CBSE Class 12 English Lost Spring Worksheet Set C

Short Answer Questions

Question. Who was Saheb? What was he doing and why?
Answer. Saheb was a young boy of school-going age. He was looking for gold in the garbage dumps of the big city. He had left his home in Dhaka, Bangladesh and came to the big city in search of living. He has nothing else to do but pick rags.

Question. “But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.” What promise does the author recall? In what context was it made? Was it fulfilled?
Answer. The author asked Saheb about going to school. Saheb explained that there was no school in his neighbourhood. He promised to go to school when they built one. Half joking, the author asked whether he would come in case she started one. Saheb smiled broadly and agreed to come. After a few days, he ran upto the author and asked if the school was ready. The author felt embarrassed. She had made a promise that was not meant.

Question. What is the meaning of Saheb’s full name?
Does he know it? How does he conduct himself?
Answer. His full name is “Saheb-e-Alam”. It means the Lord of the Universe. He does not know it. If he knew it, he would hardly believe it. He roams in the streets barefoot with other ragpickers. This army of barefoot boys appears in the morning and disappears at noon.

Question. How does the author focus on the ‘perpetual state of poverty’ of the children not wearing footwear?
Answer. The author notices that most of the young children engaged in ragpicking are not wearing footwear. Some of them do not have chappals. Others want to wear shoes. Some say it is a tradition to stay barefoot. To the author it seems lack of money. Poverty forces them to walk without footwear.

Question. Describe the irony in Saheb’s name.
Answer. His real name is ‘Saheb-e-Alam’. It means the Lord of the Universe. But he has no idea of his name. He looks for gold in the garbage dumps and the author lives in his neighbourhood. In 1971, he came from Bangladesh with his mother. His house was well set among the green fields of Dhaka but the storms devastated his house and fields, and forced him to leave his motherland. In Delhi, he has become a ragpicker.

Question. Where does the author find Saheb one winter morning? What explanation does Saheb offer?
Answer. The author finds Saheb standing by the fenced gate of a neighbourhood club. He is watching two young men, dressed in white, playing tennis. Saheb says that he likes the game, but he is content to watch it standing behind the fence. He goes inside when no one is around. He uses the swing there.

Question. What job did Saheb take up? Was he happy?
Answer. Saheb took up the job at a tea-stall. But he was not happy with it. He was no longer his own master. His face had lost the carefree look. Although he earned ` 800, even then he was not satisfied.

Question. How has “a dream come true” for Saheb but what is “out of his reach?”
Answer. Saheb is wearing discarded tennis shoes. One of them has a hole. Saheb does not bother about the hole. For one who has walked barefoot, even shoes with a hole is a dream come true. But tennis, the game he is watching so intently, is out of his reach.

Question. How does Saheb’s life change when he starts working at the tea-stall?
Answer. Saheb now has a regular income. He is paid 800 rupees and all his meals. Thus, food is no problem. But his face has lost the carefree look. The steel canister in his hand now seems a burden. He is no longer his own master. He may have to work for longer hours. The helplessness of doing things at his own will makes him sad.

Question. Who is Mukesh? What is his dream? Why does it look like “a mirage amidst the dust?”
Answer. Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle-maker of Firozabad, where every other family is engaged in making bangles. His poor father has failed to renovate his house or send his two sons to school. Mukesh insists on being his own master. His dream is to be a motor mechanic. He wants to drive a car. Given the conditions of existence, his dream looks like a mirage amidst the dust.

Question. What do you learn about Firozabad from this chapter?
Answer. Firozabad is famous for its glass bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry. Families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles for all the women in the land. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles.

Question. “Born in the caste of bangle-makers they have seen nothing but bangles.” Where do they ‘see’ bangles?
Answer. Children like Mukesh are born in the caste of bangle-makers. They know no other work. They see bangles in the house, in the yard, in every other house, every other yard, every street in Firozabad. The spirals of bangles lie in mounds in unkempt yards. They are piled on four wheeled hand carts.

Question. What contrast do you notice between the colours of the bangles and the atmosphere of the place where these bangles are made?
Answer. The bangles are of every colour born out of the seven colours of the rainbow. These are sunny gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink and purple. Boys and girls work in dark hutments, next to the flickering flames of oil lamps around furnaces, blowing glass, welding and soldering it to make bangles.

