April 2020: Session 1 – 10th April 2020

THE LOST SPRING

Anees jung

Short Questions

Q1) What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?

Ans) Saheb is a ragpicker. He lives in Seemapuri, a slum on the outskirts of Delhi. He belongs to a
Bangladeshi refugee family who migrated to India during the Indo - Pak war of 1971.The author says that
Saheb looks for gold in the garbage. Gold here can mean anything valuable like used clothes, shoes, bits
of metal, plastic scrap, stray coins and currency notes.

Q2) What reasons does Saheb's mother give to her son for leaving their homeland?

Ans) Saheb's mother tells her son that they left their homeland (Bangladesh) in search of better life and
livelihood as their home and fields were destroyed by numerous storms, leaving them homeless and
penniless (without money).

Q3) How is Saheb's name full of irony?

Ans) Saheb's full name is Saheb-E- Alam which means lord of the Universe. But Saheb is a poor homeless
ragpicker who scrounges the garbage dumps of Delhi to make a living. His name is in total contrast to his
existence and is thus deeply ironical.

Q4) What explanation does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?

Ans) The author has seen several other children besides ragpicker like Saheb walking barefoot while
travelling across India. She is told that walking barefoot is an old tradition. But she believes that staying
barefoot in India is a forced necessity due to never ending poverty rather than following an old tradition.

Q5) Describe the condition of Seemapuri where these ragpickers live?

Ans) Seemapuri is situated on the outskirts of Delhi. There houses are made of mud, tin and tarpaulin.
There is no sewage, drainage system or drinking water. But they have ration cards which enable them to
buy grain. These people are happy to live in these filthy conditions only because the get food to eat.

Q6) Despite being refugees, how do people in Seemapuri have ration cards?

Ans) The refugee population in Seemapuri represents a large vote bank for political parties. Hence these
illegal residents of Seemapuri are provided ration cards to benefit the political leaders in the elections.
Moreover, using these cards they get grains from the government agencies.

Q7) How do elders and children look at garbage differently?

Ans) For the elders, rag picking is the only means of survival which gives food to them and their families.
But for children garbage is gold. They wonder what they might find in the garbage dump, some coins or
currency notes, plastic wrappers, broken toys - all this thrills the innocent children beyond imagination
and gives them hope of finding more wonderful material. So, the author says that for children garbage is
wrapped in wonder and for elders, it is a means of survival.

Q8) Where does Saheb go? Why? Why does he go there only when no one is there?

Ans) Saheb goes to the Tennis club when no one is there as the friendly gatekeeper allows him then. He
goes there to use swings when no one is around. He also likes to play tennis if he could get back chance
to play so.

Q9) How r tennis shoes a dream come true foe Saheb?

Ans) The discarded (thrown away) shoes are a dream come true for Saheb for two reasons. One, he did
have any shoes to wear. Two, he liked to play tennis very much. So, it would be a nice thing to play tennis
wearing tennis shoes whenever he gets a chance.

Q10) Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall?

Ans) No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea stall. Like other children he also wants to lead a happy and
carefree life. Although the job at the tea stall provided him a salary of Rs 800/pm, plus all three meals but
it replaced his light polythene bag with heavy steel canister. It also deprived him the company of his
friends. The plastic bag which he carried was his own, but the canister belonged to the owner of the tea
stall. He wanted to become the master pf his own destiny but instead he became a slave of the tea stall
owner.

Q11) who is Mukesh? What is his dream?

Ans) Mukesh is a son of a bangle maker and lives in the city of Firozabad. He does not like the work of
bangle making. His dream is to become motor mechanic.

Q12) What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

Ans) The city of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh is famous for its bangles - the symbol of 'suhaag’ and
auspiciousness (pavitrata) in marriage in India. It is the center of India's glass -blowing industry where
families have spent generations working around the furnaces, welding glass and making beautiful bangles
for women all over the country.

Q13) Mention the hazards (dangers) of working in the glass bangle industry.

Ans) The glass bangle industry in Firozabad is a disorganized sector. The rooms are too small without light,
no ventilation, glass blowing furnaces with high temperatures where children and adults work in
unhygienic conditions. Lack of protective goggles for eyes and back breaking postures lead them to lose
their eyesight and make them old at an early age.

Q14) Is Mukesh's sister - in law's (Bhabhi's) life different from Mukesh?

Ans) Mukesh's sister -in -law is the same age as Mukesh. She is a frail girl who is burdened with the
responsibility and welfare of the whole family at an early age. Unlike other girls of her age who work in
glass furnaces, she cooks and cleans and looks after Mukesh's family consisting of grandparents, parents
and elder brother. Her life is no different from Mukesh as instead of working in dingy cells with hot
furnaces, she works in dingy homes. She belongs to that tribe of Indian women who are not seen nor
heard but only exist.

Q15) What has Mukesh's in life despite years of hard back breaking labor?

Ans) Mukesh's father is a representative of bangle makers who are paid less and exploited more. He is a
victim of his own caste, poverty and the vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen, politicians and policemen.
He earns a little money just to feed his family and lives in a half-broken hut with his elderly parents, two
sons and a daughter -in -law. Although he tried two professions one as a tailor and the other as a bangle
maker, he has not been able to build a pucca house for his family or to provide education to his two sons.

