CBSE Class 9 Moments Lesson 1-The Lost Child by Mulk Raj Anand

Title

The title beautifully captures the reactions of the child to the world around him before and after he is
lost.

The lesson is about an event that takes place in the life of a child who gets lost in a fair. It expresses the
fears, anxieties and worries of this very young child who is separated from his parents due to his
fascination with the world around him. When he gets lost and separated from his parents, however, his
fascination with the world around is also lost.

Theme

The underlying theme of the story “The Lost Child” is the universality of a child’s desire for everything
that he claps his eyes on. All that the child witnesses—from the toys lining the street, to the dragon flies
in the mustard field, to the snake swaying to the tunes of a snake charmer’s pungi—obsesses the child.
It is a visual assault on his senses. He looks at everything in wonder, his senses almost rejoicing at being
alive. His parents on the other hand are like a parental control filter, making him abstain him from the
lures of the illusionary world as if secretly knowing that what he needs most is something else entirely.
They offer a quiet reminder that the child must learn to prioritise what is important and what is not in
life.

In the end when the child loses his parents he understands what his parents’ silent gestures and
reprimands were trying to teach him. He realises now that what he wanted most was his parents. He
continuously refuses everything that the kind stranger offers to console him with—the very same things
he was goading his parents for moments ago. Within minutes his life changes and offers him an entirely
new perspective of looking at life and understanding what is truly important.

Setting

The story is set in an Indian village around the time of Independence. Set during springtime, the story
offers a look into a period of time in history when changing seasons were celebrated with fairs, which
offered simple pleasures like the sweetmeat seller, the flower seller, the snake charmer, a balloon seller,
etc. The time period is emphasised further by mention of the modes of transportation, such as people
riding on horses on the roads, while Others rode in the bamboo and bullock carts.

Message

The story highlights the value of relationships over material goods. The child realises the true value of
his parents once he is separated from them. It also sheds light on the universal fear of children and

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CBSE Class 9 Moments Lesson 1-The Lost Child by Mulk Raj Anand

parents of getting separated from one another and the result of such a calamity as seen from the eyes of
a little child.

The Lost Child Characters

There are four characters without any names—the child, his parents, and the unknown man who tries to
console the lost and sobbing child.

The child is very young and full of joy and excitement at the thought of visiting the fair. He is attracted
by all the sights and sounds of the fair. Like all children of his age, he wants whatever catches his fancy,
whether a sweetmeat or a dragonfly. He is however quite obedient and disciplined as he does not throw
a tantrum when his parents don’t give him any of the things that he demands. In the end he dissolves
into tears asjie realizes that he has lost his parents and makes a valiant effort to look for them, almost
getting trampled underfoot by the people at the temple before he is rescued by a stranger. The same
things that he had desired a little while ago lose all meaning when he gets separated from his parents.

The Parents

The father of the child appears to be a strict disciplinarian who does not give into the demands of the
child for toys and sweets. He is the head of the family and both his wife and child do not question his
decisions. In fact he seems to be leading the family, expecting them to follow him without dawdling.

The mother has been described as a typical loving mother who tries to soften the disappointment of the
child by diverting his attention from the objects that he wants to possess. She seems to be tom between
her husband and her child as she struggles to keep pace with her husband and at the same time keep
her child from straying. At some point her attention seemed to have wavered, when her child gets
separated from her.

The stranger appears to be a kind hearted man who rescues the lost child from under the feet of people
thronging outside the temple. He tries hard to stop the child from weeping by offering him all the
goodies at the fair and appears to be genuinely concerned to restore the child to his parents.

Questions and Answers

Question 1. What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair?

Answer: He sees people gaily dressed, some on horses, some in bamboo or bullock carts. He also sees
toys, dragon ‘flies, insects, worms, flowers, and doves on his way to the fair.

Question 2. Why does the child lag behind?

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CBSE Class 9 Moments Lesson 1-The Lost Child by Mulk Raj Anand

Answer: He lags behind because he is attracted by several of the things he sees on the way like toys,
sweetmeats, dragonflies, flower garlands, the snake charmer and the roundabout.

Question 3. What are the things that he wants at the fair?

Answer: At first he wanted a burfi, then a garland of gulmohur flowers, next some colourful balloons,
after that he was attracted by the snake charmer and finally he wanted a ride on the roundabout.

Question 4. Why does the child move on without waiting for his parents’ answer whenever he asked for
things that attracted him?

Answer: He moves on without waiting for an answer because he knew they would not pay attention to
his demands or give him what he asked for.

Question 5. When does the child realize that he had lost his way?

Answer: At the roundabout, when he turned to request his parents to allow him to sit on the ride, he did
not get any reply. When he looked around for them he realized he had strayed away from his parents
and lost his way.

Question 6. How has the lost child’s anxiety and insecurity been described?

Answer: His anxiety and insecurity have been described through his reaction to his realisation that he
was lost. Tears rolled down his cheeks, his throat became dry, his face flushed and convulsed with fear
and he ran in all directions in panic without knowing where to go.

Question 7. Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?

Answer: He lost all interest in the things that he had wanted earlier because he felt fearful and insecure
at being separated from his parents and all he wanted was to be reunited with them.

Question 8. What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?

Answer: This question can be answered in either way –

In my opinion the child is reunited with his parents who are also searching for him and find him crying in
a stranger’s lap.

Or

No, the child is not reunited with his parents but is taken by the man who finds him and is brought up by
him.

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CBSE Class 9 Moments Lesson 1-The Lost Child by Mulk Raj Anand

Question 9. Why was the fair being held in the village?

Answer: It was being held to celebrate the spring season.

Question 10. What tells us that the little boy was excited about going to the fair?

Answer: The fact that the little boy has been described as “brimming over with life and laughter” tells us
that he was happy and excited to be going to the fair.

Questions for Revision

1. What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?

2. In the fair he wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without waiting for an
answer?

3. When does he realise that he has lost his way? How have his anxiety and insecurity been described?

4. Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?

5. What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?

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