the writer mean when she says, ‘Saheb is no longer his own master’? (Comptt. All
India 2011)
Answer:
Since Saheb now works in a tea-stall, he is now bound to his master and feels burdened. The
steel canister he carries is very heavy as compared to his light plastic bag. The bag was his
own and the canister belongs to his master whose orders he now has to follow. So he is no
longer his own master.

Question 7.
Who is Mukesh? What is his dream? (Delhi 2012)
Answer:
Mukesh is a child labourer in a glass factory in Firozabad. Belonging to a family of bangle
makers, he shows no fascination towards bangle-making and insists on being his own master.
He dreams of becoming a motor mechanic. He desires to go to a garage and get the required
training for this job.

Question 8.
Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? Why/ Why not? (Delhi 2012)
Answer:
No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea stall. Even though, he now gets a fixed income of ?
800 alongwith all his meals, he has lost his freedom and his carefree days. He is no longer his
own master and is bound and burdened by the steel canister he now has to carry.

Question 9.
Why could the bangle-makers not organise themselves into a co-operative? (All India 2012)
Answer:
The bangle-makers are caught in a vicious web which starts from poverty to indifferences
then to greed and finally to injustice. Mind-numbing toil kills their hopes and dreams.
The bangle makers of Ferozabad were not able to organise themselves into a cooperative
because they had got trapped in a vicious circle j of the sahukars, the middlemen, the
policemen, j the bureaucrats and the politicians. Together they had imposed a baggage on
these people 1 which they could not put down.

Question 10.
Mention any two problems faced by the bangle sellers.(Comptt. All India 2012)
Answer:
The bangle makers had to work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells
without air and light. They are exposed to various health hazards like losing their eyesight as
they work in abysmal conditions in dark and dingy cells. They were also caught in a web of
poverty, burdened by the stigma of caste in which they were born and also caught in a vicious
circle of sahukars, middlemen and policeman.

Question 11.
Garbage has two different meanings—one for the children and another for the adults.
Comment. (Comptt. All India 2012)
Answer:
For the children garbage has a different meaning from what it means for the adults. For the
children it is wrapped in wonder, their eyes light-up when they find a rupee or a ten-rupee
note in it. They search the garbage excitedly with the hope of finding something more. But
for the elders it is a means of survival.
Question 12.
Why didn’t the bangle makers of Ferozabad organise themselves into a cooperative?
(Comptt. All India 2012)
Answer:
The bangle-makers are caught in a vicious web which starts from poverty to indifferences
then to greed and finally to injustice. Mind-numbing toil kills their hopes and dreams.
The bangle makers of Ferozabad were not able to organise themselves into a cooperative
because they had got trapped in a vicious circle j of the sahukars, the middlemen, the
policemen, j the bureaucrats and the politicians. Together they had imposed a baggage on
these people 1 which they could not put down.

Question 13.
How is Mukesh’s attitude towards life different from that of his family? (Comptt. Delhi
2013)
Answer:
Unlike his family Mukesh insists on being his own master. He dreams to be a motor
mechanic which in itself is a daring thought because he wants to break away from the
family’s work of making bangles wherein his forefathers have spent generations working
around furnaces.

Question 14.
Why can’t the bangle makers of Ferozabad organize themselves into a cooperative? (Comptt.
Delhi 2013)
Answer:
The bangle-makers are caught in a vicious web which starts from poverty to indifferences
then to greed and finally to injustice. Mind-numbing toil kills their hopes and dreams.
The bangle makers of Ferozabad were not able to organise themselves into a cooperative
because they had got trapped in a vicious circle j of the sahukars, the middlemen, the
policemen, j the bureaucrats and the politicians. Together they had imposed a baggage on
these people 1 which they could not put down.

Question 15.
Why is Saheb unhappy working at the tea i stall? (Comptt. Delhi 2013)
Answer:
Saheb was unhappy while working at the tea- stall because he was no longer the master of his
own life. He lost his freedom and carefree look. He had to live and work under the
instructions of the owner of the tea-stall. He was not at liberty to go out and spend time with
his friends.

Question 16.
Survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. , Comment. (Comptt. All India 2013)
Answer:
Survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Over the years it has acquired the proportions of a
fine art. For the slum dwellers of Seemapuri, rag-picking is their daily bread, it gives them
the roof over their heads and is the very means for their survival.