Question. What are most of the bangle-makers ignorant of? What would happen if law were enforced strictly?
Answer. Most of the bangle-makers are ignorant of the fact that employing children in bangle making is illegal. This is a hazardous industry. Many children become blind before reaching their adulthood. If the law were enforced strictly, 20,000 children would be released from working hard throughout the day at hot furnaces with high temperatures.

Question. Where is Mukesh’s house located? What is he proud of?
Answer. Mukesh’s house is built in a slum-area. The lanes stink with garbage. The homes there are hovels with crumbling walls, wobbly doors and no windows. These are crowded with families of humans and animals. Most of these houses are shacks or huts. Mukesh is proud that his house is being rebuilt. His eyes shine as he volunteers to take the author to his home.

Question. What impression do you form about Mukesh’s family on having a glimpse of their ‘house?’
Answer. Mukesh’s house is a half built shack with a wobbly door. One part of it is thatched with dead grass. There is a firewood stove. Spinach leaves are sizzling in a large vessel. More chopped vegetables lie on aluminium platters. The eyes of the frail young woman are filled with smoke, but she smiles. The scene depicts their grinding poverty but contentment with their lot.

Question. Give a thumb-nail sketch of the “frail young woman” in the chapter ‘Lost Spring’.
Answer. The young woman is the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother. Her eyes are filled with the smoke of firewood. Though not much older in years, she commands respect as the daughter-inlaw of the house. She adheres to the customs and traditions. She veils her face before male elders. She gently withdraws behind the broken wall to do so.

Question. How would you regard Mukesh’s father’s life and achievement?
Answer. Mukesh’s father was born in the caste of bangle-makers. His father went blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. He is an old and poor bangle-maker. He has worked hard for long years, first as a tailor and then as a bangle-maker. He has failed to renovate a house or send his two sons to school.

Question. “Savita is a symbol of innocence and efficiency.” Comment.
Answer. Savita is a young girl. She has put on drab pink dress. She is soldering pieces of glass. Her hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine. She is innocent as she is ignorant about the sanctity of the bangles she helps to make.

Question. What do bangles symbolise? When, according to the author, will Savita know “the sanctity of the bangles she helps make?” How is the Indian bride dressed?
Answer. Bangles symbolise auspiciousness in marriage for an Indian woman. Savita will come to know “the sanctity” of the bangles when she becomes a bride. The head of a bride is draped with a red veil. Her hands are dyed with red henna. Red bangles are rolled on to her wrists.

Question. “She still has bangles on her wrist but no light in her eyes.” What exactly does the author want to convey through this?
Answer. ‘She’ is an elderly woman who became a bride long ago. Since her husband, an old man with a flowing beard is still alive, she still has bangles on her wrist. She has, however, not enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime. So, there is no light in her eyes. This is just a comment on the abject poverty and helplessness of the bangle-makers.

Question. “The young men echo the lament of their elders.” What do you think is the common complaint? How has it affected their lives?
Answer. The bangle-makers of Firozabad are quite poor. They do not have enough money to do anything except carry on the business of making bangles. Some do not even have enough to pacify their hunger. Building a house for the family is an achievement for them. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

Question. Why do the bangle-makers not organise themselves into a cooperative?
Answer. Most of the young bangle-makers have fallen into the traps of the middlemen. They are also afraid of the police. They know that the police will haul them up, beat them and drag them to jail for doing something illegal. There is no leader among them to help them see things differently. Their fathers are equally tired. They can do nothing except carrying on their inherited business.

Question. Which two distinct worlds does the author notice among the bangle-making industry?
Answer. The families of the bangle-makers belong to one of these worlds. These workers are caught in the web of poverty. They are also burdened by the stigma of the caste in which they are born. They know no other work. The other world is the vicious circle of the moneylenders, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of the law, the bureaucrats and the politiciAnswer.

Question. How is Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad?
Answer. Mukesh is quite different from other bangle makers of Firozabad because he has the courage to take initiative and break from the traditional family occupation. He has strong will power also. He insists on being his own master by becoming a motor mechanic.

Question. What do you think is the plight of the children born in the families of bangle-makers?
Answer. The vicious circle of the middlemen and their allies have entrapped the poor bangle-makers in their nets. The stronghold is suffocating. They have imposed a heavy burden on little children. They can’t put it down. Before they are able to think, they accept the baggages as naturally as their fathers.

Question. What do you think is the theme of ‘Lost Spring, Stories of Stolen Childhood’?
Answer. The theme of the chapter is 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. The callousness of the society and the political class only adds to the sufferings of these poor people.

