G. D.
GOENKA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, SEJBAHAR, RAIPUR
Subject: English Grade- XII
Lesson: The Lost Spring
Author: Anees Jung
Dictionary Work:
1) Amidst -
2) Glibly -
3) Bleak –
4) Acquaintance –
5) Transit –
6) Scrounging –
7) Lineage –
8) Lament –
9) Vicious –
10) Hurtling -
Value: To put an end to child’s exploitation and allow children to enjoy the joy of spring.
Theme: Grinding poverty which leads to a life of exploitation.
Characters:
Saheb e Alam
Saheb e Alam is a young boy who lives in the Seemapuri slum which is on the periphery of
Delhi. His family is one of the squatters who came from Dhaka. According to the writer,
Saheb would be in utter disbelief if he knew that the meaning of his name is ‘lord of the
world’ which is ironic considering the conditions that he lives in. Saheb e Alam, like others
who live in Seemapuri, is a ragpicker. He comes in the morning and disappears by afternoon
along with a group of friends who roam around the streets barefooted. For Saheb e Alam
ragpicking is a source of joy and mystery. This is because he sometimes finds a rupee in the
pile of garbage and once you find that, there is always some hope to find more. He lives in a
deprived condition in seemapuri where even the most basic amenities are unavailable. As a
ragpicker Saheb was his own boss, a free man but, when he took up a job at the tea stall, he
sacrificed his freedom.
Mukesh
Mukesh is a young boy who appears in the chapter “The Lost Spring” from Class 12 English
textbook. He lives in Firozabad which is the hub of India’s glass blowing industry. The people
of Firozabad are engaged in making bangles and so is Mukesh and his family. Mukesh lives in
a small house which he proudly says is being renovated. It is situated in a small street which is
filled with garbage and tightly packed houses. His family consists of his grandparents, his elder
brother and his wife who is just a few years older than Mukesh. In a place like Firozabad people
have accepted bangle making as their ‘karam’ and poverty, their fate. Nobody thinks of
following a different path and the same is taught to their children. In such a place, Mukesh was
courageous enough to dream of becoming a motor mechanic. He is determined to make this
dream come true no matter what difficulty he faces. On being asked whether he would become
a pilot, Mukesh shows a hint of embarrassment. His dream of becoming a motor mechanic might
have arisen from the cars passing down the streets of the town but a plane would rarely fly over
Firozabad.
Answer the following Questions:
Q 1. What change occurs in Saheb’s life? Is it a change for the better or worse?
Ans. Saheb now has a steady source of income. He is paid 800 rupees every day and receives
all of his meals. As a result, food is not an issue. However, the casual expression on his face has
vanished. The steel canister he’s holding suddenly feels like a burden. He is no longer in charge
of himself. He would have to work longer shifts. He is depressed by his inability to undertake
things on his own initiative.
Q 2. Describe the irony in Saheb’s name.
Ans. Saheb-e-alam is a ragpicker but his name means the king of the Universe. This is ironical
because Saheb’s life is exactly opposite to that of a king. He just scrounges heaps of garbage in
search of any useful things like torn shoes, clothes and coins.
Q 3. What change did Saheb feel working at the tea shop?
Ans. Saheb before was a rag-picker by chance he got a job to work at the tea stall down the
road. There he was paid 800 rupees & all his meals. But his face lost his carefree look. We were
no longer his own master. The steel milk canister seemed heavier than the plastic bag. It
belonged to his teamster and the life under the master was not a life a happiness.
Q 4. ‘Garbage to them is gold.’ Why does the author say so about the ragpickers of
Seemapuri?
Ans. The author says that Garbage is like gold for the ragpickers metaphorically to indicate that
just like gold is precious for the common man, garbage is precious for the ragpickers. It is a
source of wonder and a means to fulfil their dreams. At times, while scrounging through the
heaps of garbage, they find precious articles which are as valuable to them as gold. They look
for discarded pairs of shoes, clothes, and even a coin or two. The ragpickers can not afford to
buy such articles and so, these garbage dumps are the only means to fulfil their desires.
Q 5. “Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it,
metaphorically.” Explain.
Ans. The story ‘Lost Spring’ revolves around the pathetic lives of the poor children who live in
the slums and work in unhygienic conditions. Seemapuri is a slum area on the periphery of Delhi
with a settlement of more than 10,000 rag pickers. Those who live here are squatters who came
from Bangladesh back in 1971. They live in the structures of mud with roofs of tin or tarpaulin,
devoid of sewage systems, drainage or running water. One may think that the life of people
living on the periphery of the national capital must be very easy-going, rich and good but it is
all opposite. They have no identity or permits except ration cards as food is more important to
them than any identity. Children grow up only to become the supporters of their parents in
survival. To them, garbage means gold. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads. It is a gift
for them because whenever they find some silver coin in a heap of garbage, they hope to survive
on it for some days.
Q 6. Mukesh dares to dream of a different life. What circumstances forced Mukesh not
to pursue his family business of bangle making?
Ans. Mukesh dreamt of becoming a car mechanic. He dared to dream to follow a different
profession because he realized that the glass bangle industry harmed the workers’ health ahd
did not provide them with sufficient money either. Thus, he wanted to breakout of the vicious
circle created by the moneylenders and politicians. Mukesh wanted to do something different
so that he could earn more money and improve the living standards of his family.
Q 7. What vicious circle are the bangle-makers trapped in?
Ans. Middlemen and money lenders exploited the bangle makers. They would be beaten and
imprisoned if they attempted to organise and form cooperative societies. They lacked leaders
who could steer them in a different direction. They were forced to continue their hereditary
occupation, which resulted in a lifetime of insufficient food and clothing.
Q 8. Why can the bangle-makers not organise themselves into a cooperative?
Ans. The bangle-makers cannot organise themselves into a cooperative because they are
burdened by the vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation. They lack the resources, education,
and collective strength needed to fight the powerful forces that exploit them, including the
middlemen and moneylenders.
Q 9. Why is Mukesh’s dream compared to a mirage?
Ans. Mukesh’s dream of becoming a motor mechanic is compared to a mirage because it
seems distant and unattainable due to his impoverished background and the limited
opportunities available to him in the oppressive environment of Firozabad.
Q10. In spite of the conditions prevailing in Seemapuri, children like Saheb and Mukesh
are not devoid of hope. How far do you agree?
Ans. I agree with the statement. In the story we see the ragpicker boy named Saheb-e-Alam
who wants to go to school, play tennis and wants a pair of shoes. All these wishes indicate his
ambitions. He has desires which shows that he has hopes that they will get fulfilled. Another
young boy named Mukesh dares to dream and become a mechanic. He dares to pursue a
profession which is different from the traditional family occupation of bangle-making.
