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Lost spring
1) What is sahib looking for in the garbage dumps? (IMP)
Ans- Saheb is a rag-picker from Seemapuri which is a suburban colony of east Delhi. He is
always looking for gold in the garbage dumps. For the children, garbage is wrapped in
wonder and for the elders it is means of survival. It is the daily bread for the rag-pickers.
Sometimes Saheb finds a rupee and even a ten rupee note or a silver coin. There is
always hope of finding more.
2) What explanation does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
Ans- The authoress sees he army of barefoot rag-pickers in her neighbourhood. They
appear like morning birds and disappear at noon from the street. She points that she has
seen children walking barefoot in the cities, village roads. She takes this habit of remaining
barefoot as a tradition to stay barefoot.
But remaining barefoot among the children is a perpetual state of poverty in their families.
She notices many others like the rag-pickers in her neighbourhood remain shoeless. For the
children who have never owned shoes in their childhood, getting shoes become a dream
come true. Once Saheb gets a pair of tennis shoes with a hole. He wears it and does not mind
any other thing. Lack of money is the real cause of not wearing footwear.
3) Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.
Ans- One morning while going on his way to the milk booth, Saheb meets the authoress. He
tells that he works ay the tea stall down the road. He says that he is paid 800 rupees and all
his meals. But his face has lost his carefree look.
He is no longer his own master at the tea stall. For him the steel milk canister seems heavier
than his plastic bag that he would carry lightly over his shoulders. The canister belongs to
the tea owner and the life under the master is not a life of happiness.
4)What makes the city of Firozabad famous?
Ans- The city of Firozabad is famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is
engaged in the business of making bangles. Firozabad is a centre of India’s glass blowing
industry. Since generations the families are working around furnaces, welding glass and
making bangles for all the women on the land. The bangles are symbolised as woman’s
suhag.
There are bangle makers in the narrow streets of Firozabad in every house. The heaps of the
spirals of bangles can be seen on every place there in Firozabad. All the members of the
family can be seen welding and soldering the glass bangles in the different colours of the
rainbow.
4) Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry. (M.IMP)
Ans- Working in the glass bangle industry is full of numerous health hazards. The children
work in the glass furnaces with high temperature. They work in the dingy cells here there is
no light and no air. This spoils their health, eye-sight and other parts of the body. The bangle
makers weld pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. They polish them and the dust
of polishing along with the high temperature flames result in loosing their eye-sight before
they become adult. They live and work in stinking lanes and thereby their health goes on
deteriorating.
The bangle makers with their families work for the whole day and fail to have enough food
to eat. They could hardly succeed in putting on proper clothes and a roof over their head.
They remain in the perpetual state of grinding poverty.
The glass bangle industry of Firozabad is one of its kind which illegally employs the child
labour. About 20,000 are employed in this hazardous work and do not have an access to
education. A vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen, policemen, keepers of law, bureaucrats
and politicians are responsible for their sorry state of affairs and they cannot start a co-
operative. Most of them hardly reap their one time full meal in their full life time.
5) How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans- Mukesh is a boy with a daring attitude to drive a car. His family is engaged in making
bangles. But his dream seems like a mirage. His family believes in ‘karam theory’.
But Mukesh insist on being his own master. So he announces, I will be a motor mechanic.
He repeats ‘‘I want to be a motor mechanic.’’ He says he will go to a garage and learn.
Though the garage is a long distance from his house, yet he will walk to the garage.
He does not dream of flying a plain. He is content to dream of cars that he sees hurtling
down the streets of his town. This shows that Mukesh  has an attitude of doing something
different from that of his family.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
A) What could be some of the reasons for migration of people from villages to cities?
(V.IMP)
Ans- Due to urbanisation, education, employment, safety and other basic amenities more
and more people are migrating from villages to cities. In the lesson at hand, people have fled
from Bangladesh because their fields and houses were swept away by the storm. There they
could not get enough food to fill their belly. The settlement of Seemapuri is a fine example
of his kind. In addition to this one can see that the pressure on the land has increased due to
population and mechanical farming. So the requirement of labour is very acute.
Consequently people flee to cities for work. In earlier days means of education, transport etc
were very few. Only a few could get education. Agriculture was their main profession. With
extensive and renovate education, the youths run from post to pillar in search of job. They
do not want to stay in unhygienic and unhealthy rural surrounding.
