SHRI RAM GLOBAL SCHOOL, WHITEFIELD

Class 12 notes
Lost Spring

The theme of the story :

Is the loss of childhood and innocence due to poverty and exploitation. The story portrays how
poverty forces children to grow up too soon and how they are robbed of their childhood and
innocence.

Central theme
The grinding poverty and the traditions which condemn poor children to a life of exploitation.
The two stories taken together depict the plight of street children forced into labour early in life
and denied the opportunity of schooling.

Message :
To put an end to child exploitation and allow all children to enjoy the joys of spring. Note: Anees
Jung depicted two stories in 'Lost Spring,' both of which depict grinding poverty, pitiable living
conditions, and other traditions that condemn children to a life of exploitation.

The Lost Spring Summary

Summary of the Lesson “the Lost Spring – Stories of stolen Childhood” – The author tells us
stories of her interactions with children from deprived backgrounds. She describes their poor
condition and life in an interesting manner. The story touches the reader and is thought-
provoking.
The author described two of her encounters with children from deprived backgrounds. Through
them she wants to highlight the plight of street children forced into labour early in life and are
denied the opportunity of schooling. Also, she brings out the callousness of society and the
political class towards the sufferings of the poor. The first encounter is with a rag picker boy
named Saheb – E – Alam who migrated from Bangladesh in 1971 and lives in Seemapuri in
Delhi. These ragpicker children look for ‘valuables’ in the garbage – things like a coin or torn
shoes which are as precious as ‘gold’ for them.
They could hardly manage some food for themselves, other things like identity, education,
shoes and sports are their unfulfilled dreams. Their parents scrounged the garbage searching
for things that helped them survive – afford food, clothing and shelter for the family. The children
hunted through the garbage heaps looking for things which could partially fulfill their unfulfilled
dreams.
One day the writer saw the boy, holding a steel can, going towards the milk booth. He had got a
job at a tea stall. He was happy that he would get eight hundred rupees and all the meals. The
writer noticed that Saheb had lost the freedom of being his own master which he had enjoyed
as a rag picker.
The second boy was Mukesh who belonged to a family of bangle makers in Firozabad. The boy
had a dream of becoming a car mechanic. On the contrary, his family was traditionally engaged
in bangle making, although the profession harmed them physically and they hardly earned any
money out of it.
Still, no one dared to dream of doing something else due to the fear of the police and the
middlemen. The family elders were content that other than teaching the art of bangle–making to
their children, they had been able to build them a house to live in. The boy wanted to be a car
mechanic. Cars were all that Mukesh had seen on the roads of his town and so, he could not
dream any further.

Story 1 – ‘Sometimes I find a Rupee in the garbage.’

Passage: “Why do you do this?” I ask Saheb whom I encounter every morning scrounging for
gold in the garbage dumps of my neighborhood. Saheb left his home long ago. Set amidst the
green fields of Dhaka, his home is not even a distant memory. There were many storms that
swept away their fields and homes, his mother tells him. That’s why they left, looking for gold in
the big city where he now lives.

Word Meaning
Scrounging – searching for
Amidst – in the middle of

Explanation of the above Passage: Every morning, the writer sees a young ragpicker boy who
visits the garbage dump near her house and searches for ‘gold’ in it. The writer says that he
searches for ‘gold’ ironically because although the garbage dump is full of useless, thrown away
things, still he shuffles it so minutely as if he will get something as precious as ‘gold’ from it. The
boy’s name is Saheb. His home in Dhaka was in the middle of lush green fields. They had left it
many years ago and he does not remember it anymore. His mother had told him that there were
many storms that destroyed their homes and fields. So, they left home and shifted to the cities
in search of ‘gold’. The writer again says, “looking for gold in the big city”. Gold here refers to
something precious which was not available in their hometown. Things like shoes, money, bags,
etc. for the children and food, clothing, shelter as means of survival for their parents. The boy
searches for such precious things in the garbage dumps. One day the writer questions Saheb
and asks him the reason for shuffling through the garbage.

