Lost Spring : Stories of Stolen Childhood by Anees Jung

Worksheet 1

1. Word-Power: Match the Following

1. Scrounging a) Mark of disgrace

2. Perpetual b) Made to appear in court or
before an authority for
judgement.
3. Periphery c) Illusion
4. Squatters d) Dirty houses that are unfit to
live.
5. Transit Homes e) Shaky
6. Canister f) Deliberately cruel or Violent
7. Mirage g) Excessively boring, tedious,
dull and repetitive
8. Hovels h) The state or quality of being
holy, sacred or saintly.
9. Wobbly i) Search for Something
10. Lineage j) The outer limit or edge of an
area
11. Sanctity k) Never ending or changing
12. Mind-Numbing l) Persons who have lived on a
land without permission or
without paying rent.
13.Vicious Circle m) Temporary accommodation
14. Hauled up n) A container with a lid for
holding tea, coffee, milk etc.
15. Stigma o) Ancestry
2. Multiple Choice Questions

SL QUESTION
NO
1 What does the writer try to depict in the lesson ‘Lost Spring”?
A. Lost adolescence
B. Lost childhood
C. Lost freedom
D. Lost spring season
2 Where have Saheb’s parents come from?
a. Bangladesh
b. Nepal
c. Bhutan
d. India
3 Who says this: “I have nothing else to do”?
a. Mukesh
b. Zitkala-Sa
c. Saheb
d. Franz
4 What does Mukesh want to become?
a. Pilot
b. Motor mechanic
c. Bangle maker
d. Ragpicker
5 Where has Saheb started working?
a. At a restaurant
b. Milk dairy
c. Tea stall
d. Shoe factory
6 “I will learn to drive a car,” he answers, looking straight into my eyes.
What trait of Mukesh is exhibited in the above sentence?
a. Determined
b. Confused
c. Hesitant
d. Curious
7 What does ‘Saheb-e-Alam’ mean?
a. Prince of the universe
b. Princess of the universe
c. Lord of the universe
d. Queen of the universe
8 What two distinct worlds does the author see in the lives of the bangle
makers?
a. Policemen – bureaucrats
b. Sahukars – policemen
c. Middlemen – poor people
d. Poor people – influential people
9 What is the probable reason for children remaining barefoot?
a. Lack of money
b. A tradition to remain barefoot
c. Physical illness
d. Perpetual state of poverty
10 “I wonder if she knows the sanctity of the bangles she helps make.”
The underlined phrase symbolises:
a. Richness
b. Auspiciousness in marriage
c. Making bangles is a good job
d. The job provides good profit
11 “As her hands move mechanically, like the tongs of a machine, I
wonder if I wonder if she knows the sanctity of the bangles she helps
make.” Identify the literary device used in the sentence.
a. Simile
b. Metaphor
c. Contrast
d. Alliteration
12 “ The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry
so lightly over his shoulders.” Identify the literary device used in the
sentence.
a. Simile
b. Metaphor
c. Contrast
d. Alliteration
13 For the children, it is wrapped in wonder, for the elder it is a means of
survival.” What do the parents expect from their children to bring from
the garbage dumps?
a. Left over food
b. Money
c. Silver coins
d. Items valuable for them
14 “It is karam, his destiny”’ says Mukesh’s grandmother who has
watched her own husband go blind with the dust from polishing the
glass of bangles. What character trait of the grandmother is shown?
a. Religious
b. Atheist
c. Superstitious
d. Fatalist
15 “Seemapuri a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it
metaphorically.” What is the tone of the writer?
a. Mocking
b. Angry
c. Sad
d. Happy

3. Very Short Questions:

1. The Saheb’s complete name is ____________ because _______________

___________________________________________________________

2. Why did slum dwellers leave their homeland?

___________________________________________________________

3. Wherever they find food, they pitch ____________________________

4. What was Saheb’s dream as a young child?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

5. For one who has walked _______________, even shoes with a ________
______ is a dream come true.

6. Why did Saheb lose his youthful zest?

___________________________________________________________

7. People in Seemapuri were happy, though they had no permanent shelter

and identity but they had ______________________________________

8. What had killed the ability of the Bangle-makers to dream?

___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
9. List the dangers of the trade of bangle-sellers of Firozabad?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

10. The stigma of caste and the vicious circle of Sahukars, together have
_____________ the baggage on the child that he cannot put down.

11. Why must the daughters-in-law veil their faces?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

12. What impression do your form of Mukesh’s grandmother?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

13. How is Mukesh different from his people?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

14. Yet, his dream looks like a mirage – Why?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

15. Why were bangle-makers unsuccessful in framing a Co-operative?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

16. Mukesh’s house with wobbly iron door has,

(a) ________________
(b) one part is thatched with___________________
(c) there is one __________________ stove
(d) ______________ leaves form sizzle in a large vessel.

17. Time stands still in Firozabad because ___________________________

__________________________________________________________.