Not to speak of this, all sorts of village crafts have been replaced by machines. The market is
full of competition, quality and cheap goods. The villagers fail to compete with the new
system of heavy industrialisation. So the people migrate from villages to cities.
B) Would you agree that promises made to the poor children are rarely kept? Why do you
think this happens in the incidents narrated in the text?
ANS- There is no denying to the fact that the promises made to the poor children are rarely
kept. In our modern democratic India, people living in slum colonies, resettlement areas and
jhuggi and jhopari colonies hardly have an access to civic amenities and the education. They
are meant for casting their votes or show attendance in political rallies. Their  grieves are
hardly adhered to by the bureaucrats. The writer has given two current examples of
Seemapuri and Firozabad.
In Seemapuri one can see more than 10,000 rag-pickers who live in structures of mud, with
roofs of tin and tarpaulin. They are devoid of sewage, drainage or running water. They live
without an identity except a ration card for voting and buying grains. They remain barefoot
and garbage to them is gold. The writer asks Saheb a rag-picker for school. The boy replies
that there is none in his neighbourhood. He further says if they build it, he will go, But this
never done.
In the same way about 20,000 children work in bangle factories and work in glass furnaces
with high temperature. They live in dingy cells and stingy lanes choked with garbage. They
pass their lives in grinding poverty and fail to get proper food. Thus the poor have no
dreams and no initiatives. They are the safest targets of exploitation.
C) What forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans- In her lesson, the writer points out that the bangle makers of Firozabad live in the state
of grinding poverty. These people are burdened with the stigma of caste in which they are
born,. All the members of the family are engaged in doing various jobs pertaining to the
bangle making. Before they become adult and dare to do something, they fall to their
ancestral profession. They are unable to go away from the god given lineage and believe in
karam theory. Thus they go on looming in their own world.
Further there are other forces that conspire them to work in bangle industry. The sahukars,
the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians all eat
in parts, the flesh of the bangle makers. They cannot run a co-operative. Together they push
them to a sorrowful state and became often blind before becoming an adult. Thus more than
20,000 children are working in this hazardous profession against the law. The parents,
society and the bureaucrats all are responsible to this sorry state of affairs.
TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT
A) How in your opinion can, Mukesh realise his dream?
Ans- Mukesh belongs to the family of bangle makers who prepare colourful bangles like
that of a rainbow. But his attitude to his situation is different from others. He is a daring boy
and he announces ‘‘I will be a motor mechanic. I will learn to drive a car.’’ Though the
garage is a long way from his home; yet he insists ‘‘I will go to the garage and learn.’’
The determination and strong will of becoming a motor mechanic and learning to drive a
car, seems to be as strong as a rock in Mukesh. That is why he says I will walk to the garage.
There he must see the owner of the garage and request him to become a motor mechanic.
He must request for any petty work pertaining to the garage. Trough his sincere efforts and
hard work and the guidance of his owner, he can attain the skills of a mechanic and then
gradually that of car driving. It is sure that he can get his dream materialised properly.
B) Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangle industry? (EXPECTED)
Ans- The glass blowing industries of Firozabad employs local families and these families
have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass and making bangles of
different colours. Working around the high temperature furnaces is very injurious to our
growing bodies. The dark dingy cells without light and air worsen the working conditions of
the children. The dazzling and sparkling of welding light and the high temperature render
the situation hellish. About 20,000 children spend their day light hours and often loose the
brightness of their eyes before they become adults.
The bangle makers lead their lives in utter misery and grinding poverty. They could never
prosper working in this industry. They hardly get a belly full of meal in their lifetime. Thus
they are not only underfed but also prone to ailments and education. The dingy cells and
stinking smell of garbage choke their bodies. There are flames of flickering oil lamps, the
blinding, polishing and the welding work put a deep impact on their complete bodies. Those
who work in, loose their eye-sight before they become adults.
C) Why should child labour be eliminated and how?
Ans- The child labour employed in any form of hazardous work is an offence. It is banned
under law. Yet it goes on unabated, at the industrial towns like Firozabad, Shivakasi,
mirzapur and so on.