Passage
“I have nothing else to do,” he mutters, looking away.
“Go to school,” I say glibly, realizing immediately how hollow the advice must sound.
“There is no school in my neighborhood. When they build one, I will go.”
“If I start a school, will you come?” I ask, half-joking.

Word Meaning
Mutters – to speak in a low voice
Glibly – speaking or spoken in a confident way, but without careful thought or honesty
Hollow – meaningless

Explanation of the above Passage: Saheb replies to the writer that he has nothing else to do
other than rag picking. The writer suggests that he should go to school. She realizes that her
advice is meaningless for the poor boy. He replies that there are no schools in the area where
he lives. He also assures her that he will go to school when one is built near his house. The
writer asks him jokingly that if she opened a school would he attend it.

Passage “Yes,” he says, smiling broadly. A few days later I see him running up to me. “Is your
school ready?”
“It takes longer to build a school,” I say, embarrassed at having made a promise that was not
meant. But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.

Word Meaning
Embarrassed – feeling ashamed
abound – exist in large numbers
bleak – empty

Explanation of the above Passage: Saheb says that he would join the writer’s school and after a
few days, he runs up to her to ask whether her school is ready. The writer replied that it takes a
lot of time to build a school. She felt ashamed at making a false promise. She had said this as a
joke and had never intended to open a school, so she felt ashamed of herself. Saheb was not
hurt because he was used to such false promises as they existed in large numbers in his empty
world. He was surrounded by such false promises made by everyone around him. His world
was empty as no promise made to Saheb was ever fulfilled.
Passage: After months of knowing him, I ask him his name. “Saheb-e-Alam,” he announces. He
does not know what it means. If he knew its meaning — lord of the universe — he would have a
hard time believing it. Unaware of what his name represents, he roams the streets with his
friends, an army of barefoot boys who appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon.
Over the months, I have come to recognize each of them.

he would have a hard time believing it – it would be difficult for him to believe that his name
meant ‘the Lord of the Universe’

Word Meaning
barefoot – wearing nothing in the feet

Explanation of the above Passage: The writer had known Saheb for a few months when she
asked him his name. He replied as if he was making an announcement that his name was
Saheb – E – Alam. The writer thought that the boy did not know the meaning of his name and if
he came to know that his name meant “Lord of the Universe” he would not be able to believe it.
His name was the opposite of his life. He went around the streets with a group of friends. It was
like an army of boys who did not wear any footwear. They appeared in the morning like the
morning birds and disappeared at noon. The writer could recognize all of them as she had been
seeing them for the past few months.

Passage:
“Why aren’t you wearing chappals?” I ask one.
|“My mother did not bring them down from the shelf,” he answers simply.
The writer asked one of them that why was he not wearing any footwear. The boy simply replied
that his mother did not get them down from the shelf. As they were beyond his reach, he did not
wear them

new priest lived in the backyard of the temple. Plastic chairs in red and white colour were kept
there. A young boy came running. He was wearing grey coloured school uniform, socks and
shoes. He had a school bag hung on his shoulders. He threw it on the bed and ran away. The
writer wants to say that the financial position of the priest at the temple had improved over the
last thirty years. Now, he could afford shoes for this children. She was reminded of another boy
who got a pair of shoes. He prayed to the goddess that he may never lose the shoes that he
had got. The goddess had granted his prayer as the boy never lost his footwear. This shows us
that the underprivileged value anything that they get because they have been longing for it.

Seemapuri than their fields in Dhaka which were ruined and gave them no food.

Passage: I remember a story a man from Udipi once told me. As a young boy he would go to
school past an old temple, where his father was a priest. He would stop briefly at the temple and
pray for a pair of shoes. Thirty years later I visited his town and the temple, which was now
drowned in an air of desolation. In the backyard, where lived the new priest, there were red and
white plastic chairs. A young boy dressed in a grey uniform, wearing socks and shoes, arrived
panting and threw his school bag on a folding bed. Looking at the boy, I remembered the prayer
another boy had made to the goddess when he had finally got a pair of shoes, “Let me never
lose them.” The goddess had granted his prayer. Young boys like the son of the priest now wore
shoes. But many others like the ragpickers in my neighborhood remain shoeless

