Lost Spring

- Anees Jung

NOTES:

“Lost Spring” is fascinating and revelatory description of the lives of poverty-stricken children
in India. It escapes from being a dry report about child labour because of its interesting writing
style and use of evaluative language. It talks about two children Saheb and Mukesh and through
them this chapter gives us an account of the miserable lives of the poor children working as rag
pickers, cleaners/servers at tea stalls and helpers at furnaces where they are exposed to various
health hazards.

Author's encounter with Saheb

· Meets rag picker Saheb belonging to a refuge family from Bangladesh.
· Question him about his vocation of rag picking and advised him to 90 to school
· Promise to open a school
· Felt embarrassed at making a hollow promise
Irony in name and existence
· Full Name 'Saheb-e-Alam' meaning 'lord of the universe
· But deprived of even basic needs scrounge strut with other rag picker boys
· Bare foot boys reflected extreme state of poverty
Passage of time and degree of prosperity achieved
· Reminded of a priest bare foot son in town of Udipi thirty years ago.
· Longing for a pair of shoes
· Thirty year later a boy of same age was seen in full school dress with shoes
· Rag pickers still shoe less.
Seemapuri on periphery of Delhi yet far away from it
· Dwelling structures of mud. Tin and tarpulin with no sewage drainage or running water
· Only boon valid ration card to get grain
· Happy to live in an strange land which provides food grain than in their mother land without
grain
· Rag picking for elders their daily bread and means of survival for children a treasure of
wonderful things
Saheb's longing for childhood
· Wish to enjoy pleasures of childhood
· Play tennis, wear shoes
· Watches Rich boys playing Tennis
Saheb's new vocation
· Work on Tea stall Earns Ids 800'pm
· Appears burdened and forlorn
· No freedom now
· Tin container was heavier than his rag picking bag

Mukesh
· A child labourer in a glass factory in Firozabad
· Wishes to be motor mechanic
· Wants to learn to drive a car
· Family unaware that child labour is illegal
Working condition in glass furnaces
· High temperature
· Dingy cell
· Poorly ventilated
· Children lose eye sight at an early age
Living conditions in Firozabad
· Houses with crumbling walls
· Humans and animals both live together
· Stinking lanes
· Mukesh; house half built
· For wood stove aluminum utensils
Elder brother’s wife –
· In charge of family members
· According to custom cover his face with veil
Mukesh’s father
· Head of the family
· Poverty stricken unable to renovate house or provide education to sons
· Only legacy he hands over is the art of bangle making
Mukesh Grandmother's view
· Their present state result of Karma.
· Accepted her husband's blindness caused by dust of glass bangles as their destiny.
· Thinks art of bangle making God given lineage.
Vicious circle of poverty
· No progress despite of years struggle Poverty, Illiteracy dissatisfaction Victims of middle
man and touts
· Fear of police, lack of leadership checks their growth
Irony
· Bangle a symbol of Suhaag
· Every girl child one day as bride will wear bangles.
· Become old with bangles in wrist no sight in eyes.
Children Double victim
· First by birth bordered by stigma of caste second
· No hope: have to accept family occupation
· Ruled by Shahukaars, middle man, police etc.
· Dreams snubbed in childhood.
Mukesh: an exception
· Have dream to be motor mechanic
· Practical does not have dream of airplanes.
· Only few planes fly over Firozabad.

Important Questions and Answers:

1.What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?
Answer:
The majority of people relocate from villages to cities in search of work. Some people relocate
to cities in search of better education or healthcare for their kids. And, like Saheb’s family, some
are forced to migrate as a result of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and so on.

2. Would you agree that promises made to poor children are rarely kept? Why do you
think this happens in the incidents narrated in the text?
Answer:
Yes, promises made to poor children are frequently broken. Even well-meaning people are quick
to provide false hopes of a better, problem-free life to these poor children. Most people make
false promises because they do not want to break a child’s dream.
In this story, the writer promises Saheb that she will build a school for him, but she is unaware
that her promise has a deep impact on Saheb and he looks forward to the school being built. Only
later does she realize her error and feels embarrassed by it.