The child labour is hazardous in nature. It inflicts physical and mental harm to the boys. The
work in the glass bangle industry often ends up them loosing their eye-sight before they
become adults. The mind-numbling toil of bangle making kills all their initiative, drive and
ability to dream in life. They are even deprived of the school education and proper growth.
According to Anees Jung about 20,000 children are working in the glass bangle industry of
Firozabad. Some of the industrialist conspire in unison with the sahukars, the middlemen,
the policemen and the politicians and then go on stealing their childhood for some extra
coins. The only possible solution lies with the government and the society to punish the
wrong doers very strictly; and to keep a careful watch and vigil over them.
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SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1) What does Anees Jung want to reveal in her story ‘Lost spring’ stories of lost childhood?
Ans- Anees Jung has portrayed two stories in ‘Lost spring’ and both depict the grinding
poverty, pitiable condition of life and the other traditions that condemn the children to a life
of exploitation. For the rag-pickers of Seemapuri, garbage is gold and means of survival.
The bangle makers of Firozabad live in dingy cells and stinking lanes. Even after much toil,
they do not get full meal.
2) Who is Saheb and where does he hail from?
OR
2)What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps and where has he come from? (V.IMP)
Ans- Saheb is a rag-picker of Seemapuri. The writer encounters him every morning
scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps in his neighbourhood. Saheb hails from Dhaka
and he has migrated from Bangladesh in 1971. His house and green fields were destroyed by
storm. Their poverty forced them to migrate but Saheb does not have a faint memory of his
original name.
3) What makes the authoress embarrassed at having made a promise that was not meant?
(V.V.IMP)
Ans- On encountering Saheb, the authoress asks him to go to school. Immediately at the
second thought she realises that the advice must sound very hollow. On the other hand,
Saheb replies that there is no school in his neighbourhood and he will go if the authorities
make one. The authoress asks half jokingly if she starts to school, will he go? Saheb goes on
asking her ‘‘Is your school ready?’’ She feels embarrassed at having made a promise that
was not meant.
4) What is the unusual morning scene in the streets of the authoress Anees Jung?
OR
4)How does the writer come to recognise each of the rag-pickers in her neighbourhood?
Ans- Saheb along with hi army of barefoot boys roam in the neighbourhood of Anees Jung.
They go on scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps. They appear like the morning birds
and disappear at noon. The authoress is in a good position to recognise each of them very
well as she has watched all of them with great interest.
5) Why do these children remain barefoot? (M.IMP)
Ans- Throughout the country the authoress has seen the rag-pickers roaming about in the
streets barefoot. More than10,000 children in Seemapuri are engaged in their task of
survival. On asking about not wearing chappals, some reply that it is a tradition to remain
barefoot. It is not the lack of money. The authoress feels that it is an excuse to ‘‘explain a
perpetual state of poverty.’’
6) What different excuses do the rag-pickers children offer for not wearing chappals?
Ans- The writer comes across many barefoot rag-picker children. On asking about not
wearing chappals, they offer very solid excuses. One answer that his mother had not brought
them down from the shelf. Another points out that he will throw them if she brings. The
third one replies that he has never a pair all his life.
7) Give a brief write about of a man from Udipi?
Ans-Once the writer meets a man from Udipi. About the shoes, he tells that as a young boy,
he would daily go to school past an old temple. In this way he would stay there for sometime
to pray to the goddess for a pair of shoes. His father was a priest at the temple. Finally he got
a pair of shoes and became contented.
8) What type of contrast does the writer point out between Saheb and the son of the priest?
Ans- The writer recollects the story of a man from Udipi when he was a child. It was told
that while going to the school he would pray to the goddess for a pair of shoes. But the
young boys like the son of the priest now wear shoes. The rag-pickers at her neighbourhood
like Saheb remain barefoot. This exhibit the different phrases of society.
9) Seemapuri is a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it . why? (IMP)
Ans- Seemapuri is still in wilderness but it is no longer empty. In 1971 it was inhbited
illegally by more than 10,000 rag pickers from Bangladesh. It is on the periphery of Delhi
yet it is miles away from it metaphorically. People live in structures of mud with roofs of tin
and tarpaulin. It is devoid of sewage, drainage and running water. They have got ration cards
for votes and buying grains. They have no identity. Women live in tattered saris. Survival in
Seemapuri means rag-picking.