Word Meaning
Desolation – the state of being empty
Panting – taking short and quick breathes

Explanation of the above Passage: The writer narrates a story told to her by a man from Udipi.
(Udipi is a town in Karnataka). When he was a young boy, he would walk to his school. On the
way, he would cross a temple where his father worked as a priest. He would stop at the temple
and pray to God to bless him with a pair of shoes. After thirty years the writer visited the town
and the temple. Now the place was nearly empty. The new priest lived in the backyard of the
temple. Plastic chairs in red and white colour were kept there. A young boy came running. He
was wearing grey coloured school uniform, socks and shoes. He had a school bag hung on his
shoulders. He threw it on the bed and ran away. The writer wants to say that the financial
position of the priest at the temple had improved over the last thirty years. Now, he could afford
shoes for this children. She was reminded of another boy who got a pair of shoes. He prayed to
the goddess that he may never lose the shoes that he had got. The goddess had granted his
prayer as the boy never lost his footwear. This shows us that the underprivileged value anything
that they get because they have been longing for it.

Passage: My acquaintance with the barefoot ragpickers leads me to Seemapuri, a place on

periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically. Those who live here are squatters who
came from Bangladesh back in 1971. Saheb’s family is among them. Seemapuri was then a
wilderness. It still is, but it is no longer empty. In structures of mud, with roofs of tin and
tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water, live 10,000 ragpickers.

Word Meaning
Acquaintance – contact
periphery- outer area
metaphorically–symbolically
squatters – a person who unlawfully occupies an uninhabited building or unused land
wilderness- a wasteland
tarpaulin- heavy-duty waterproof cloth

Explanation of the above Passage: The writer describes the area where these rag picker boys
live. Seemapuri, located on the outskirt of Delhi was very different from the capital of the
country. In 1971 when these rag pickers had migrated from Bangladesh, the area had been a
wasteland. Seemapuri was still a wasteland but now it was not empty as almost ten thousand
rag pickers lived there in structures made of mud, with roofs made of thin sheets of tin or plastic
material called tarpaulin. There was no sewage, drainage or running water facility in Seemapuri.
They lived in unhygienic conditions. It was a piece of wasteland where the garbage of the city
was collected. These people had started living there illegally.

Passage: They have lived here for more than thirty years without an identity, without permits but
with ration cards that get their names on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain. Food is
more important for survival than an identity. “If at the end of the day we can feed our families
and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields that gave
us no grain,” say a group of women in tattered saris when I ask them why they left their beautiful
land of green fields and rivers.

Word Meaning
Permits – legal documents
Tattered – torn

Explanation of the above Passage: The ragpickers had been living illegally in Seemapuri for the
last thirty years. They have occupied the area without government permission or ownership.
The politicians of the area have provided them ration cards and voter identity cards. They got
grocery for their family through these ration cards and in return, they cast their votes in favour of
the politician who had helped them. The writer asked a group of women who were wearing torn
saris that why did they leave their homes in Dhaka. They replied that if they were able to satisfy
the hunger of their families and sleep well at night, they were happier to live in Seemapuri than
their fields in Dhaka which were ruined and gave them no food.

Passage: Wherever they find food, they pitch their tents that become transit homes. Children
grow up in them, becoming partners in survival. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking.
Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art. Garbage to them is gold. It is
their daily bread, a roof over their heads, even if it is a leaking roof. But for a child it is even
more.

Word Meaning
Transit homes – a temporary home
Explanation of the above Passage: These people travelled in search of food and wherever they
found it, they set up temporary homes and started living there. Their children kept on growing
there and gradually, they also started helping their parents in seeking means of survival. For
those who lived in Seemapuri, the means of survival was rag picking. As they had been doing it
for many years, they became trained at rag picking and did it well. For the rag pickers the
garbage was as precious as gold. These families searched the garbage dumps and got things
which they sold to fund their food. They gathered torn or damaged sheets which were used to
cover the roof of their homes. These did not cover them well but still provided them with some
protection. For the children, the garbage dumps were more than a means of survival.

