Class XII – Flamingo – Lost Spring

The Lost Spring

By Anees Jung

About the author

Anees Jung is an author, journalist and a columnist for major newspapers in India and
abroad. She was born in Hyderabad in 1944 in an aristocratic family. Her father, Nawab Hosh Yar Jung, was a
renowned scholar and poet. He was the adviser to the last Nizam of Hyderabad princely state. Her schooling and
graduation were completed from her hometown. Later she went abroad for higher studies. She did her Masters
in Sociology and American Studies from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US. She started her career in literal
writing with the Youth Times, a Times of India publication. Later she served as its editor from 1976 to 1979. Prior
to it, she worked as journalist. Jung came into the limelight with the publication of Unveiling India in 1987. Later
she published several books dealing with social issues including abused children and women’s problems. Jung is
noted for her lively and vivid descriptions, though she rarely gives its solutions.

Characters

Saheb‐e‐Alam: A rag picker

Mukesh: Son of a bangle maker

Think before you read:

 What do you understand by the vicious circle of poverty?
 Why do you give money to the people begging on the traffic signals? Do you think you doing the right thing?
 What do you know about human trafficking? What are the possible reasons that you can think of?

Introduction

The story, “Lost Spring” describes the pitiable condition of poor children who have been forced to miss the joy of
childhood due to the socio‐economic condition that prevails in this man‐made world. These children are denied
the opportunity of schooling and forced into labour early in life. Anees Jung gives voice to eliminate child labour
by educating the children and to enforce the laws against child labour by the governments strictly. The call is to
end child exploitation and let the children enjoy the days of the spring that bring joy under their feet.

Summary

I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.

The first part tells the writer’s impression about the poor ragpickers. The ragpickers have migrated from Dhaka
and found settlement in Seemapuri. Their fields and homes have been swept away by storms. They had to come
a big city to find a living. They are poor. The writer watches Saheb every morning scrounging for “gold” in their
neighborhood. Garbage is a means for survival for elders and for their children it is something wrapped in
wonder. The children come across a coin or two from it. These people have desired 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.

Main points

I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.

1. The writer encounters Saheb every morning scrounging for gold in the garbage.
2. Saheb‐e‐Alam, a refugee from Dhaka, Bangladesh is a ragpicker.
3. Wants to go to school, but can’t –very poor.
4. Lives in Seemapuri – a locality on the periphery of Delhi without any basic amenities.
5. Most of the rag pickers live here.
6. Food is more important for them than identity.
7. Rag picking is different for children and adult.
8. For adults – a mean of survival
9. For children – wrapped inwonders
10. Sahib gets a job in tea stall, earns Rs. 800/‐ and all his meal but still unhappy
11. Loses his freedom and carefree look.

II –I want to drive a car.

1) The writer comes across Mukesh in Firozabad.

2) His family is engaged in making bangles but Mukesh insists on being his own master.
3) He desires to become a motor mechanic.
4) They work in dingy cells without air and light and furnaces with high temperatures.
5) As a result, most of them become blind at a very young age.
6) They don’t have money to do anything except carry on the business of making bangles.
7) They can’t organize into a co‐operative.
8) They are afraid of being hauled up by the Police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something
illegal.
9) There is no leader among them.
10) They talk of poverty, apathy, greed andinjustice.
11) So poor that they can’t even dream – to do anything means to dare – and daring is not part of their growing.
12) The author is cheered when she senses a flash of it in Mukesh who wants to be a motor mechanic.
 Important Questions

e.g. What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ convey?

Ans. The title ‘Lost Spring’ conveys that childhood is like the spring. As everything blooms in this season, in the
same way the childhood should bloom but through the poverty of Saheb and Mukesh, we come to know about
their stolen childhood. It is being destroyed and dumped in the web of poverty, dirt and dust.

1. What does Anees Jung want to reveal in her story ‘Lost Spring’?
2. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
3. What makes the authoress embarrassed at having made a promise that was not meant?
4. Does the rag picking mean the same thing for parents and children? Give reasons for your answer.
5. Why was not Saheb happy on getting a job?
6. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?
7. What was Mukesh’s dream?
8. Why don’t the bangle makers of Firozabad organize themselves?
9. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans. Mukesh wants to be a motor mechanic and drive a car. He wants to break away from the generations‐old
family tradition of bangle making. His family is not as optimistic as he is, but he is determined and exhibits a spark
of courage and hope and dares to dream, even though it means walking miles to get to the garage.

Q4. Why does the author say that the bangle‐makers are caught in a vicious web?

Ans. The family of bangle makers were caught in the vicious web of poverty. They are forced to practise their
ancestral profession. They remain ill fed and ill clad throughout life. They have no money to switch over their
profession. Their hard work is mind numbling. The police does not allow them to form co‐operatives.

Q5. 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 rainbow. But his
attitude to this situation is different from others. He is a daring boy and he announces, “I will be a motor
mechanic, I will leam 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 firm
as a rock in Mukesh. That is why he says he will walk to the garage which is a long way from his home. Though his
dream appears to be vague, unclear and like a mirage yet he has a different ambition to fulfil. He can materialize
his dream once he walks.

Q6. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?

Ans. The bangle makers firmly believe that having been born in the caste and community of bangle makers, they
cannot escape their fate and must remain where they are. They believe that bangle making is the only skill they
possess and that they must pass on the legacy to their children. Bangle making is not a lucrative source of
income but they have no alternative and hence remain entrenched in the same. They have fallen into the vicious
clutches of middlemen who had trapped their fathers and their forefathers. They are afraid to form cooperatives
to safeguard themselves because they feel that they will be beaten up by the police and jailed for doing
something illegal. Steeped in despair and apathy, they no longer have the will to aspire and better their lot.
Some of the industrialists conspire in unison with the sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen and the
politicians and then go on exploiting them. They see very little hope of escaping from their impoverished life of
misery andprivation.

Q7. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry. / Describe the difficulties the bangle makers
of Firozabad have to face in their lives.

Ans. The glass blowing industry 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 sparking of welding light
and the high temperature render the situation hellish. About 20,000 children slog their day light hours and often
lose the brightness of their eyes before they become adults.

The bangle‐makers lead their life in utter miseries 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. 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 bodies. Those who work in bangle
industries, lose their eyesight before they become adult.

Q8. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

Ans. The child labour employed in any form 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 losing their eyesight before they become adults. The mind‐numbling toil of
bangle‐making kills all their initiatives, drive and ability to dream in life. They are even deprived of the school
education and proper growth.

According to the writer about 20,000 children are working in the glass bangle industry of Firozabad. Some of the
industrialists 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 wrongdoers very strictly and keep a
careful watch and vigil over them.

Related Posts:
1. Class XII: Flamingo – GOING PLACES
2. Class XII: Flamingo – INDIGO
3. Class XII: Flamingo – THE RATTRAP

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