10)Explain’ survival in Semapuri means rag-picking.’’ (EXPECTED)
OR
10)How do their children become partners in their survivals? (M.IMP)
Ans- Seemapuri is a place in the outskirts of Delhi. The rag-pickers scrounge gold in the
garbage dumps. For the children, the garbage is wrapped in wonder and for the elders, it is a
means of survival. A group of women say that they pitch their tents where they find food.
They become their transit homes. There the children grow and participate in the process of
survival.
11)How is the garbage heap wrapped in wonder for the children? (IMP)
OR
11)Garbage to them is gold. Why does the author say so about the rag-pickers?
Ans- More than 10,000 rag-pickers of Seemapuri live in squatters. For them garbage is gold
and wrapped in wonder. For a child, it is their bread and more than this since he is hopeful
of getting more. Sometimes a child can find a silver coin or more in a heap of garbage. For
the elders, it is a means of survival.
12)Specify how rag-picking has acquired the ‘‘proposition of fine art’’ in Seemapuri?
Ans- The rag-pickers of Seemapuri play a crucial role for their survival. An army of
barefoot children, women and children can be seen searching through the garbage. All work
for their their survival. Seemapuri means rg-picking. In reality they have become
professionals. It is no more a dirty job. It has acquired the position of fine art.
13)What is the present state of Seemapuri?
Ans-The rag-pickers of Seemapuri are the illegal occupants of public land.
They have been living here for more than 30 years without an identity or without a permit.
They have ration cards to buy their their ration and to cast their votes. They live in mud
structures without sewage, drainage and running water. At the end of the day, they go to bed
without an aching stomach.
14) How did Saheb get a pair of shoes? (IMP)
Ans- One morning, the writer saw Saheb standing by the gate of the neighbourhood club.
Two young men were  playing tennis. Saheb was in tennis shoes. On enquiring, Saheb told
that some rich boy discarded them because there was a hole in one of them. So he felt no
harm in wearing them. It was rather good on his part that the dram of wearing shoes had
come true.
15)Explain ‘‘Saheb is no longer his own master.’’(V.IMP)
OR
15)Why has Saheb lost his carefree look after getting a job in a tea stall?
Ans- Saheb has got a job at some tea stall. There the owner gives him 800 rupees and all his
meals. The narrator sees him with a tin canister on his way to the milk booth. But he has lost
his carefree look. The canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly
on his shoulder. This was his own bag but the canister belonged to his master. Thus Saheb
was no longer his own master.
16)Who is Mukesh and what is his dream?
Ans- Mukesh belongs to the bangle makers of Firozabad where each family is engaged in
bangle making. They live in half built huts and stinky lanes. On asking, Mukesh says, ‘‘I
will be a motor mechanic. I will learn to drive a car.’’ Thus he wants to be his own master.
17)Why does the authoress think that Mukesh’s dream seems to be looming like a mirage?
(IMP)
Ans- The family of Mukesh is engaged in making glass bangles of different kinds like the
colours of a rainbow. But Mukesh does not want to adopt his family profession. He wants to
be a motor mechanic and will learn to drive a car. His dream seems like a mirage to the
writer as it is vague and unclear amidst the dust of Firozabad streets.
18)How do the children become the victim of loosing the brightness of their eyes? (V.IMP)
OR
18)Describe the working conditions of bangle workers in Firozabad.
OR
18)What is the condition of the children working in the glass furnaces of Firozabad?
Ans-More than 20,000 children re illegally working in the glass blowing factories in
Firozabad. They work around furnaces in high temperature to weld glasses. They work in
dingy cells without light and air. Their eyes are adjusted to the ‘‘the dark than to the light
outside.’’ Many of them become victims of loosing their eye-sight before they become
adults. They work all day long.
19)What makes the city of Firozabad famous?
Ans- Firozabad is famous for its bangles of varied types in different colours like that of a
rainbow. Every other family is engaged in making bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass
blowing industry. It makes bangles for all the women of the land. The bangle symbolise an
Indian woman’s ‘suhag’.
20)Mention any two hazards of working in the glass bangle industry?
