Lost Spring

By Anees Jung
Summary
I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage. The first part tells the
writer’s impressions about the life of the poor rag pickers. The rag pickers
have migrated from Dhaka and found a settlement in Seemapuri. Their fields
and homes had been swept away by storms. They had come to the big city to
find a living. They are poor. The writer watches Saheb every morning
scrounging for “gold” in her neighbourhood. Garbage is a means of survival for
the elders and for the children it is something wrapped in wonder. The
children come across a coin or two from it. These people have desires and
ambitions, but they do not know the way to achieve them. There are quite a
few things that are unreachable to them, namely shoes, tennis and the like.
Later Saheb joins a tea stall where he could earn 800 Rupees and all the
meals. The job has taken away his freedom.
II – I want to drive a car.
The second part deals with the life of Mukesh, who belongs to the family of
Bangle-makers. Firozabad is best known for its glass-blowing industry. Nearly
20,000 children are engaged in this business and the law that forbids child
labour is not known here. The living condition and the working environment
is a woeful tale. Life in dingy cells and working close to hot furnaces make
these children blind when they step into the adulthood. Weighed down by the
debt, they can neither think nor find a way to come of out of this trap. The
politicians, middlemen, policemen and bureaucrats will all obstruct their way
of progress. The women in the household consider it as their fate and just
follow the tradition. Mukesh is different from the rest of the folk there. He
dreams to become a motor mechanic. The garage is far away from his house
but he shall walk. comes across Mukesh in Firozabad.

1|Page
Lost Spring Important Questions CBSE Class
12 English
Short Answer Type Questions (3 Marks, 30-40 words)

Question.1. To which country did Saheb’s parents originally belong? Why did
they come to
India? (Compartment 2014)
or
Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India? (Compartment 2014)
or
Why had the ragpickers come to live in Seemapuri? (Foreign 2014)
Answer. Saheb’s parents belonged to Dhaka in Bangladesh, where they lived amidst
green fields. They and the other ragpickers left their homes many years ago and
migrated to India in search of a livelihood, as their homes and fields were destroyed in
storms. This forced them to come to India, where they settled in the slums of
Seemapuri.

Question.2. What job did Saheb take up? Was he happy? (All India 2014 Modified)
Answer. Saheb took up work at a tea stall, where he had to perform several odd jobs,
including getting milk from the milk booth. He was not happy, as he had lost his
independence. Though he earned ? 800, and got all his meals free, he was no longer
his own master.

Question.3. In what sense is garbage gold to the ragpickers? (Compartment 2014)

or
Garbage to them is gold; why does the author say so about the ragpickers? (Delhi
2008)
Answer. Garbage is gold to the ragpickers of Seemapuri because it provides them
items which can be sold for cash, which can buy them food and is a means of survival.
Moreover, it is gold also because the ragpickers can find stray coins and currency notes
in it.

Question.4. How is Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad?
(Delhi 2014; Modified)
Answer. Mukesh has the courage to dream big in spite of all adversity, whereas the
other bangle makers of Firozabad have resigned to their fate, and have suppressed all
their hopes and desires. Mukesh refuses to follow the ‘God-given lineage’ of bangle
making and wants to be a motor mechanic when he grows up.

Question.5. Whom does Anees Jung blame for the sorry plight of the bangle
makers?
(Compartment 2014)

2|Page
Answer. Anees Jung blames the middlemen, the policemen, the lawmakers, the
bureaucrats and the politicians for the sorry plight of the bangle makers. These people
conspire against and exploit the poor bangle makers. They pay them meagre wages, do
not let them form co-operatives, and compel their children to join the same trade at an
early age.

Question.6. What is Mukesh’s dream? Do you think he will be able to fulfil his
dream? Why? Why
not? (Compartment 2014)
or
What was Mukesh’s dream? In your opinion, did he achieve his dream? (Foreign
2009)
or
Is it possible for Mukesh to realise his dream? Justify your answer. (All India
2009)
Answer. Mukesh’s dream is to become a motor-mechanic. It is no doubt difficult for
Mukesh to achieve his dream, as he is torn between his desires and his family tradition,
which he cannot escape. Besides, he has to face a number of obstacles in the form of
sahukars, middlemen, bureaucrats, law makers, politicians etc. However, his will to
work hard, and his strong determination could make him achieve his dream.