Passage: “I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten-rupee note,” Saheb says, his eyes lighting up.
When you can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage, you don’t stop scrounging, for there is
hope of finding more. It seems that for children, garbage has a meaning different from what it
means to their parents. For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of
survival.

Word Meaning
Lighting up – show joy and happiness
Explanation of the above Passage: Saheb was happy to say that sometimes he found a rupee
and even a ten – rupee note in the dump. As one often finds even a silver coin in the garbage
dump, he kept on searching hoping to find more. For the children, the garbage dump was a
means of fulfilling their dreams although partially while for their parents, it was a means of aiding
survival by providing the basics – food, clothing and shelter.

Passage: One winter morning I see Saheb standing by the fenced gate of the neighbourhood
club, watching two young men dressed in white, playing tennis. “I like the game,” he hums,
content to watch it standing behind the fence. “I go inside when no one is around,” he admits.
“The gatekeeper lets me use the swing.”

Word Meaning
Content – satisfied
Explanation of the above Passage: One winter morning the writer saw Saheb standing by the
fence of a club. He was watching a tennis game being played by two young men. Saheb liked
the game but could not play it. He told the writer that he went inside the club when it would be
closed. He was allowed to take swings by the guard there.

Passage: Saheb too is wearing tennis shoes that look strange over his discolored shirt and
shorts. “Someone gave them to me,” he says in the manner of an explanation. The fact that they
are discarded shoes of some rich boy, who perhaps refused to wear them because of a hole in
one of them, does not bother him. For one who has walked barefoot, even shoes with a hole is
a dream come true. But the game he is watching so intently is out of his reach.

Word Meaning
Discarded – thrown away
Bother – worry

Explanation of the above Passage: The writer saw that Saheb was also wearing tennis shoes.
They did not look appropriate with his dress which was worn out and had faded. He told the
writer in an attempt to justify himself that someone gave him the shoes. She however figured
out that he had got them from a garbage dump. They must have been thrown away by a boy
from a rich family as he did not want to wear them anymore. Probably they had a hole or two in
them due to which he did not want to wear them. On the contrary, Saheb was not bothered by
this fact and had no problem wearing them as he could not afford anything better than that. He
walked barefoot and to wear a shoe even with a hole was like a dream for him. Although due to
the garbage dump, Saheb’s dream of wearing shoes had been partially fulfilled but his desire to
play tennis would never be fulfilled.
Passage: This morning, Saheb is on his way to the milk booth. In his hand is a steel canister. “I
now work in a tea stall down the road,” he says, pointing in the distance. “I am paid 800 rupees
and all my meals.” Does he like the job? I ask. His face, I see, has lost the carefree look. The
steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so light 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.

Explanation of the above Passage: One morning the writer met Saheb who was on his way to
the milk booth. He was holding a steel container. He told her that he had got a job at the nearby
tea stall. He would earn eight hundred rupees a month and get meals too. The writer asked him
if he liked the job as she could see that he had lost the carefree look. As now Saheb was
working for someone else and was carrying his master’s container, he was burdened with
responsibility. Earlier, as a rag picker, Saheb would carry his own bag and was his own master.
Now, he was no longer his own master.

Story 2 – “I want to drive a car”

Passage: Mukesh insists on being his own master. “I will be a motor mechanic,” he announces.
The writer met a boy named Mukesh who aspired to become a motor mechanic.
“Do you know anything about cars?” I ask.
She asked him if he knew anything about cars.
“I will learn to drive a car,” he answers, looking straight into my eyes. His dream looms like a
mirage amidst the dust of streets that fill his town Firozabad, 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 working around furnaces, welding glass, making
bangles for all the women in the land it seems.

Word Meaning
looking straight into my eyes – with confidence and determination
looms like a mirage – seems that it will be true in the future but actually it will not be so
amidst – in the middle of
glass-blowing industry – industry related to making glass
furnaces – a closed room or container where heat is produced
welding – the process of joining metal or glass pieces by heating them

Explanation of the above Passage: The boy was confident and replied that he would learn to
drive a car. His dream was far away from reality and although the boy was confident, he would
succumb to the societal pressures. He lived in Firozabad which was famous for glass bangles.
The writer felt that the boy’s dreams would not materialize and gradually get influenced by the
dusty streets of Firozabad. She wanted to say that as every family in the town of Firozabad was
involved in the glass bangle industry, so would Mukesh do with the passage of time. She tells us
that Firozabad was the main town of India for the glass – blowing industry. The families had
been involved in working at furnaces, welding glass, and making bangles for generations. They
made so many bangles that it seemed that they made bangles for all the women of the world.