Ans-Working of children in the glass bangle industry is against the rules of health and
hygiene. They have to work before the furnace amidst high temperature. They have the
chances of skin burn and loosing the brightness of the eyes. Sitting in close proximity to
furnace and staying in dingy and dark cells trouble all.
21) What type of environment does the writer come across while walking with Mukesh?
OR
21)Describe the living conditions of the bangle makers in Firozabad?
Ans-While walking with Mukesh, the writer passes through the stinking lanes duly choked
with garbage. Then she comes across the hovels having crumbling walls and wobbly doors.
They have no windows for ventilation. She saw animals and human beings existing together
in a primeval state. Thus they live in most unhygienic conditions.
22) What does the writer witness after entering the house of Mukesh?
Ans-Mukesh brings the writer to his own hut. It is a half built shack. Its one part is thatched
with dry grass. Then she sees a firewood stove having a vessel containing spinach leaves for
boiling. In a large aluminium platter, chopped vegetables can be seen. A frail young woman
cooks vegetable for the whole family.
23) What custom prevails among the ladies of bangle makers? (IMP)
Ans- The daughter in law in the house commands respect as the ‘bahu.’ There is custom of
putting veil on their faces when an elder enters in the house. She will go near the wall and
brig her veil closer to her face. It is their custom that the daughter in law must veil their
faces before the male elders.
24)What has Mukesh’s father achieved after years of hard labour?
Ans-The father of Mukesh started his career as a tailor. But soon he turned to engage
himself in Bengal making. Instead of doing hard labour, he has very small achievement on
his part. He has even failed to renovate his house. He has not been in a position to send his
two children to school. He has taught them only bangle making.
25) What for does the grandmother of Mukesh comment? (V.IMP)
Ans- The grandmother of Mukesh lament that her husband became blind with the dust of
polishing bangles. Her sons could teach his sons only the bangle making. She says, ;it is his
karam, his destiny. He cannot go beyond the god given lineage.’ Born in the caste of bangle
makers, they have learnt nothing but bangle making.
26) What does Savita tell about the sanctity of bangles?
Ans- Savita is a young girl whose hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine. She
is aware about the sanctity of bangles and its importance for married woman. A bangle
symbolises a married woman’s suhag, i.e an auspiciousness in marriage. She will also come
to know about it when she becomes a bride.
27) How do the activities of the bangle preparation go on in the narrow lanes of Firozabad?
Ans- People prepare spirals of bangles in the seven colours of the rainbow. They lie in
mounds in the unkempt yards. After piling them on a four wheeled handcarts, they pass the
narrow lanes duly pushed by young men. In the dark hutments, women and people of all age
groups weld pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. Their eyes are adjusted to the
dark than to the outside work. In this way, the work goes on.
28) What makes the author say ‘little has moved with time in Firozabad’?
Ans- The writer says so on the point that with the changing times, the bangle making
industry is going on as usual. More than 20,000 children work inn them illegally before the
glass furnaces with high temperature.They live in dingy cells without air and light. They
hardly get full meal. The exploitation of money lenders, the middlemen and the police
continue unabated.
29) Why do the bangle makers of Firozabad not organise into a cooperative? (M.IMP)
Ans- The bangle makers live in the state of utter poverty. Years of ‘mind numbling toil’
have killed all their dreams, hopes and initiatives. Thy have fallen into a vicious circle of
money lenders, middlemen, police, politician and bureaucrats. Thy never allow them to
organise into a cooperative.
30) Which two distinct worlds of the bangle makers does the authoress see? (IMP)
Ans- The writer sees two distinct worlds in Firozabad. The first one belongs to the family of
bangle makers. They are caught in the web of poverty with a stigma of caste they are born
in. The other is a vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, politicians
and the keepers of the law. They ensure that the exploitation of the bangle makers go
unabated. So they never allow them to organise a cooperative.
31) ‘The elderly woman has still bangles in her wrists, but no light in her eyes.’ Why?
Ans-The elderly woman laments very much on her ‘karam’, i.e destiny. She says that during
her lifetime she has not had a single meal. Instead of hard toil, they loom into perpetual state
of poverty. Her cheerless eyes are the ready example and recognition of it. The bangle
symbolised the ‘suhag.’ The homes of the bangle makers cry for money.