3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Answer:
The author says that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web which starts from poverty to
indifferences, then to greed and finally to injustice. Mind-numbing toil kills their hopes and
dreams. They cannot organise themselves into cooperatives and have fallen into a vicious circle
of sahukars, middlemen policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians. They
are condemned to poverty and perpetual exploitation. They are also burdened by the stigma of
caste in which they are born. They have imposed this baggage on their children. To do anything
else would mean to dare. And daring is not part of their lives
4. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?
Answer:
Mukesh can achieve his dream if he does not give up hope and works hard enough. His desire
of becoming a mechanic and driving a car is entirely different from his family’s current situation,
so he is bound to face some difficulties. Mukesh must remain strong in the face of such adversity.
Mukesh also demonstrates his enthusiasm to walk a long way to learn the work from a garage,
demonstrating his dedication to achieving his goal.

5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

(CBSE 2019, Set 2)

Answer:
The following are the hazards of working in the glass bangle industry:
• Extreme temperatures caused by the furnaces and lack of proper ventilation make the
work extremely dangerous.
• The workers are quite prone to ailments such as lung cancer.
 • Persistently working in low light conditions without any protective eye gear leaves them
blind.
• Even burns and cuts are quite common.

6. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

Answer:
Child labour frequently places children in dangerous situations and deprives them of their
childhood. These children also lack access to basic education, which limits their ability to
succeed in life. Children are frequently exploited and taken advantage of. They are often paid
less than minimum wages. Harmful work environments are hazardous to one’s health and may
even endanger one’s life. As a result, child labour should be eliminated altogether.
Measures to eliminate child labour:
• Strict laws prohibiting child labour should be enacted. Any violations must be penalized
as soon as possible.
• Additionally, parents of these poor children must be made aware of the value of
education so that they stop sending their children to work.
• If any child labourers are spotted, the general public should take the initiative and notify
the appropriate authorities.
• Police must also keep a constant eye on construction sites and other places where child
labour is common.

7. “Little has moved with time, it seems, in Firozabad.” State any one reason why the write
says this.

(CBSE SQP 2020)

Answer:

Firozabad has not changed with time because the years of mind-numbing toil has killed all
initiative and the ability to dream for a change. The problem of not having money to do
anything except carry on the business of making bangles (not even enough to eat) is the story
of every home. The young men echo the lament of their elders but little can change because
they have lost the ability to hope for it. As a result, the place records no progress.

8. “Mukesh is not like the others. His dreams loom like a mirage amidst the dust of streets that
fill his town Firozabad‟. Justify the statement in the light of contrast in the mindsets of Mukesh
and the people of Firozabad.
 (CBSE SQP 2018)
Answer:

Mukesh is not like others. He is different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad because
unlike others he wants to break the chains of age–old family lineage and aspires to become a
motor mechanic. He wants to come out of the vicious circle of poverty. He dares to dream, unlike
his peers, who have accepted bangle making as their profession. Mukesh is a rebel and to fulfil
his dream, he is determined to walk to a garage and learn to drive in a city where most families
are engaged in making bangles. No one dares to do anything else but work sitting around furnace,
which is physically and mentally dangerous. Mukesh’s passion to be a mechanic will surely help
him break away from the tradition of bangle making and achieve his goal.

9. “Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically.”
Explain.

(CBSE 2019)
Answer:

Seemapuri is a place on the outskirts of Delhi (capital of India) where 10,000 ragpickers, who migrated
from Bangladesh to Delhi in 1971, live with their families.

The inhabitants of Seemapuri live a life of misery and are in a perpetual state of poverty. Rag–picking
is their means of livelihood. They live so close to Delhi, the capital of India with all the latest amenities,
technologies and skyscrapers, but their houses are merely structures of mud with roofs of tin and
tarpaulin. People from all over India go to Delhi to find a job or get settled there, but the rag pickers
lack even basic opportunities like sanitation. The ragpickers live in structures of mud, with roofs of tin
and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water. Survival is all that matters to them. This is
why they pitch their tents wherever there is food. The only thing they do have are the ration cards, which
not only enable them to buy grains, but also get their names on the voters’ list.

No-one can imagine that such a place exists on the periphery of Delhi, the capital of India. Seemapuri
stands in stark contrast to the metropolitan city of Delhi. Although Seemapuri exists at the periphery of
a national capital, it is underdeveloped. In Delhi, there is luxury and affluence, there are a host of
opportunities and dreams. On the contrary, in Seemapuri there is squalor, hopelessness and despair. The
inhabitants here live in abject poverty and are illegal occupants. There is no chance for the people of
Seemapuri to strive towards the attainment of the opportunities offered by Delhi.