Question. Why do you think Mukesh is content to dream of cars and doesn’t dream of flying a plane?
Answer. This is because even becoming a motor mechanic is unthinkable for a bangle maker in Firozabad and so Mukesh would be content if he could break out of his family lineage of bangle making.

Question. Do you believe that ‘God-given lineage can be broken’? Support you position with a rational.
Answer. It is difficult for the bangle makers to break out of their ‘God-given lineage’ because of both external and internal factors. The external forces of the politicians, policemen, bureaucrats, middlemen all ensure that the bangle makers remain in a poverty stricken condition by exploiting and oppressing. Similarly their belief that it a ‘God-given’ lineage hence not something they can break out of.

Question. How do you think the author’s life might have been impacted after her interactions with the children and their families mentioned in ‘Lost Spring’?
Answer. The author would have become more compassionate and would have tried to help them to become aware of their problems, educate them about their rights and teach them how to dream and find ways of fulfilling these dreams.

Long Answer Questions

Question. ‘Garbage to them is gold’. How do ragpickers of Seemapuri survive? Answer in about 120-150 words.
Answer. The ragpickers live in Seemapuri which is a settlement of more than 10,000 ragpickers. It is a place on the outskirts of Delhi. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh in 1971. They live here without an identity and without permits. They do have voter identity cards and ration cards that enable them to vote and buy grain. Food is more important to them than their identity. Children grow up to become partners in ragpicking. Through the years it has acquired the ‘proportions of a fine art’. An army of barefoot children appear in the morning with their plastic bags on their shoulders. They disappear by noon. Garbage has a different meaning for children. For them it is wrapped in ‘wonder’. They may find a rupee even a ten rupee note or a silver coin.

Question. “For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival.” What kind of life do the ragpickers of Seemapuri lead?
Answer. Seemapuri is a settlement of ragpickers. It is a place on the outskirts of Delhi. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh in 1971. They live here without an identity and permits. They do have voter identity cards and ration cards that enable them to vote and buy grain. Food is more important for them than their identity. Children grow up to become partners in survival. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years it has acquired the ‘proportions of a fine art’. An army of barefoot children appear in the morning with their plastic bags on their shoulders. They disappear by noon. Garbage has a different meaning for children. For them it is wrapped in ‘wonder’. They may find a rupee even a ten rupee note or a silver coin. There is always hope of finding more. But Seemapuri is a hell. Ragpickers live in structures of mud. They have roofs of tin and tarpaulin. There is no sewage, drainage or running water. It is unimaginable that it is a part of Delhi.

Question. What are the dreams of the poor like Saheb-e-Alam and Mukesh? Could these be realised? What is the reality of the situation?
Answer. Poor ragpickers like Saheb spend the early years of their lives looking for gold in garbage dumps. The parents of these street children have no fixed income. They wage war against poverty and hunger. They have no dreams except finding the means of survival. Garbage to them is gold. It is the source of their daily bread and provides a roof over their heads. He ends up as a servant at a tea-stall and loses his freedom.
Mukesh, the son of a poor bangle-maker of Firozabad, has a dream of becoming a motor mechanic. He wants to learn to drive a car. He thinks of joining a garage to fulfil his dream. He knows that the garage is far away, yet he has decided to walk. He realises the reality and is willing to overcome the obstacles. His daring to rise and decision to get free from the trap laid by vicious moneylenders and middle men arouse a sense of hope.
Deprived of education, proper food and upbringing, these children are forced into labour early in life.

Question. Firozabad presents a strange paradox. Contrast the beauty of the glass bangles of Firozabad with the misery of the people who
produce them.
Answer. Firozabad, the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry, is famous for its bangles. Spirals of bangles of various colours can be seen lying in mounds in yards or piled on four wheeled push carts. These bangles have shining bright colours: sunny gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink, purple–in fact, every colour born out of the seven colours of the rainbow.
The banglemakers lead a miserable life. They know no other work than bangle making. They have neither the courage nor the money to start another trade or job. They have spent generations in the clutches of middle men and moneylenders. Extreme poverty forces them to remain hungry and yet work all day. The elderly woman,who works with Savita, has not enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime. Her husband has made a house for the family to live in. He has achieved what many have failed in their lifetime. Mukesh’s father has failed to renovate a house or send his two sons to school. Young boys are as tired as their fathers. Their work at hot furnaces makes them blind prematurely.