32)Why don’t the younger ones of the bangle makers do anything else? (IMP)
Ans- The years of mind numbing and hard toil kills the desire of making new attempts to
improve their condition and the ability to dream. In Firozabad doing any other work needs
dare, strong will and the determination of the bangle makers to do anything else. The same
is very much absent on the part of the younger ones.
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LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
A) Who is Saheb and what do you gather about his life and living conditions from the
lesson?
OR
A) Write the character sketch of Saheb-e-Alam of Seemapuri.
OR
A) Describe the life of a rag-picker turning to be a servant at a tea-stall.
Ans- Saheb is a rag-picker from Seemapuri whose parents migrated from Bangladesh in the
year 1971. The writer encounters him every morning with barefoot in her neighbourhood.
He is scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps. He is unable to go to school because there
is none in his neighbourhood. Saheb-e-Alam is his full name though he does not know its
exact meaning. It means ‘lord of the universe.’ It is ironical on his part that a poor fellow
roams in the streets picking up the rags.
For the rag-pickers of Seemapuri garbage is wrapped in wonder. Sometimes one can find a
rupee, more of a silver coin and they always hope to find more. They live in squatters with
roofs of tin and tarpaulin. They have no identity except a ration card for voting and buying
grain. They are devoid of sewages, drainage and running water. Survival in Seemapuri
means rag-picking. At present Saheb is working at some tea-stall. The writer sees him with a
steel canister. He has lost his carefree look of his early days. He is not happy with his work
because he is no longer his own master.
B) Why do children walk barefoot, in cities or on village roads? Is it a tradition or something
else? What does the authoress Anees Jung state about it in her story ‘Lost spring-storis
of stolen childhood’?
OR
B)What does the authoress Anees Jung mean by saying that the young boys like the son of
the priest now wear shoes, but many others like the rag-pickers in her neighbourhood remain
shoeless? (V.IMP)
Ans-The authoress Anees Jung has been encountering the army of barefoot rag-picker
children for many months. She asks why he is not wearing chappals. Another adds if he gets
he will throw them off. A third boy says he wants shoes. He has never owned a pair all his
life. The authoress Anees Jung recollects a story of a man from Udipi as he told her. As a
young school boy, every morning on his way to school he would briefly stop at the temple
and pray to the goddess for a pair of shoes. When he had finally got a pair of shoes, he
prayed, ‘‘let me never loose them.’’ The goddess had granted his prayer.
When Saheb wears a pair of discarded tennis shoes due to a hole in one of them, it does not
bother him. For one who has walked barefoot, even shoe with a hole is a dream come true.
The reality of life on this earth is that there are millions of innocent children who loose the
spring (youth) of their lives under the threat of grinding poverty which exploit them under
the demand for nature for satisfying their hunger for their survival. It is not due to lack of
money but a tradition to stay barefoot, is one explanation. This is only an excuse for the
continuing state of poverty which is the cause of children staying barefoot in cities or on
village roads.
C) Mention some of the problems faced by the squatters in the area of Seemapuri?
Ans- A squatter is a fellow who has occupied the public land without the government
license. Seemapuri of east Delhi is such a place where the squatters migrated from
Bangladesh. In their nomadic nature for food and water, they settle at places and set up their
transit camps. In Seemapuri a wilderness on the periphery of Delhi, the squatters have
pitched up their tents. The structures have made of mud with roofs of tin and terapaulin.
They are devoid of basic facilities like water, drain and sewer. They have ration cards to buy
grains and for votes. They look for gold by picking rags and there dwell more than 10,000
children. They move in the streets barefoot and sometimes they find a coin and even a ten
rupee note. Even after finding a silver coin, they don’t leave scrounging garbage in hope of
finding more. For the elders the garbage is gold. It is a means of survival for their children
and it is wrapped in wonder. They are abused and can go for any criminal activity.
D) Elucidate the statement: ‘‘Food is more important for survival than an identity.’’
Ans-Ans Jung encounters a rag-picking boy named Saheb daily in her neighbourhood. He is
engaged in rag-picking and tells that he is scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps. He
points out that, they can find a silver coin, a rupee, a ten rupee note or more. More than
10,000 rag pickers roam in te village and the city roads.