Question.7. In spite of despair and disease pervading the lives of the slum
children, they are not
devoid of hope. How far do you agree? (Delhi 2013)
Answer. In spite of growing up amidst despair and disease, children who live in the
slum have the desire to achieve something big in life, like Mukesh. This shows that they
are not devoid of hope. Saheb, a ragpicker, is eager to go to a school and learn.
Mukesh, who works in dark, dingy cells making bangles, dreams of becoming a motor
mechanic, which is very much against his family traditlbn.

Question.8. Who is Mukesh? What is his dream? (Delhi 2012)

Answer. Mukesh is a child labourer who Works in a glass bangle making factory that is
situated in Firozabad. Though Mukesh belongs to a poor family which is engaged in
bangle making, he dreams of becoming a motor mechanic when he grows up.

Question.9. Why could the bangle makers not organise themselves into a
cooperative? (All India 2012)
Answer. The bangle makers could not organise themselves into a cooperative because
they were trapped in the vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen, policemen, up
bureaucrats and politicians. If they tried to organise themselves, they would be beaten
by up the police and put in jail.

Question.10. Mention any two hazards of working in the bangle industry. (Foreign
2011)

3|Page
Answer. The glass bangle industry offers a very unhealthy and hazardous environment
to the people working in it. They have to work in the glass furnaces with high
temperature in dingy cells
without air and light. Workers, including child labourers, lose their eyesight at an early
age.
Slogging for long, relentless hours also has adverse effects on their bodies.

Question.11. Why does the author say that the bangle makers are caught in a
vicious web?
(All India 2010)
Answer. The bangle makers in Firozabad are exploited at the hands of the Sahukars,
middlemen, policemen, law makers, bureaucrats and politicians. They toil day and night,
but are not
paid appropriate wages and are steeped in poverty. They cannot form cooperatives for
their betterment. Moreover, their children are also compelled to join the same trade at
an early age and cannot dare to take up any other profession.

Question.12. Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? How do you know? (Foreign
2010, All India 2009)
Answer. Saheb is not happy working at the tea stall. He is paid a fixed wage of Rs 800,
and also receives all his meals free. But the author notices that his face has lost its
carefree look, which makes it evident that he is not happy. He has lost his
independence, and is no longer his own master.

Long Answer Type Questions (6 Marks, 120-150 words)

Question.1. Give a brief account of life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-
Alam settled in
Seemapuri. (Delhi 2011)
Answer. The author’s acquaintance with Saheb and other barefoot ragpickers
introduced her to Seemapuri. It is a slum area located on the periphery of Delhi. The
residents of Seemapuri consist of people who left Bangladesh in the 1971 War and are
basically refugees. Saheb’s family is among them. The area does not have facilities of
sewage, drainage or running water. About 10000 ragpickers live here. Their only means
of livelihood is ragpicking, and they treat rags as valuable as gold. These ragpickers
have lived here for more than thirty years without any identity. They do not have permits
but have ration cards, with which they can get their names on the voter’s list and also
buy grains at subsidised rates.

Question.2.’Lost Spring’ explains the grinding poverty and traditions that

condemn thousands of
people to a life of abject poverty. Do you agree? Why/Why not? (All India 2011)
Answer. ‘Lost Spring’ is a good narration of grinding poverty and traditions to which
thousands of people have succumbed. The story revolves around the pitiable condition

4|Page
of poor children who have been forced to live in slums and work hard in dirty conditions.
The story is divided into two parts. The first part tells the writer’s impression about the
life of poor ragpickers who have migrated froin Bangladesh, but now have 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, they are victims of
exploitation by those above them and also suffer the consequences of blind belief in
traditions.

Question.3. The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone
happy
but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate. (Delhi 2010)
Answer. Firozabad is the hub of India’s glass-blowing industry where families have spent
generations making bangles to adorn married women. The stark reality of these families is that
in spite of the back breaking hard work that they put in, they cannot have two square meals a
day.
They work in deplorable conditions and many lose their eyesight early. To top it all, they live in
unhygienic conditions where there is a lack of basic amenities too.
The sad reality is that the workers cannot organise themselves into a cooperative. They are
devoid of all enthusiasm and do not dare to dream of anything better. The fear of the police and
lack of leadership among themselves have confined them to a vicious circle of poverty,
indifference and greed. Thus, while they bring happiness to everyone’s life, their own life is
steeped in poverty and squalor.

5|Page