Question. (i) “Survival in Seemapuri means ragpicking.”
(ii) “Garbage to them is gold.”
(iii) “For the children it (garbage) is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival.”
In the light of the above remarks write an account of the life and activities of the ragpickers settled in Seemapuri (Delhi).
Or
Give a brief account of the life and activities of the Bangladeshi squatters like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri.
Answer. Seemapuri is a place on the periphery of Delhi, yet miles away from it metaphorically. Squatters who came from Bangladesh way back in 1971 live here. Saheb’s family is one of them. Seemapuri was then a wilderness. It still is, but it is no longer empty. Nearly 10,000 ragpickers live there in structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin. These shanties are devoid of sewage, drainage or running water. These people have lived there for more than thirty years without an identity or permit. They have got ration cards that enable them to buy grains and have got their names on voters’ lists. For them food is more important for survival than an identity. The women put on tattered saris. They left their fields as they gave them no grain. They pitch their tents wherever they find food.
Ragpicking is the sole means of their survival. It has acquired the proportions of a fine art for them. Garbage to them is gold. It provides them their daily bread and a roof over the heads. Most of the barefoot ragpickers roam in the streets early in the morning and finish their activities by noon. They seem to carry the plastic bag lightly over their shoulders. They are clothed in discoloured shirts and shorts and denied the opportunity of schooling.

Question. “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.” Comment on the hardships of the banglemakers of Firozabad with special emphasis on the forces that conspire against them and obstruct their progress.
Answer. The bangle-makers of Firozabad are born in pove rty, live in poverty and die in poverty. For generations these people have been engaged in this trade—working around hot furnaces with high temperature, welding and soldering glass to make bangles. In spite of hard labour throughout the day, the return is meagre. Some of them have to sleep with empty, aching stomachs. Others do not have enough to eat. Whatever they do get is not delicious or nourishing.
The stinking lanes of their shanty town are choked with garbage. Their hovels have crumbling walls, wobbly doors and no windows. These are overcrowded with humans and animals. Poverty and hunger, social customs and traditions, stigma of caste and the intrigues of powerful lobby that thrives on their labour combine to keep them poor, uneducated and hungry. The moneylenders, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians—all are ranged against them. Children are engaged in illegal and hazardous work. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and ability to dream. They are unable to organise themselves into cooperative due to lack of a leader and fear of ill-treatment at the hands of the police. They seem to carry the burden that they can’t put down. They can talk but not act to improve their lot.

Question. Compare and contrast the two families of bangle-sellers portrayed in ‘Lost Spring.’ Comment on the roles of individuals in highlighting the issues raised by the author.
Answer. One of the families is that of Mukesh’s. It comprises three males and two females : Mukesh, his brother, their father, their grandmother and the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother. The grandmother had watched her own husband go blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. Mukesh’s father is a poor old bangle maker, who has failed to renovate a house and send his two sons to school. Mukesh and his brother make bangles.The wife of Mukesh’s brother is a traditional daughter-in-law who follows the customs and cooks food for the family. The grandmother believes in destiny and caste. Only Mukesh shows some sparks of fighting the system and declares that he wants to be a motor mechanic. Savita, the elderly woman and her old, bearded husband form the other family. Young and innocent Savita works mechanically. The elderly woman highlights the plight of bangle makers who fail to enjoy even one full meal during the entire lifetime. The old man has an achievement to his credit. He has made a house for the family to live in. He has a roof over his head.
The lifestyle, problems and economic conditions of the two families are similar. There is only a difference of degree but not of kind in their existence and response to life’s problems.

Question. Hunger knows no friend but its feeder. The downtrodden lead a miserable life. Elucidate the dictum keeping in mind the following lines:
“….... survival in Seemapuri means ragpicking. 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, …....”
Answer. Poverty: A Vicious Circle It is a well known saying that poverty is the root cause of all evils. Corruption, loot, begging and incidents of theft are the offspring of abject poverty. The destitute lead a pitiable and miserable life. They do not get sufficient food. Lack of funds constrain them to take recourse to illegal activities. Slum dwellers always feel themselves dejected. They recognise only those beings who help them and feed them. Political leaders take undue advantages of their poverty. They are misused to win elections. Humanity, mankind, honesty, trust and love become significant when an individual succeeds in satisfying his hunger. Hungry people need only food. There is a dearth of people who are capable of converting obstacles into opportunities. These poor people are exploited ruthlessly by industrialists, politicians and other middlemen. They scrounge for gold in the garbage dumps to earn their livelihood. The hiatus between the rich and the poor seems difficult to be bridged. It is increasing day by day. The poor are becoming poorer and the rich richer. There is no human being who would like to work for their welfare. Their plight is pitiable and horrible. The residential areas of these people are packed with filth. They become habitual to foul smell. Poverty is a vicious circle. It never comes to an end. The unemployed youth are heading towards destruction. They do not remember anything except the help they receive from the opportunistic people who feed them to materialise their vested interests.