In his visit to the settlement colony of Seemapuri, the writer finds them living in the
structures of mud with roofs of tin and terapaulin. They are devoid of sewage drainage or
running water. More than 10,000 rag-pickers have occupied illegal places to live and they
have been living for the last 30 years or so. They have been living without permits. Only
they have ration cards for grains purchase and to cast the votes. They have no identity so,
food is more important for their survival. At the end of the day, they go to bed without an
aching stomach. They pitch their tents wherever they find food. Thus, they become their
transit homes. Children grow up in them and become partners in survival and survival in
Seemapuri means rag-picking. For them garbage is their gold, food and everything for
children. It is wrapped in wonder but for the elders, it is a means of survival.
E) Mention some of the possible reason for the migration of the people from the villages
to the cities? (IMP)
Ans- There was a time when the villagers were self sufficient by having their
interdependence on one or the other. They had the least desire of fleeing towards the cities.
With the rapid speed of changing times modernity, commercialisation and so on, the
villagers started migrating to cities in search of job, education, knowledge, better civic
facilities and the glamorous life. The village craft has lost its meaning so they have
become unemployed. In order to fill their belly, they have started moving towards the cities.
They flee to these places wherever they can get work. In addition to this, certain natural
calamities like drought, earthquake, cyclone etc. force them to move to the safer places
since the cities are more protected than the villages. The rag-pickers of Seemapuri is a
current example of this type.
In the villages there are insufficient facilities of education, accommodation, profession
and other requisites of life. One can find unhealthy and dingy atmosphere in there in
the village. To avoid any kind of trouble, people migrate to the cities. Very often the
policies of the government turn the barren land into fertile one. So the people run there
for earning their living.
F)Write the character sketch of Mukesh with special reference to his dare, determination and
strong will.
OR
F)How is Mukesh ready to break the god-given-lineage of his family?
#Ans-Mukesh seems to be a strong, determined boy belonging to the family of bangle
makers. He has got dare and courage to move away from his traditional work. Since the
family is engaged in the god-given-lineage but he is prone to his occupation. He is well
aware about the inconveniences, health hazards and the role of man people who conspire to
keep them engaged in the bangle industry.
When Mukesh takes the writer to his home, she finds them living in stinking lanes choked
with garbage. She is much perturbed to see their miserable conditions. Mukesh realises that
his parents have nothing except a roof to cover their heads under it. They can’t provide them
even the basic necessities of life. So they are unable to boom like spring. He frankly tells the
writer that he will become a motor mechanic. He will learn to rive a car and he will not
hesitate to the far off garage. He has no desire to live and become the victim of poverty. In
the true sense he dreams of the cars that rattle down in the dingy streets of Firozabad. He
remarks ‘To do anything else means having some dare and the same is flashing on his face.’
Thus the dream of Mukesh does not seems to be looming like a mirage. He will cherish it
very son.
G)Describe he two worlds that the authoress confronts in the lesson ‘Lost spring’?
OR
G)How have the bangle makers become the prey of their own trade? Explain.
Ans-Anees Jung is deeply moved to hear the woeful tales of the bangle makers who pass
their lives in the perpetual state of grinding poverty. They are the victims who loom in the
vicious circle of poverty. They are unable to get full meals. Their elders even lament for not
providing better opportunities for their wards. The bangle makers had a hellish life and live
in striking lanes. They stay in two distinct worlds.
They are very much burdened with the stigma of the caste so they are unable form the god-
given-lineage. Not to speak of this, these people stay under the net of sahukars, the
middlemen, the politicians, the keepers of the law, the bureaucrats. All collectively mar their
courage and impose the baggage on the children that they can’t keep away from this for
generations together. Before a child becomes an adult to know about the new world, he finds
himself suffocated and choked with his family to work. He is left with no alternative except
to bangle making. Thus there seems no way out to be free from the clutches of this vicious
world.
H)What are the forces that conspire to keep the workers in the bangle factory of Firozabad
pn poverty? (IMP)
Ans-There are a number of forces that conspire and keep the workers in the bangle industry
of Firozabad live in dire poverty and trouble. The writer gets a chance to see the worker
there. He comes to know and realises that from the generations together, families are
working around furnaces welding glasses and making bangles. Their views are orthodox and
they believe in the theory of ‘karam.’ He writer has heard the mother of Mukesh saying ‘It is
his karam, and can a god-given-lineage ever be broken’’ Since they are born in the caste and
family of bangle makers, they will adopt the same profession. One can see in their carts and
yards, heaps of spirals of bangles.
