Brahmastra

Lost Spring
Chapter – 2 | Flamingo
The story, 'Lost Spring written by
Anees Jung revolves around the
pitiable condition of poor children
who are forced to live in slums and
work hard in very dirty conditions.

The story is divided into two parts. Anees Jung

The first part tells the writer's
impressions about the life of poor
ragpickers who have migrated from
Bangladesh but now settled in the
Seemapuri area of Delhi. The
second part narrates the miserable
life of the bangle makers in the
town of Firozabad.
Complete Chapter’s Summary
Sometimes I Find a Rupee in the Garbage
Saheb : The Ragpicker

Every morning the author meets Saheb

and his friends scrounging for ‘gold’ in
the garbage dumps of her
neighbourhood.

Saheb and his family are Bangladeshi

refugees. They left their home a long
time ago as storms destroyed their
fields and homes, leaving them
in a state of abject poverty.

That is why they came to a big city

(New Delhi) looking for ‘a better life’.
The author asks Saheb why does he do
ragpicking and not go to school. Saheb
informs her that there is no school in
his neighbourhood and if the
authorities build one, he would go.

The author then jokingly promises

him to open a school which makes
Saheb hopeful. After a few days, Saheb
asks her if she had opened the school.

The author feels embarrassed as she

made a promise she wouldn’t be able
to fulfill. She feels that her promise is
like many other unfulfilled promises
made to them.
Saheb-e-Alam: Lord of the Universe :

After some months of knowing him,

the author asks Saheb his full name.
Saheb’s full name is Saheb-e-Alam
which the author finds ironical as it
means ‘Lord of the Universe’.

She feels that Saheb would not

believe it as he, contrary to what his
name represents, roams around in the
streets, along with a bunch of
barefoot boys. One day, the author
curiously asked one of the boys about
why they don’t wear ‘chappals’.
Saheb-e-Alam: Lord of the
Universe :

The boy answer that his mother

would not bring them down from
the shelf. Another boy simply says
that he wants shoes.

The author had seen many

children walking barefoot and
found that they explain it as a
tradition and not lack of money.
She wonders if it is just an excuse
to hide their poverty.
The Story of the Priest’s Boy :

The condition of Saheb and his

friends reminds the
author of a story of the priest’s
boy. The boy prayed for a pair of
shoes everyday.

Many years later, the boy of

priest, residing the temple wore a
pair of shoes.

Now, many young boys like the

son of the priest wore
shoes but ragpicker boys still
remain shoeless.
Author’s visit to Seemapuri :

The author’s acquaintance with

the barefoot ragpickers takes her
to Seemapuri.

Seemapuri is a place on the

periphery of Delhi but it lacks
even the basic facilities offered by
Delhi.

The place is home to 10000 other

shoeless ragpickers like Saheb.
They are all Bangladeshi refugees
who came here back in 1971 with
the hopes of a better future.
However they live in very poor
conditions in mud structures with
roofs of tin and tarpaulin. The place
has no running water facility and no
drainage.

The ragpickers have lived here for

the past 30 years, without any
identity. But these people have
ration cards to get them food. And
wherever they get food, they
make it their home.

Children are brought up as partners

in survival in Seemapuri where
survival means ragpicking.
Different Meaning of Garbage for
Ragpickers :

Garbage is gold to these ragpickers and

ragpicking has become an art. It is their
only support and means of income. For
children, it is also a source of wonder.

Saheb tells the author that sometimes

he finds a rupee, even a ten-rupee note.
The author realises that garbage holds a
different meaning to both parents and
children.
Saheb No Longer his Own Master :
One winter morning the author
sees Saheb on his way to the milk
booth. He is carrying a steel
canister. He informs the author
that now he works at the tea stall
and is paid Rs 800 and all his
meals. But the author feels that
Saheb is not happy.

His face has lost its carefree look.

The steel canister seems heavier
than the plastic bag. The bag was
his, but the canister belongs to the
owner of the tea stall. Saheb is
no longer his own master.
Complete Chapter’s Summary
I Want to Drive a Car
Mukesh Wants to be his Own
Master :

The author meets Mukesh, who

insists on becoming a motor
mechanic.
The author feels that his dream is
unreal like a mirage amidst the
dusty streets of Firozabad a city
famous for its bangles.

Firozabad is the centre of India’s

glass-blowing industry, where
almost all generations of every
family have been involved in the
bangle making industry.
Mukesh Wants to be his Own
Master :

Even children in Firozabad are

employed in the industry. The
people there do not know that it
is illegal for children to work in
the glass furnaces with high
temperatures, in dingy cells
without air and light.

The children work day and night,

often losing the brightness of
their eyes.
Another Encounter with Poverty :

Mukesh volunteers to take the author

home. They walk down stinking lanes
choked with garbage, past small and
dirty constructions, where families of
humans and animals co-exist in a
primitive state.

They enter a half-built shack, one part

of which is thatched with dead grass.
Inside a frail young woman is cooking
the evening meal for the whole family.
She is the wife of Mukesh’s elder
brother.
The God-given Lineage :

Mukesh’s father has toiled hard

all his life, first as a tailor and
then as a bangle-maker. Still he
has been unable to renovate his
house or send his two sons
to school.

All he could manage to do was

to teach them the art of
bangle-making.

Mukesh grandmother tells the

author that bangle making is
their Karam and destiny.
It is a God given lineage that
they cannot escape. She
also informs her that the
industry does not pay them
well to even eat.

Seeing and Hearing their

laments the author wonders
if Mukesh’s father has
achieved what many have
failed to achieve in their
lifetime. He has a roof over
his head.
Daring, Not a Part of Growing Up :

Every Household in Firozabad lives in

poverty. Nothing has changed over the
years. Years of hardship have killed all
hopes and dreams.