Question 17.
It is ‘a tradition to stay barefoot ‘ What is the attitude of the rag-pickers of Seemapuri
towards wearing shoes? (Comptt. All India 2013)
Answer:
The rag-pickers of Seemapuri have different attitudes towards wearing shoes. One boy does
not feel like wearing shoes. Another boy who has never owned a pair of shoes all his life
wants them. But the author feels it its not lack of money but a tradition to stay barefoot for
these poor people.

Question 18.
A young man in Ferozabad is burdened under the baggage of two worlds. What are they?
(Comptt. All India)
Answer:
The two worlds that burden a young man in Ferozabad include one of the family, caught in
the web of poverty, burdened by the stigma of ” caste in which they are born; the other a
vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the
bureaucrats and the politicians.

Question 19.
How is Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad? (Delhi 2014)
Answer:
Mukesh was different from other bangle makers because he wanted to be his own master. He
had a dream of becoming a motor mechanic whereas other bangle makers did not even dare
to dream but had accepted their fate.

Question 20.
What job did Saheb take up? Was he happy? (Delhi 2014)
Answer:
Saheb took up a job in a tea stall. Though he gets 800 rupees and all his meals, he is not
happy and his face has lost the carefree look. He is bound and burdened as he now has to
follow the orders of his master and is no longer his own master.

Question 21.
Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India? (Comptt. Delhi 2014)
Answer:
Saheb’s home was set amidst the green fields of Dhaka. His mother told him that many
storms had swept away their fields and homes. For this reason his parents were forced to
leave Dhaka and migrate to India, looking for gold in the big city where they now live.

Question 22.
What is Mukesh’s dream? Do you think he will be able to fulfil his dream? Why? Why not?
(Comptt. Delhi 2014)
Answer:
Mukesh’s dream is to learn to drive a car and become a motor mechanic. His dream is likely
to be fulfilled because one can sense a kind of determination in him to ensure the fulfillment
of his dream. Though the garage is a long way from his home he is willing to walk to learn
despite the odds against him.

Question 23.
In what sense is garbage gold to the ragpickers? (Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer:
The rag-pickers of Seemapuri consider garbage as nothing less than gold. For the elders it is
their only means of survival as it provides them with their daily bread. For the innocent
chil¬dren it is wrapped in wonder as they marvel at the chance of finding a coin, a currency
note or a curio that really thrills them and gives them a hope of finding more elusive notes.

Question 24.
Whom does Anees Jung blame for the sorry plight of the bangle makers’?(Comptt. All India
2014)
Answer:
Anees Jung blames the family of the bangle makers, who are caught in a web of poverty,
burdened by the stigma of the caste in which they are born and the vicious circle of the
sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the
politicians for the sorry plight of the bangle makers.

Question 25.
To which country did Saheb’s parents originally belong? Why did they come to India?
(Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer:
Saheb’s parents originally belonged to Dhaka in Bangladesh. His home, which was set amidst
the green fields of Dhaka, had been swept away due to the storms and that was when his
parents had left their native place and come to the big city in search of livelihood.

Question 26.
Most of us do not raise our voice against injustice in our society and tend to remain
mute spectators. Anees Jung in her article, l “Lost Childhood” vividly highlights the I
miserable life of street children and bangle makers of Firozabad. She wants us to act. Which
qualities does she want the children to develop?
Answer:
Anees Jung feels that there is dire need to provide these poverty-stricken children a life of
dignity and respect. This can mainly be done through the medium of education, which will
further provide them with opportunities wherein they will be able to pursue their dreams.
There is utter lack of compassion and concern for unfortunate children like Saheb and
Mukesh. They are caught in a vicious circle of poverty and exploitation. The author wants all
i children to become aware of their basic rights which will empower them and enable them to
j organise themselves into cooperatives whereby j they will not be ruthlessly exploited.

Question 27.
What does Saheb look for in the garbage 1 dumps? (All India 2015)
Answer:
According to the author Saheb scrounges for ‘gold’ in the garbage dumps. ‘Gold’ here infers .
to items that are valuable to him like used clothes, shoes, plastic scrap, stray coins or 1
currency notes. For children like Saheb, i garbage is ‘wrapped in wonder’.