Thus, although Seemapuri is located at the periphery of Delhi, in the real sense, Delhi is miles away
from it.

10. Garbage to them is gold. How do ragpickers of Seemapuri survive?

(CBSE 2018)
 OR

For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival. What kind
of life do the rag-pickers of Seemapuri lead?

(CBSE 2017)
Answer:

Garbage provides the rag-pickers with a means to survive. It is their daily bread. Garbage is gold to the
ragpickers of Seemapuri because it provides them with items which can be sold for cash. Moreover, it
is gold also because the ragpickers can sometimes find stray coins and currency notes in it.The ragpickers
of Seemapuri live in structures of mud, tin and tarpaulin with no sewage or drainage for running water.
Their parents have no fixed income. They wage war against poverty and hunger. They have to dream
except finding the means of survival. These people have lived as illegal immigrants for more than thirty
years without an identity or permit. They have got ration cards that enable them to buy grains and get
names on the voter list. For them, food is more important for survival than an identity.

11. “It is his Karam, his destiny.” What is Mukesh's family's attitude towards their situation?

(CBSE 2015)
Answer:

Mukesh's family's attitude towards their situation is that of mute acceptance. They view bangle
making as their destiny. They do not dream of any other option because there is no will left in them
to take the initiative for a change. Mukesh's family and other bangle makers have accepted their
hard life as their destiny.

12. What does the reference to chappals in “Lost Spring” tell us about the economic condition
of the rag pickers?

(CBSE 2016, Set 1)

Answer:

The reference to chappals in “Lost Spring” tells about the poor and miserable life of the
ragpickers settled in Seemapuri.
 Most of the impoverished children busy in rag picking were not wearing footwear. The boys
were barefoot as it was a tradition to remain barefoot. It had become their habit not to wear
chappals. But according to the writer it was their excuse to conceal their poverty. They had no
money to buy chappals. They had a hand-to-mouth existence. They were exploited, had no work
to do, no proper houses to live in and they faced unhygienic conditions in their slums. This
reference also highlights the apathy of the affluent people in the society.

13. What are the chappals in “Lost Spring” symbolic of?

Answer:

The chappals in “Lost Spring” are symbolic of impoverished and miserable living conditions of
the rag-pickers from Seemapuri. They had no money to buy chappals. They had a hand-to-mouth
existence. The lack of chappals in the feet of these rag-pickers tells us that they lack even the
basic necessities of life. In fact, it is from scrounging through garbage that these children find
things necessary for survival. The chappals also highlight the apathy of the affluent people in the
society.

14. Describe the irony in Saheb’s name.

(CBSE 2016, Delhi)

Answer:

Saheb’s full name is Saheb-e-Alam which means Lord of the Universe. However, the boy with such
a fancy name is in reality a rag picker, a refugee from Bangladesh who is leading a life of misery
and poverty. Therein lies the irony in his name.

15. How did Saheb’s life change at the tea stall?

(CBSE 2016, Foreign)

Answer:

Saheb is no longer free. He now earns 800/- per month and gets 3 meals a day. He has his lost carefree
look. He carries steel canister instead of plastic bag. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag
he would carry so lightly over his shoulder. The bag was his. The canister belongs to the man who owns
the tea shop. Saheb is no longer his own master.
16. What does the writer mean when she says, “Saheb is no longer his own master?”

(CBSE Delhi,2012)

Answer:

Since Saheb now works in a tea-stall, he is now bound to his master and feels burdened. The steel canister
he carries is very heavy as compared to his light plastic bag. The bag was his own and the canister
belongs to his master whose orders he now has to follow. In that sense, he is no longer his own master.

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

(CBSE, 2010)

OR

Why do the bangle-makers fail to organize themselves into cooperatives?

(CBSE Compartment, 2013)

Answer:

The author says that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web which starts from poverty to
indifferences, then to greed and finally to injustice. Mind-numbing toil kills their hopes and dreams.
They cannot organise themselves into cooperatives and have fallen into a vicious circle of sahukars,
middlemen policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians. They are condemned to
poverty and perpetual exploitation. They are also burdened by the stigma of caste in which they are born.
They have imposed this baggage on their children. To do anything else would mean to dare. And daring
is not part of their lives.

18. Who is Mukesh? What is his dream?

Answer:

Mukesh is a child labourer in a glass factory in Firozabad. He belongs to a family of bangle makers.
However, he shows no fascination towards bangle-making and insists on being his own master.

