Lost Spring

Stories of Stolen Childhood

Anees Jung

"Sometimes I find a Rupee in the garbage"

created by Vinita Pandey

An Empty Promise
The writer meets Sahab-e-Alam with an Seemapuri
Saheb-e-Alam and many more such
army of kids scrounging garbage. When
people have come from Bangladesh.
asked why he did that he says he didn't
They left their village to earn money. they
anything else to do. The writer advises
don't have an identity but in lieu of votes,
him to go to school to which he says
they get ration cards, which is the
they have no school in the vicinity. The
primary requirement. They are happy to
writer asks if she builds one, will he
leave their native places because they at
come? Saheb meets her after a few
least don't have to go on empty
days and asks about the school. It was
stomachs. They live in filthy conditions.
an empty hope.

Garbage is gold
Garbage has different meanings- for the elders, it is a means
of survival therefore it is gold for them, and for children like
Saheb and other kids it is wrapped in wonder as they find
coins and sometimes 10 rupee notes.
Garbage collection has achieved a proportion of art as one
has to be skilled at it.

Barefoot Boys
All the garbage collector children are Canister is heavy the bag
barefoot. They think that it is their was light
Saheb was spotted near a tennis
tradition. The only pair of chappals is a
court. He likes the game but it is out of
luxury so they don't get to wear them on
reach for him. Saheb now works in a
the pretext of losing them or they wear
tea stall. He earns Rs 800 and three
the passed down shoes either
meals. He wears shoes with holes. He
mismatched or with holes. Udipi boy
carries a canister that looks heavy
prayed for shoes. After 30 years, the
because it belongs to the tea stall
situation has improved but Saheb and
vendor. Saheb's freedom is lost.
alike are still barefoot.

Some metaphors
Seemapuri: Periphery of Delhi yet it is far away from it. It was
wilderness earlier but now, though, 10,000 people live there yet it is
away from mainstream society.
Saheb-e-Alam: Lord of the universe but he was first a ragpicker and
later a slave.
Garbage: Gold as it provided them food and shelter.
Tennis/shoes: A commodity that is out of reach for the people like
Saheb.

created by Vinita Pandey

 Lost Spring
Stories of Stolen Childhood
Anees Jung

"I want to drive a car"

created by Vinita Pandey

Mukesh
He insists on being his own master. Wants
to be a motor mechanic and drive a car. He
lives in Firozabad, the city famous for
bangle-making. Children like him are thrown
in front of furnaces. The heat and light take
a toll on their health and eyesight. He
dreams of a pragmatic future of driving a
car and not flying an airplane. He has a flash
in his eyes. His family of brother, sis-in-law
and father live in a small hut.
Firozabad
The city is famous for bangle-making.
Every house is involved in this work. The
living condition is bad- sewage is choked
with garbage- cramped allies- animals
and humans coexist.
The animals and humans stay together in
unhygienic conditions. Years of mind-
numbing work have toiled all the
initiatives and enthusiasm from the young
bangle-makers.

Sanctity of bangles
Bangles are an important part of Indian tradition. Not only do
they adorn the arms of unmarried women but also signify an
important phase of a woman's life. A married woman has to
wear red or maroon bangles to keep the sanctity of married
life. Bangles mean 'suhaag'.
Different colors o bangles signify different occasions and
phases of a lady's life.

Savita The vicious circle

Savita is a young girl. She solders the
The workers can't organize themselves
pieces of glass. She had been doing this
into cooperatives as they have fallen
job for long years which is evident by the
into a vicious circle of middlemen who
mechanical way in which she is working.
trapped their fathers and forefathers. If
She is not aware of the sanctity of the
they try to organize themselves they
bangles.
are hauled by the Police trapping them
The older woman beside her is wearing
in some illegal activity. There's no
bangles but she has lost her eyesight.
leader among them. They talk endlessly
Her family knows no other skill than
in a spiral that moves from poverty to
bangle-making. The only achievement is
apathy to greed and to injustice.
that they have a roof on their head.

The two worlds

One is the family, caught in a web of poverty and burdened by the stigma
of caste, the other is a vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen, the
policemen, the keepers of the law, the bureaucrats, and the politicians.
However, both have imposed themselves on the children. To do anything
else would mean to dare. And daring is not part of his growing up.
Few airplanes fly over Firozabad is a metaphor for dreams. It is also a Pun
as only a few people among many from Firozabad dare to dream
to choose a career other than bangle-making.

created by Vinita Pandey