Question 28.
What did garbage mean to the children of Seemapuri and to their parents? (All India 2015)
Answer:
The rag-pickers of Seemapuri consider garbage as nothing less than gold. For the elders it is
their only means of survival as it provides them with their daily bread. For the innocent
chil¬dren it is wrapped in wonder as they marvel at the chance of finding a coin, a currency
note or a curio that really thrills them and gives them a hope of finding more elusive notes.

Question 29.
“It is his karam, his destiny.” What is Mukesh’s family’s attitude towards their situation? (All
India 2015)
Answer:
Mukesh’s family have accepted their misery and impoverished condition as factors that have
been ordained by destiny. Years of depravation and suffering has made them accept their
condition passively in the name of fate or destiny. They feel that a God-given lineage can
never be broken and have accepted bangle making as his destiny.

Question 30.
Describe the irony in Saheb’s name. (Delhi 2016)
Answer:
Saheb’s full name is Saheb-e-Alam which means ‘Lord of the Universe’. But ironically
Saheb is a poverty-stricken ragpicker who scrounges the garbage dumps to earn his
livelihood. His name is in complete contrast to his miserable existence.

Question 31.
What does the reference to chappals in ‘Lost Spring7 tell us about the economic condition of
the rag pickers? (All India 2016)
Answer:
The reference to chappals in ‘Lost Spring’ tells us that the ragpickers were poverty-stricken.
The fact that they are not able to buy chappals reflects their extreme state of poverty because
of which they are unable to buy basic things.

Question 32.
How was Mukesh different from other bangle makers? (Comptt. Delhi 2016)
Answer:
Mukesh was different from other bangle makers because he wanted to be his own master. He
had a dream of becoming a motor mechanic whereas other bangle makers did not even dare
to dream but had accepted their fate.

Question 33.
Why was Saheb unhappy while working at the tea-stall? (Comptt. Delhi 2016)
Answer:
Saheb was unhappy while working at the tea- stall because he was no longer the master of his
own life. He lost his freedom and carefree look. He had to live and work under the
instructions of the owner of the tea-stall. He was not at liberty to go out and spend time with
his friends.

Question 34.
Which industry was a boon and also bane for the people of Firozabad? How? (Comptt. Delhi
2017)
Answer:
The glass-bangles making industry was a boon and also bane for the people of Firozabad. The
industry has given them a means of livelihood but the hazardous working conditions in the
hot furnaces take a toll on their physical health.

Question 35.
How are Saheb and Mukesh different from each other? (Comptt. All India 2017)
Answer:
Mukesh’s attitude towards life was different from that of Saheb. Unlike Saheb he was
optimistic about his future and so he dared to dream. He wanted to become a motor mechanic
and also wanted to learn to drive a car. Saheb lacked determination so he harboured no
dreams or ambitions about his future.

Lost Spring Important Questions Long Answer Type Questions (5-6 marks)

Question 36.
The bangle-makers of Ferozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone happy but they
live and die in squalor. Elaborate. (Delhi 2010)
Answer:
Through the story of the bangle-makers of Ferozabad, the author expresses her concern over
their exploitation in the hazardous job of bangle-making. Extreme poverty, hard work and
dismal working conditions result in the loss of the childhood of children who are in this
profession. The working conditions of all bangle-makers are pathetic and miserable. They
work in high temperature, badly lit and poorly ventilated glass furnaces due to which child
workers especially are at risk of losing their eyesight at an early age and get prone to other
health hazards. The stinking lanes of Ferozabad are choked with garbage and humans and
animals live together in these hovels. There is no development or progress in their lives with
the passage of time. They have no choice but to work in these inhuman conditions. Mind-
numbing toil kills their dreams and hopes. They are condemned to live and die in squalor,
subjected to a life of poverty and perpetual exploitation.

Question 37.
Why did Saheb become a ragpicker? What did j he look for in the garbage dumps? (Comptt.
Delhi 2010)
Answer:
Saheb belongs to a Bangladeshi refugee family that migrated to Delhi from Dhaka in the
wake of the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Here he finds himself in a vicious circle of social stigma,
poverty and exploitation. He represents a growing number of refugee migrant poor
population who are forced to lead a life of penury. This migratory population settle on the
periphery of big cities and start doing menial jobs to earn a living. Due to extreme poverty
Saheb’s parents are unable to provide for him and so he ends up picking rags for his own
survival as well as to support his parents. The author says that Saheb scrounges for ‘gold’ in
the garbage. Anything valuable like used clothes, shoes, bits of metal, plastic scrap, stray
coins and currency notes can be termed as gold for them.