Mukesh dreams of becoming a motor mechanic. He desires to go to a garage and get the required training
for this job.
 19. Garbage has two different meanings—one for the children and another for the adults. Comment.

(CBSE Compartment, 2012)

Answer:

For the children the garbage is wrapped in wonder, their eyes light-up when they find a rupee or a ten-
rupee note in it. They search the garbage excitedly with the hope of finding something more. But for the
elders it is just a means of survival. They earn from it.

20. How is Mukesh’s attitude towards life different from that of his family?

OR

How is Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad?

Answer:

Unlike his family Mukesh insists on being his own master. Mukesh is a child labourer in a glass factory
in Firozabad. He belongs to a family of bangle makers. However, he shows no fascination towards bangle-
making and insists on being his own master. Mukesh dreams of becoming a motor mechanic. He desires
to go to a garage and get the required training for this job.

21. What job does Saheb take up? Is he happy?

(CBSE, Delhi 2014)

Answer:

Saheb takes up a job in a tea stall. Though he receives 800 rupees and all his meals, he does not look happy.
The writer notes that Saheb’s face has lost the carefree look. He is bound and burdened as he now has to
follow the orders of his master and is no longer his own master.

21.Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India?

OR

To which country did Saheb’s parents originally belong? Why did they come to India?

Answer:
 Saheb’s parents originally belonged to Dhaka in Bangladesh. Saheb’s home was set amidst the green fields
of Dhaka. His mother told him that many storms had swept away their fields and homes. For this reason,
his parents were forced to leave Dhaka and migrate to India in search of livelihood.

22. Most of us do not raise our voice against injustice in our society and tend to remain mute spectators.
Anees Jung in “ Lost Spring” vividly highlights the miserable life of street children and bangle makers
of Firozabad. What qualities does she want the children to develop?

Answer:

Anees Jung feels that there is a dire need to provide these poverty-stricken children a life of dignity and
respect. This can mainly be done through the medium of education, which will further provide them with
opportunities wherein they will be able to pursue their dreams. There is utter lack of compassion and concern
for unfortunate children like Saheb and Mukesh. They are caught in a vicious circle of poverty and
exploitation. The author wants all the children to become aware of their basic rights which will empower
them and enable them to escape exploitation and injustice.

23. What does Saheb look for in the garbage dumps?

(CBSE, 2015)

Answer:

According to the writer, Saheb scrounges for ‘gold’ in the garbage dumps. ‘Gold’ here refers to the items
that are valuable to him like used clothes, shoes, plastic scrap, stray coins or currency notes. For children
like Saheb, the garbage is ‘wrapped in wonder.’

24. Which industry was a boon and also bane for the people of Firozabad? How?

Answer:

The glass-bangles making industry was a boon and also bane for the people of Firozabad. The industry has
given them a means of livelihood but the hazardous working conditions in the hot furnaces take a toll on their
physical health.

25. How are Saheb and Mukesh different from each other? Why

Answer:

Mukesh’s attitude towards life is different from that of Saheb. Unlike Saheb he is optimistic about his future
and so he dares to dream. He wants to become a motor mechanic and also wants to learn to drive a car.
Though, Mukesh too, belongs to a poor family of bangle makers but unlike his peers, the spark in him has
not extinguished. He wants to break free from the vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation which his
community has been caught in.

Saheb, on the other hand, has enslaved himself. By taking up work in the tea stall he is no longer his own
master. Saheb lacks determination. He harbours no dreams or ambitions about his future.

The difference in their attitude towards their situation can be attributed to the fact that Saheb is a rootless,
illegal migrant from Bangladesh and Mukesh is a citizen of India. Moreover, Mukesh dares to dream. The
author too senses a flash of daring in Mukesh and this is what makes his attitude more positive than that of
Saheb.

26. Describe the living conditions prevailing in Firozabad.

(CBSE Compartment, All India 2016)

OR

The bangle-makers of Ferozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone happy but they live and
die in squalor. Elaborate.

Answer:

Firozabad is famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles. It is the
centre of India’s glass-blowing industry where families have spent generations making bangles. Firozabad
has stinking lanes choked with garbage and humans and animals live together in the crumbling hovels. There
is no development or progress in their lives with the passage of time. Extreme poverty, hard work and dismal
working conditions result in the loss of the childhood of children who are in this profession. The working
conditions of all bangle-makers are pathetic and miserable. They work in high temperature, badly lit and
poorly ventilated glass furnaces due to which child workers especially are at risk of losing their eyesight at
an early age and get prone to other health hazards. They have no choice but to work in these inhuman
conditions. Mind-numbing toil kills their dreams and hopes. They are condemned to live and die in squalor,
subjected to a life of poverty and perpetual exploitation.