Q16) How does Mukesh's grandmother view the family occupation of bangle making and its poverty?

Ans) Mukesh's grandmother views bangle making as the destiny of her family and God given lineage
(vansh parampara) Her husband's blindness, their never-ending poverty, she feels are a part of her
destiny. Years of poverty, hard work with half-filled bellies has made her accept everything as their Karma
or fate. In fact, now she takes pride in belonging to the lineage of bangle makers.

Q17) Will wearing bangles on her wedding day that she helps makes, eventually change Savita's life?

Ans) Savita is a child laborer who makes bangles in a glass furnace in Firozabad. She is not aware of the
auspiciousness of bangles for a married woman. When she grows up and gets married, she will wear
bangles on her wrists that she helps make. But ironically these bangles and married status would not bring
any good change in her life. On the other hand, when she gets married and wears these bangles, she might
have started losing her eyesight.

Q18) What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?

Ans) Lack of education and awareness, stigma (kalank) of being born in the caste of bangle makers, vicious
connection between sahukars, middlemen, politicians and the police oppress the bangle makers and keep
them in poverty. They accept all this silently and unquestioningly because of the broken spirit, lack of
initiative, fear of being beaten and dragged to jail by the police and most important absence of the leader.

Q19) Why can't the bangle makers organize themselves into a cooperative?

Ans) Many generations together the families of bangle makers have suffered under the oppression of the
middlemen. It is combined with the lack of education and awareness, acute poverty. This has broken the
courage of younger generation to take initiative. They fear that if they get organized the policemen will
beat them and put them in jail. They don't have any leader amongst them. They are aware that the vicious
connection between the sahukrs, middlemen, politicians, and police would not allow the cooperative
movement to take shape.

Q20) How is Mukesh's attitude towards his situation different from that of his family?
Ans) Mukesh wants to become his own master. He has seen poverty, dangers and sub -human living
conditions of the glass bangle industry. He wants to be a motor mechanic. He is determined to break free
even though, "his dream looks like a mirage". He stands out with positive attitude which is so different
from his family. The people of Firozabad are trying to survive the burden of lineage. Mukesh on the other
hand wants to rebuild his destiny and not be a bangle maker.

Q21) How is Mukesh different from his peers?

Ans) Mukesh like his peers (friends) is born in a very poor family in the caste of bangle - makers. Like other
children has received no education but has become a child laborer, doing mind -numbing work in the glass
furnaces. But unlike his peers he has a spark, he is a rebel in that he dares to dream of a different life and
wishes to become a motor mechanic.

Q22) Justify the title the 'The Lost Spring'.

Ans) Spring means childhood. In the lesson the 'Lost Spring', Anees Jung has described the lost childhood
of thousands of poor children in our country who live in slums like Seemapuri or work in the glass bangle
industry.
Long - Answer Questions

Q1) Saheb is no longer his own master. Mukesh insists on being his own master. Discuss.

Ans) Saheb and Mukesh both symbolize the exploited children in India who are forced to live a life of
poverty. Saheb is a ragpicker who lives at Seemapuri. His only means of survival is rag picking. He lives in
a very bad condition. Finally, he starts working at a tea -stall where he completely loses his freedom and
childhood. But he has compromised with his condition, accepted his condition and has completely given
up himself. Mukesh on the other hand belongs to a family of bangle makers and is destined to work as a
bangle maker, he refuses to accept it. He has his own ambition to become a motor mechanic. He doesn't
want to be dominated and exploited by others. He wants to be his own master and take his own decisions.

Q2) 'Garbage to them is gold'. How do ragpickers of Seemapuri survive?

Ans) Garbage, for the ragpickers is nothing less than gold. Picking garbage earns them their daily food,
gives them roof over their head and is their only means of survival. For innocent children, garbage is
wrapped in wonder as they are happy at the chance of finding a coin or a currency note, or various curious
things keeps their hopes alive. These children grow up to become partners in survival with their parents.
10,000 ragpickers, mostly who are Bangladeshis live in Seemapuri without permits. These people live in
houses of mud with roofs made of tin and tarpaulin. The ration cards help them to get their names on the
voters lists and enable them to buy grain and garbage are their means of survival. Food is more important
to them for survival than identity.

Q3) Describe the difficulties of the bangle makers of Firozabad have to face in their lives.

Ans) The bangle makers of Firozabad and exposed to many health hazards while working in the glass
bangle industry. Many of the children who work before hot furnaces in very dim light often lose their
eyesight before adulthood. Years of very hard labor have killed their desire, their will power and ability to
even think of taking a new profession. They are not able to organize themselves into a cooperative due to
the exploitation of sahukars, middlemen, politicians and policemen.
They live in stinking lanes choked with garbage. Their homes have shaky walls, worn-out doors and no
windows, overcrowded with humans and animals alike. They have not even enjoyed one full meal in their
entire lifetime because of their poverty. These are some of the difficulties that these people have faced.