Question 38.
What change did Anees Jung see in Saheb when she saw him standing by the gate of the
neighbourhood club? (Comptt. Delhi 2010)
Answer:
Saheb was a poor ragpicker who later takes up a job at a tea-stall in an attempt to be a master
of his own destiny. But unfortunately this move further enslaves him. His new job replaces
his light polythene bag with a heavy steel canister.
It even deprives him of roaming around with his friends without a care in the world. Earlier,
though he did not have the security of a regular income, he had his freedom, and later he did
have an assured income at the end of the month but he had lost his freedom. He was no more
a free bird and his own master. He appeared burdened and forlorn. He was now a bonded
labour who had surrendered his freedom. From being a spirited free bird who was not
answerable to anyone he has become bound. He lives in a society where there is utter lack of
compassion and commitment for the upliftment of these unfortunate children.

Question 39.
Describe the life of squatters at Seemapuri. (Comptt. All India 2010)
Answer:
Most of the squatters at Seemapuri were refugees from Bangladesh.
Also:
Most of the people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri were refugees from Bangladesh
who had fled their country and migrated to Delhi from Dhaka in the wake of the 1971 Indo-
Pak war. Their dwellings were structures of mud, tin and tarpaulin with no sewage, drainage
or running water. Picking garbage and rags helped them to earn their daily bread, gave them a
roof over their heads and was their only means of livelihood and survival. Though these
squatters of Seemapuri have no identity but they do have valid ration cards that enable them
to buy grain. Living in Seemapuri, which is on the periphery of Delhi, is like living in hell.
Children here grow up to become partners in survival to their parents. An army of barefoot
children appears every morning, carrying their plastic bags on their shoulders and disappear
by noon. They are forced to live a life of abject poverty that results in the loss of childhood
innocence.
Saheb, a ragpicker, roamed in the streets, scrounging for garbage, barefoot and deprived of
education. Later he starts working in a tea stall but he loses his freedom and carefree life as
he is no longer his own master.

Question 40.
What does Anees Jung tell us about life at Mukesh’s home in Ferozabad? (Comptt. AT 2010)
Answer:
Mukesh’s father represents the underpaid, over exploited bangle makers of Ferozabad who is
a victim of his own caste and is caught in a vicious circle of Sahnkars, middlemen,
politi¬cians and policemen. He leads a hand-to-mouth existence in a shack with his family
which includes two elderly parents, two sons and a daughter-in-law. Lack of education and
awareness, the stigma of caste and a vicious nexus of people who exploit them have killed all
initiative and drive in the young and the old. Time seems to stand still in Mukesh’s home in
Ferozabad. There is no progress and no development despite years of mind- numbing toil. All
the labourers of Ferozabad are victims of middlemen and touts. Their desire to dream and
dare is snubbed in their childhood. They have no choice but to accept their subservience
silently as their spirit is broken and their initiative dormant.

Question 43.
What circumstances forced Mukesh not to pursue his family business of bangle making?
Instead, what did he decide to do?
(Comptt. Delhi 2012)
Answer:
Mukesh dares to dream of a different life and decides not to pursue his family business of
bangle-making. He does not want to accept his life of misery in the name of destiny. Though
he is born in a poverty-ridden family in the caste of bangle makers he dreams of a better
future. He wants to carve a new beginning for himself by becoming a motor- mechanic. He
knows what it is like to work in glass furnaces that are neither well-lit nor well- ventilated.
They are dingy hovels with high temperatures. He has seen that the youngsters are weighed
down by the baggage of generations of subservience and have forgotten to dream of an
alternative world. So Mukesh’s dream of going to a garage and learning to be a motor-
mechanic is an attempt to break free off the mind-numbing toil.