27. What kind of life do people like Saheb lead at Seemapuri?

OR

In 1971 Bangladeshi migrants came to Delhi “looking for gold in the big city.” What kind of life are
they living in Seemapuri now?

Answer:

Most of the people like Saheb settled in Seemapuri are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in
1971.The inhabitants of Seemapuri live a life of misery and are in a perpetual state of poverty. Rag–
picking is their means of livelihood. They live so close to Delhi, the capital of India with all the latest
amenities, technologies and skyscrapers, but their houses are merely structures of mud with roofs of tin
and tarpaulin. These ragpickers lack even basic opportunities like sanitation. They live in structures of
mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water. Survival is all that
matters to them. This is why they pitch their tents wherever there is food. The only thing they do have
are the ration cards, which not only enable them to buy grains, but also get their names on the voters’
list.

Children here grow up becoming partners in survival. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking.
An army of barefoot children appears every morning, carrying their plastic bags on their shoulders and
disappear by noon. They are forced to live a life of abject poverty that results in the loss of childhood
innocence.

Saheb, a ragpicker, roams in the streets, scrounging for garbage, barefoot and deprived of education.
Later he starts working in a tea stall but he loses his freedom and carefree life as he is no longer his own
master.

28. Describe the circumstances which keep the workers in the bangle industry in poverty.

Answer:

Firozabad is famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles. It is
the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry where families have spent generations making bangles.
Firozabad has stinking lanes choked with garbage and humans and animals live together in the crumbling
hovels. There is no development or progress in their lives with the passage of time. Extreme poverty,
hard work and dismal working conditions result in the loss of the childhood of children who are in this
profession. The working conditions of all bangle-makers are pathetic and miserable. They work in high
temperature, badly lit and poorly ventilated glass furnaces due to which child workers especially are at
risk of losing their eyesight at an early age and get prone to other health hazards. They have no choice
but to work in these inhuman conditions. Mind-numbing toil kills their dreams and hopes. Mind-
numbing toil kills their hopes and dreams. They cannot organise themselves into cooperatives and have
fallen into a vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and
the politicians. They are also burdened by the stigma of caste in which they are born. They have imposed
this baggage on their children. To do anything else would mean to dare. And daring is not part of their
lives. They are condemned to poverty and perpetual exploitation.

29. “Lost Spring” explains the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn thousands of people
to a life of abject poverty. Do you agree? Why/Why not?

(CBSE, 2011)

Answer:

“Lost Spring” does indeed highlight the miserable plight of thousands of poor people whose life is
completely marred by abject poverty and thoughtless traditions. These people work extremely hard in
the most pathetic conditions and accept poverty and exploitation as their destiny. Through the lives of
Saheb-e-Alam, a ragpicker, and Mukesh belonging to a porr family of bangle makers, the author
highlights the vicious circle of social stigma and poverty which these people are subjected to. Saheb also
represents a growing number of refugee migrants that live in India. Acute poverty, no education and no
infrastructural development has drained their energy and willpower and they have no choice but to accept
their destiny of inevitable poverty.

Refer to Questions 27 and 28

30. What does the title “Lost Spring:” convey?

OR

Justify the title “Lost Spring.”

Answer:

The title “Lost Spring” brings out the depravity of child labor in a very telling way. This title
conveys how millions of poor children in India lose out on living the ‘spring’ of their lives, that
is their childhood. The best phase of life is lost in the hardships involved to earn their livelihood.
Poverty forces these young children to work in the most inhuman conditions as a result of which
they miss out on the fun of childhood which hampers their growth and progress.

As a title, “Lost Spring” has a tinge of irony. Spring is the best season of a year being full of
colour, fragrance and freshness. It is also a season of renewal and growth. The childhood of
human life is often likened to spring, as it marks the beginning of human life and has a
tremendous scope for growth. It is full of joy, pleasure and play. It is a source of joy to children
anywhere in the world. But, ironically, millions of children like Saheb and Mukesh experience
no spring in their lives, for their childhood is consumed in making a living. Education, play and
pleasure are not for them to enjoy. They must work to support themselves and their families.