Passage: Mukesh’s family is among them. None of them know that it is illegal for children like
him to work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light; that
the law, if enforced, could get him and all those 20,000 children out of the hot furnaces where
they slog their daylight hours, often losing the brightness of their eyes.

Word Meaning

Dingy – dark, dim

Slog – work hard
Daylight hours – hours of the day when there is sunlight
Brightness of their eyes – here, refers to the power to see

Explanation of the above Passage: Mukesh’s family was also involved in the profession of glass
bangle – making. They were not aware of the law. They did not know that it was unlawful to
force children to work in such glass furnaces. The work places were hot, dark closed rooms
without ventilation. The writer felt that if the law would come into force, it would rescue almost
twenty thousand children from these inhuman places where they were forced to work hard
during the daytime. They often ended up losing their eyesight also.

Passage: Mukesh’s eyes beam as he volunteers to take me home, which he proudly says is
being rebuilt. We walk down stinking lanes choked with garbage, past homes that remain hovels
with crumbling walls, wobbly doors, no windows, crowded with families of humans and animals
coexisting in a primeval state. He stops at the door of one such house, bangs a wobbly iron
door with his foot, and pushes it open.

Word Meaning
Beam – shine brightly
Volunteers – freely offers to do something
Stinking – bad smell
Choked – blocked
Hovels – slums
Crumbling – falling down
Wobbly – unsteady
Coexisting – present at the same time and place
Primeval – prehistoric
Bangs – hits

Explanation of the above Passage – Mukesh was happy as he took the writer to his home. He
felt proud as he informed her that it was being renovated. They walked down streets which were
full of garbage and gave off a foul smell. The streets were lined with slums which were
unsteady. The walls were falling apart, the doors were unsteady, there were no windows and
were full of families where people lived along with animals. They reminded the writer of the
prehistoric man who lived just like animals. Mukesh stopped in front of one such door, hit it hard
with his foot and pushed it open.

Passage: We enter a half-built shack. In one part of it, thatched with dead grass, is a firewood
stove over which sits a large vessel of sizzling spinach leaves. On the ground, in large
aluminium platters, are more chopped vegetables. A frail young woman is cooking the evening
meal for the whole family. Through eyes filled with smoke she smiles. She is the wife of
Mukesh’s elder brother. Not much older in years, she has begun to command respect as the
bahu, the daughter-in-law of the house, already in charge of three men — her husband, Mukesh
and their father.

Word Meaning
Shack – a roughly built hut
Thatched – covered with dry grass
Vessel – container for cooking food
Sizzling – make a hissing sound when frying or cooking

Platters – large plates

Chopped – cut finely
Frail – thin, weak
eyes filled with smoke – her eyes are filled with the smoke coming out of the firewood stove
command respect – she is worthy and so, is respected

Explanation of the above Passage: The house where Mukesh lived was a partially constructed
hut. In one corner was a firewood stove made with dead grass. A vessel with spinach leaves
was kept on it. on the ground There were more plates with chopped vegetables in them. There
was a thin, young woman cooking the evening meal for the family. Her eyes were full of the
smoke emanating from the stove but she was still cheerful and smiled to see the writer. She
was the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother. Although she was not much older than Mukesh, she
was a responsible person and was worthy to get respect from the family as the daughter-in-law
of the family. She took care of three men – her husband, Mukesh and their father.

Passage: When the older man enters, she gently withdraws behind the broken wall and brings
her veil closer to her face. As custom demands, daughters-in-law must veil their faces before
male elders. In this case the elder is an impoverished bangle maker. Despite long years of hard
labour, first as a tailor, then a bangle maker, he has failed to renovate a house, send his two
sons to school. All he has managed to do is teach them what he knows — the art of making
bangles.