The author asks a group of young men to

organise themselves in a cooperative. But
they tell her that even if they get
organised, they will be taken to jail for
doing something illegal and are beaten
up. There is no leader among them.

The author finds two distinct worlds in

Firozabad.
One is the exploited family caught in a
vortex of poverty and the stigma of
the caste in which they were born.

The other is a vicious circle of those

who exploit them, the sahukars, the
middlemen, the politicians, the
lawmakers, the policemen and the
bureaucrats.

These have created such a burden

that a child accepts this profession as
naturally as his father did.

To do something else would mean to

dare which is not a part of growing up.
A Ray of Hope :

Amidst this hopelessness, the

author is filled with joy when she
finds that Mukesh thinks
differently.

The boy is filled with hope. His

dream of being a motor-mechanic
is still alive in his eyes as he is
willing to dare.

She know it will be difficult for

him but Mukesh is determined.
Expected
Questions
Q. Read the extract given and answer the FOUR Questions that follow.

Wherever they find food, they pitch their tents that become transit homes.
Children grow up in them, becoming partners in survival. And survival in
Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions
of a fine art. Garbage to them is gold. It is their daily bread, a roof over their
heads, even if it is a leaking roof. But for a child it is even more.
“I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten-rupee note,” Saheb says, his eyes lighting
up. When you can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage, you don’t stop
scrounging, for there is hope of finding more. It seems that for children, garbage
has a meaning different from what it means to their parents. For the children it is
wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival.

1. Why is garbage equivalent to gold for the people of Seemapuri?

1. A. because they can find food only through rag-picking

2.B. because they can become wealthy only through rag-picking
3.C. because rag-picking helps them earn money for their basic needs
4.D. because rag-picking helps them use garbage to build their houses
2. Why is garbage 'wrapped in wonder' for the children?

1.A. because the children don't find it demeaning to be rag-pickers

2.B. because the children only go through the garbage to look for notes
3.C. because the children find the possibility of finding treasure in the garbage exciting
4.D. because the children don't get disappointed if they can't find money in the garbage

3. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking.

Which of the following assumptions can you make from the above sentence?

1.A. Rag-picking is the only easily available job option in Seemapuri.

2.B. People from places like Dhaka come to Seemapuri to collect garbage.
1.C. People in Seemapuri enjoy rag-picking as a way of earning their livelihood.
2.D. No one in Seemapuri is interested in learning skills other than collecting garbage.
4. When you can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage,
you don’t stop scrounging, for there is hope of finding
more.
Which of these can replace the underlined word without
changing its meaning?

1.A. loitering
2.B. grappling
3.C. searching
4.D. wondering
5. Why does Anees Jung spend a significant portion of 'Lost
Spring' talking about shoes? Explain any one reason in 30–40
words with relevant examples from the story.

Ans. The rich take their shoes for granted but

poor people have to come up with justifications
for not having shoes. Anees Jung tries to highlight
the difference between the rich and the poor by
showing how shoes are a luxury to Saheb and his
friends who either don't own them or wear them
only occasionally.
6. Despite the difficulties that Mukesh's family goes through,
his grandmother believes that their occupation is their
destiny. What could be a reason behind this belief? State
your response in 30–40 words with evidence from the text
'Lost Spring'.

Ans. Most bangle makers like Mukesh's family are convinced

that they are not capable of doing anything else because of
their lack of awareness about any other occupation. They
are not allowed to imagine another way of life because of
their poverty. This is one of the reasons behind Mukesh's
grandmother's belief, who also belongs to this community.
Sample Paper
Questions

[ 2024 ]
Unaware of what his name represents, he roams the streets with his friends, an army
of barefoot boys who appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon. Over the
months, I have come to recognise each of them.
“Why aren’t you wearing chappals?” I ask one.
“My mother did not bring them down from the shelf,” he answers simply.
“Even if she did, he will throw them off,” adds another who is wearing shoes that do
not match.
When I comment on it, he shuffles his feet and says nothing. “I want shoes,” says a
third boy who has never owned a pair all his life. Travelling across the country I have
seen children walking barefoot, in cities, on village roads. It is not lack of money but a
tradition to stay barefoot, is one explanation.
(Lost Spring)

(i) What is the writer’s purpose in allowing the boys to speak for themselves via
dialogue, as opposed to only a writer’s commentary ?
To give voice to their hopes, dreams, and struggles in a way that is immediate and
relatable.

(ii) The line, "It is not lack of money but a tradition to stay barefoot" can be best
classified as:
A. A fact C. A theme
B. An opinion D. A plot point
(iii) Explain any one possible inference that can be drawn from the line, "an army of
barefoot boys who appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon”.
The boys are barefoot, which suggests that they may come from poor or
marginalized backgrounds and do not have access to proper footwear.

(iv) Identify the line from the text that bears evidence to the fact that the writer's
association with the boys is not a recent one.
The line from the text: "Over the months, I have come to recognize each of
them."

(v) Based on the context provided in the extract, select the most likely comment
that the writer would have made, based on the boy's reaction to the mismatched
shoes.
A. "Why are your shoes mismatched? That's not a good look."
B. "Don't worry about your shoes, you can wear a matching pair later."
C. "I like your shoes. What matters is that they protect your feet."
D. "Have you chosen to mismatch your shoes?

vi Complete the sentence with ONE word.

The phrase "he answers simply", suggests that the boy's response to the writer's
question about why he wasn't wearing chappals was __________________.
straightforward / uncomplicated / direct/ clear
Previous Year
Questions

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