Question 44.
In 1971 Bangladeshi migrants came to Delhi ‘looking for gold in the big city’. What kind of
life are they living in Seemapuri now?
(Comptt. Delhi 2012)
Answer:
Most of the people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri were refugees from Bangladesh
who had fled their country and migrated to Delhi from Dhaka in the wake of the 1971 Indo-
Pak war. Their dwellings were structures of mud, tin and tarpaulin with no sewage, drainage
or running water. Picking garbage and rags helped them to earn their daily bread, gave them a
roof over their heads and was their only means of livelihood and survival. Though these
squatters of Seemapuri have no identity but they do have valid ration cards that enable them
to buy grain. Living in Seemapuri, which is on the periphery of Delhi, is like living in hell.
Children here grow up to become partners in survival to their parents. An army of barefoot
children appears every morning, carrying their plastic bags on their shoulders and disappear
by noon. They are forced to live a life of abject poverty that results in the loss of childhood
innocence.
Saheb, a ragpicker, roamed in the streets, scrounging for garbage, barefoot and deprived of
education. Later he starts working in a tea stall but he loses his freedom and carefree life as
he is no longer his own master.

Question 45.
Describe the difficulties the bangle makers of Firozabad have to face in their lives. (Delhi
2015 2012)
Answer:
Through the story of the bangle-makers of Ferozabad, the author expresses her concern over
their exploitation in the hazardous job of bangle-making. Extreme poverty, hard work and
dismal working conditions result in the loss of the childhood of children who are in this
profession. The working conditions of all bangle-makers are pathetic and miserable. They
work in high temperature, badly lit and poorly ventilated glass furnaces due to which child
workers especially are at risk of losing their eyesight at an early age and get prone to other
health hazards. The stinking lanes of Ferozabad are choked with garbage and humans and
animals live together in these hovels. There is no development or progress in their lives with
the passage of time. They have no choice but to work in these inhuman conditions. Mind-
numbing toil kills their dreams and hopes. They are condemned to live and die in squalor,
subjected to a life of poverty and perpetual exploitation.

Question 46.
Describe the circumstances which keep the workers in the bangle industry in poverty. (Delhi
2015)
Answer:
Through the story of the bangle makers of Firozabad, the author expresses concern over their
exploitation in the hazardous job of bangle making and addresses the circumstances which
keep the workers in poverty. They live in stinking lanes, choked with garbage in homes.
Their houses are hovels with families of humans and animals coexisting in a primeval state.
They cannot organise themselves into cooperatives. Their families are caught in a web of
poverty and in a vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen, the keepers of law, the
policemen, the bureaucrats and the politicians who impose on them a baggage which they
cannot put down. They move in a spiral from poverty, to apathy, to greed and to injustice.

Question 47.
How is Mukesh’s attitude towards his situation different from that of Saheb? Why? (Delhi
2015)
Answer:
Mukesh’s attitude towards his situation is different from that of Saheb. Mukesh is more of a
rebel who dares to be different and wishes to become a motor mechanic. Though, Mukesh
too, like his community, is working in back breaking, mind-numbing glass industry but
unlike his peers, the spark in him has not extinguished. He wants to break free from the
vicious circle which his community has been caught in. Saheb, on the other hand, has
enslaved himself. By taking up work in the tea stall he is no longer his own master. The
difference in their attitude towards their situation can be attributed to the fact that Saheb is a
rootless migrant from Bangladesh and Mukesh is a citizen of India. Moreover, Mukesh dares
to dream. The author too senses a flash of daring in Mukesh and this is what makes his
attitude a little more aggressive than Saheb.

Question 48.
“It is his karam, his destiny” that made Mukesh’s grandfather go blind. How did Mukesh
disprove this belief by choosing a new vocation and making his own destiny?
(Comptt. Delhi 2015)
Answer:
Mukesh disproved the belief of “his karam, his destiny” by choosing a new vocation in an
attempt to make his own destiny. He decided to become a motor mechanic. He mustered the
courage to break free from the family lineage of bangle making. He had seen his parents and
others suffering because of the vicious circle of poverty and exploitation that they were
caught in. Mukesh was ready to walk a long distance to reach the garage to learn the vocation
of car mechanic. His determination is going to prove instrumental in helping him to realize
his dream. Mukesh dares to dream of a different life and decides not to pursue his family
business of bangle-making. He does not want to accept his life of misery in the name of
destiny. Though he is born in a poverty-ridden family in the caste of bangle makers he
dreams of a better future. He wants to break free from the vicious circle of sahukars and
middlemen and carve a new beginning for himself by becoming a motor-mechanic. He knows
what it is like to work in glass furnaces that are neither well-lit nor well-ventilated. They are
dingy hovels with high temperatures. He has seen that the youngsters are weighed down by
the baggage of generations of subservience and have forgotten to dream of an alternative
world. So Mukesh’s dream of going to a garage and learning to be a motor-mechanic is an
attempt to break-free off the mind-numbing toil.