Word Meaning

Withdraws – goes back

Veil – a piece of fine material worn by women to protect or hide the face, cover or hide
Impoverished – very poor
Labour – hard work
Renovate – repair

Explanation of the above Passage: As Mukesh’s father entered the house, the daughter-in-law
hid behind the wall and covered her face behind her veil. It was a tradition for the daughter-in-
laws to hide their face in the presence of the older male members of the family. The elder here
was a poor bangle maker. He had worked hard all his life – first as a tailor, then as a bangle
maker. He was still not able to either renovate the house or send his sons to school. He had just
managed to teach him the skill of making bangles.

Passage: “It is his karam, his destiny,” says Mukesh’s grandmother, who has watched her own
husband go blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. “Can a god-given lineage
ever be broken?” she implies.

Word Meaning
Destiny – fate
God-given lineage – here, a profession carried on through the generations of a family – glass
bangle making

Explanation of the above Passage: Mukesh’s grandmother justified her son by saying that he
was destined to make bangles as it had been their family profession. She had seen her
husband become blind due to the dust from polishing the glass bangles. She said that their
family had got this art of bangle making from God and so they had to carry on the tradition.

Passage: Born in the caste of bangle makers, they have seen nothing but bangles — in the
house, in the yard, in every other house, every other yard, every street in Firozabad. Spirals of
bangles — sunny gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink, purple, every colour born out of the seven
colours of the rainbow — lie in mounds in unkempt yards, are piled on four-wheeled handcarts,
pushed by young men along the narrow lanes of the shanty town.

Word Meaning
Yard – the open area at the back of the house
Mounds – heaps
Unkempt – not taken care of
Piled – kept one on top of the other
Shanty town – a town that is full of small, roughly built huts

Explanation of the above Passage: They were born in a particular caste which had to follow the
profession of bangle making. All their life they had just seen these glass bangles. They were
everywhere – in the backyard, in the next house, in their yard and even in the streets of the
town. There were huge spiral bunches of bangles in different colours like gold, green, blue, pink,
purple. There were bangles of all the colours of the rainbow. Further, the writer says that there
were bangles in the neglected yards also. They were dumped on handicrafts for sale. They
were pushed by men along the streets of Firozabad.
now.

Passage: “Ek waqt ser bhar khana bhi nahin khaya,” she says, in a voice drained of joy. She
has not enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime — that’s what she has reaped! Her
husband, an old man with a flowing beard, says, “I know nothing except bangles. All I have
done is make a house for the family to live in.”

Word Meaning
Ser – a unit of measuring quantity
Reaped – received as a benefit

Explanation of the above Passage: The elderly woman complained that she had not eaten even
a ser of food. Ser is a unit of measuring quantity. The woman wants to say that they are so poor
that they cannot eat enough food. That is the benefit that she has received by adopting the
profession of bangle-making. The woman’s husband has a flowing beard. He says that he does
not know anything other than bangle – making. All that he has been able to accomplish is to
make a house for his family to live in.

Passage: Hearing him, one wonders if he has achieved what many have failed in their lifetime.
He has a roof over his head!

Explanation of the above Passage: The writer wonders that probably the old man has achieved
something which many other people have not been able to achieve. At least he has been able
to secure a shelter for his family.

Passage: The cry of not having money to do anything except carry on the business of making
bangles, not even enough to eat, rings in every home. The young men echo the lament of their
elders. Little has moved with time, it seems, in Firozabad. Years of mind-numbing toil have
killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

Spiral – here, a never-ending continuous process

Apathy – lack of concern
Greed – intense and selfish desire for something
Distinct – separate
Stigma – dishonor
Bureaucrats – government officials
Imposed – forced upon
Baggage – burden
To dare – do something courageous
Explanation of the above Passage: The men complained that it was a continuous process. Their
poor condition led to lack of concern for their problems. This made them greedy and led to
injustice. The writer envisioned that there were two separate worlds – one was of such families
who were stuck in poverty and the pressure of doing the traditional profession according to the
caste in which they were born. The other world is a never-ending cycle of moneylenders,
middlemen, policemen, law keepers, government officials and politicians. Both of these worlds
had forced the young boys to follow the family traditions. The young boys get into the profession
and become a part of the vicious cycle even before they realize it. If they did anything else, it
meant that they were challenging these two worlds.