In addition to this, there are certain other forces like poverty and the interference of
bureaucrats, middlemen, police person and the sahukars. They are unable to start their
cooperatives. These people can’t dare to do their work independently. A young man replies
that the vicious circle of middlemen has entrapped even their forefathers. In case they start
an organisation, they are roughed by the police. They are put behind the dingy cells. So they
are looming from poverty to apathy to greed and to injustice. More than 20,000 children are
engaged in this hazardous task and loose their eye-sight and health.
I)In what way does the writer analyse the grim state of poverty and tradition among the
families of the rag-pickers and the bangle makers of Firozabad? (M.IMP)
Ans-The writer has seen the condition of rag-pickers of Seemapuri as well as the working
condition of bangle makers of Firozabad. After having personal interactions with the people,
the rag-pickers are from Bangladesh who have left their homes due to natural calamities like
flood etc. In order to fill their stomach, they have set up their transit camps. In reality they
are the squatters on the wilderness of Seemapuri. More than 10,000 barefoot rag-pickers
dream to scrounge gold in the garbage dumps and their survivl depends on them. Their
structures are muddy roofs of tin and tarpaulin. They do not have the civic amenities and
they consider garbage as gold and bread. To the elders, it is their means of survival but to
the children it is wrapped in wonder.
The people of Firozabad are engaged in making bangles since generations together. There
Mukesh dreams of becoming a motor mechanic but, his dream seems to be a mirage. They
believe in the theory of ‘karam’ and adopt the family profession. Their children have no
schooling and they hardly enjoy one time full meal in their entire lifetime. They live in
dingy cells with high temperature. They loose their eye-sight before they become adults.
 J)Compare and contrast the lives of the families of Seemapuri and Firozabad? (V.IMP)
Ans-The houses in Seemapuri of the rag-pickers and the houses of the bangle makers of
Firozabad are either of mud with tin and tarpaulin roofs. They are with broken walls, no
windows, wobbly doors and animals and humans co-existing. The streets at both places are
foul smelling and fully unhygienic. The poverty stricken families of Firozabad are
compelled to undergo such miseries under the conspiracy of caucus of responsible officers
in connivance with the middlemen and the sahukars. Together they impose this illegal
baggage of doing hazardous work on the shoulders of the children which they can’t put
down.
On one hand, there are the families of the migrants, on the other, generations old bangle
maker families, both are being grounded under poverty and customs continuously. Though
these families at both the places are living in hellish situations, yet they are shown struggling
for survival. Food is more important than their identity or doing anything else. In one case
the rag-picker barefoot boys re shown to be completely carefree and they are their own
masters. While in the case of children like Mukesh of the bangle makers, are shown
dreaming to become their own masters.
The nature rose (storm) against the families of the rag-pickers once, and vicious circle of
middlemen who trapped the fathers and forefathers of the bangle makers are still at work
against them. The grinding poverty and the traditions at both the places ‘condemn their’
children to a life of continuous exploitation.
K) The life of bangle makers of Firozabad was full of obstacles, which forced them to lead
a life of poverty and deprivation. Discuss with reference to ‘lost spring’.
Ans-The authoress presents a very pathetic picture of bangle makers of Firozabad since they
are born in poverty, live in poverty and even die in poverty. They lead a life of trouble,
torture, tension, deprivation and poverty and for generations together they have been
engaged in this trade. They work in dark a dingy cells sitting before high temperature
which often makes them blind before they become adults. They labour very hard at a very
little profit. They live in a small and dingy houses which are called ‘hovels’/ They have
crumbling walls, wobbly door and without windows. All the members of the family live in
the same house so they are overcrowded with humans and animals. They have their own
social customs and traditions. The old man in the house has the authority to do everything.
They remain uneducated and poor. They cannot adopt another profession due to interference
of the middlemen, money lenders, politicians and the policemen. Due to lack of tangible and
bold leader, they are unable to organise themselves into a cooperative. So they remain poor
throughout life and loose the ability to dream. They can talk but do not act to improve their
lot.