Question 49.
What kind of life did Saheb lead at Seemapuri? (Comptt. All India 2016 )
Answer:
Most of the people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri were refugees from Bangladesh
who had fled their country and migrated to Delhi from Dhaka in the wake of the 1971 Indo-
Pak war. Their dwellings were structures of mud, tin and tarpaulin with no sewage, drainage
or running water. Picking garbage and rags helped them to earn their daily bread, gave them a
roof over their heads and was their only means of livelihood and survival. Though these
squatters of Seemapuri have no identity but they do have valid ration cards that enable them
to buy grain. Living in Seemapuri, which is on the periphery of Delhi, is like living in hell.
Children here grow up to become partners in survival to their parents. An army of barefoot
children appears every morning, carrying their plastic bags on their shoulders and disappear
by noon. They are forced to live a life of abject poverty that results in the loss of childhood
innocence.
Saheb, a ragpicker, roamed in the streets, scrounging for garbage, barefoot and deprived of
education. Later he starts working in a tea stall but he loses his freedom and carefree life as
he is no longer his own master.

Question 50.
Describe the living conditions prevailing in Firozabad. Mention why the bangle making
business does not give bangle makers a comfortable life. (Comptt. All India 2016)
Answer:
Through the story of the bangle-makers of Ferozabad, the author expresses her concern over
their exploitation in the hazardous job of bangle-making. Extreme poverty, hard work and
dismal working conditions result in the loss of the childhood of children who are in this
profession. The working conditions of all bangle-makers are pathetic and miserable. They
work in high temperature, badly lit and poorly ventilated glass furnaces due to which child
workers especially are at risk of losing their eyesight at an early age and get prone to other
health hazards. The stinking lanes of Ferozabad are choked with garbage and humans and
animals live together in these hovels. There is no development or progress in their lives with
the passage of time. They have no choice but to work in these inhuman conditions. Mind-
numbing toil kills their dreams and hopes. They are condemned to live and die in squalor,
subjected to a life of poverty and perpetual exploitation.

Question 51.
‘Garbage to them is gold’. How do ragpickers of Seemapuri survive? (Delhi 2017)
Answer:
Garbage, for the ragpickers of Seemapuri, is considered to be nothing less than gold. Picking
garbage helps them to earn their daily bread, gives them a roof over their head and is their
only means of livelihood and survival. For the innocent children garbage is wrapped in
wonder as they marvel at the prospect of finding a coin, a currency note or a curio that
sustains their hope. These children grow up to become partners in survival with their parents.
Seemapuri houses around 10,000 ragpickers mostly Bangladeshi refugees, who have lived
there for more than thirty years without an identity and without permits. These people live in
mud structures with roofs made of tin and tarpaulin. The ration cards that enable them to get
their names on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain and garbage are their means of
survival. Food is more important to them for survival than an identity.

Question 52.
“For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival.” What kind
of life do the rag-pickers of Seemapuri lead? (Comptt. All India 2017)
Answer:
Garbage, for the ragpickers of Seemapuri, is considered to be nothing less than gold. Picking
garbage helps them to earn their daily bread, gives them a roof over their head and is their
only means of livelihood and survival. For the innocent children garbage is wrapped in
wonder as they marvel at the prospect of finding a coin, a currency note or a curio that
sustains their hope. These children grow up to become partners in survival with their parents.
Seemapuri houses around 10,000 ragpickers mostly Bangladeshi refugees, who have lived
there for more than thirty years without an identity and without permits. These people live in
mud structures with roofs made of tin and tarpaulin. The ration cards that enable them to get
their names on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain and garbage are their means of
survival. Food is more important to them for survival than an identity.