Passage: And daring is not part of his growing up. When I sense a flash of it in Mukesh I am
cheered. “I want to be a motor mechanic,’ he repeats. He will go to a garage and learn. But the
garage is a long way from his home. “I will walk,” he insists. “Do you also dream of flying a
plane?” He is suddenly silent. “No,” he says, staring at the ground. In his small murmur there is
an embarrassment that has not yet turned into regret. He is content to dream of cars that he
sees hurtling down the streets of his town. Few airplanes fly over Firozabad.

Word Meaning
Hurtling down – moving around
Explanation of the above Passage: The boys had not been reared up to be bold so that they
could dare to go against the system. The writer was happy to sense that Mukesh had the spark
in him. He repeated that he would be a motor mechanic. He wanted to go to a garage and learn
the job. The writer asked that as the garage was at a distance from his home, Mukesh insisted
that he would walk up to it. She asked him if he dreamt of flying planes. The boy became silent
and refused. He did not know about them as he did not know about planes. Not many planes
flew over Firozabad. As he had only seen cars moving around in Firozabad, his dreams were
restricted to them.

Lost Spring Question Answers

Think as you read
1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?

A. Saheb is looking for any precious thing which he cannot afford to buy. Things like a rupee,
silver coin or a pair of shoes. He has come to the garbage dump in the writer’s neighborhood.
He lives in Seemapuri in Delhi and has come from Dhaka.

2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?

A. The author says that they do not wear footwear because it is a tradition in their families to
remain barefoot.

3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.

A. Saheb is happy that he has got work at the tea stall. He will get eight hundred rupees every
month and his meals too.

4. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

A. Firozabad is famous for glass blowing industry.

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

A. People who work in the glass bangle industry lose their eyesight.

6. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
A. Mukesh dares to dream and has a way out of his situation. He aspires to become a motor
mechanic. On the other hand, his family does not dare to dream. They are too tired and scared
to do something to come out of their grim situation.

Understanding the text

Q1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?
A. People migrate from villages to cities in search of a better life. They want to earn money so
that they can lead a good life and rear their children in a better way. As cities have more
opportunities for work, this makes them migrate from the villages to these big cities.

Q2. 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?
A. Yes, I agree that the promises made to poor children are rarely fulfilled. In the story the writer
jokingly offers the rag picker boy to join a school that she would open. In fact, she does not
intend to open a school. She speaks mindlessly but the boy takes it to be true and later asks her
if the school has opened. There are many such hollow promises in the boy’s life because the
person who makes the promise never intends to fulfil it.

Q3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
A. The writer tells us that the bangle – makers of Firozabad are poverty – stricken. They are
burdened by the fact of the particular caste in which they are born – bangle – makers. They
have to continue the traditional profession. Further, the society has formed a harsh circle around
them. The money – lenders, middlemen, policemen, law – keepers, officers and politicians
altogether form a barrier around them and tie them in the grip of poverty. They cannot escape
from it.

Q4. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?

A. Mukesh dared to dream and wanted to become a motor mechanic. He wanted to drive cars
too. He took the initial step by aspiring to do something different from the family business. I think
that Mukesh can realize his dream with determination and hard work.

Q5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

A. The poor bangle makers in Firozabad work in dangerous conditions. The furnaces have very
high temperatures and no ventilation. Hence, they are prone to ailments like lung cancer. While
polishing the bangles, the dust harms their eyes and many lose their vision. They remain in dark
for long hours and so are unable to see during the daytime.

Q6. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

A. Forcing a child to work is a crime. This is so in order to prevent exploitation of children. If
forced to work, Children cannot enjoy their childhood. They cannot get proper education. Also,
when they are forced into hazardous works, they get ailments at a young age. This destroys
their future. Their parents overlook all these facts as they need money. So, the government has
to become proactive and take measures to check child labour and enforce the law strictly.