Question. There is no denying the fact that ‘Life is action and not contemplation.’ Those who shirk work and waste their time in thinking about bitter consequences never achieve greatness. They lack enthusiasm. Substantiate the aphorism keeping in mind the following lines:
“I will be a motor mechanic” “I will learn to drive a car”. His dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets…”
Answer. Life is Action and not Contemplation Initiation is the law of nature. Success depends on the actions taken by an individual. One has to take actions without wasting time. Dreams give us directions. But it should not be forgotten that a man cannot become influential by only dreaming . One who does not utilise time fails to do anything significant in life. Actions shape the destiny of the beings. Contemplation destroys happiness. Aimless thinking aggravates woes and worries. It leads to nowhere. Such thinkers never get pleasure in this world of mortals. Those who believe in taking actions attain their long cherished goals with an astonishing ease. They never feel confused or perplexed. They never become a victim of depression. All the human beings are to perform their duties on the Earth. Contemplation leads to idleness.
Life is a judicious blend of contemplation and action. Contemplation transformed into action is of utmost importance. Action without contemplation may be disastrous. Contemplation without action is a sin. One should not waste time in thinking only. We should always remember that life is short and time is swift. Procrastination is the thief of time. One should not forget that there’s a time for everything. One should grab this opportune time to get success in life.

Question. Dedication, determination and devotion are the factors responsible for phenomenal success. Substantiate the above quoted statement in the light of the following lines: “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.”
Answer. Key to Success Hard work is the key to success. Dogged determination and strong will power are the essential ingredients of success. Industrious people never feel disheartened. They burn the mid night oil and strive hard to achieve the desired goals. It is said that ‘between two stools one falls on the ground.’ Thus, one has to dedicate one’s life to a specific field. The long term goals and aims of life must be set thoughtfully and not whimsically. The capricious nature of a fellow does not allow him to reach the heights. Devotion always brings good results and rewards. The essence of devotion is trust or faith. If one has trust in performing the actions, one is able in winning the battle of life. Trust gives strength and strength gives birth to determination which leads to dedication. Devoted and dedicated people never become a part of a problem. They remain a part of the solution. They do not do different things but they do things differently. Their devotion to the field encourages them to have indepth knowledge. Those who dare to climb the hill conquer Mount Everest.
Dedication has no substitute. It is the only way to great accomplishments.

Question. Health plays an important role in the life of a mortal. But the destitute fail to get nutritious food and do not remain healthy. It is said that health is wealth. People believe that a sound mind lives in a sound body. Elucidate it taking ideas from the following lines:
“Ek waqt ser bhar khana bhi nahin Khaya.”
Answer. Health and Food
One has to accept the fact that if wealth is lost, something is lost and if health is lost, everything is lost. The proverb ‘A sound mind lives in a sound body’ is apt. A healthy man can enjoy the beauty of this world. An unhealthy man misses one of the greatest boons given by the Almighty. A healthy beggar is better than an unhealthy king. A person who accumulates enormous wealth and suffers from chronic or fatal diseases cannot relish life. He wastes his time in clinics and hospitals. Health is essential to have positive thoughts. One should wake up early in the morning and take exercise. Nutritious food is indispensable for good health. Junk food must be avoided. The destitute suffer because they do not get sufficient food. They do not have any source of income. Undoubtedly good health plays a pivotal role in the life of a mortal. Pecuniary gains are of utmost importance but a strong and sturdy body free from ailments is of paramount importance. It has no substitute.
A mortal cannot endure the loss of health. Creativity, productivity and innovation get enhanced if a man is healthy. Thus, one should be in the best of health so that one can lead a happy and contented life.

Question. Child abuse is a very serious problem in our country. Children are forced by circumstances to work in various factories. Write an article, on the topic ‘Child Abuse’. Take ideas from the following lines:
“None of them knows 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.”
Answer. Child Abuse
Child abuse is a grave problem in India. Many children work for dhabas, factories and tea stall owners. These are those unfortunate children of our country who don’t get even meals three times a day. It is a blemish on our nation. It is the duty of the government to make arrangements of education for these children. Child labour is common in the fields of agriculture, domestic service, sex industry, carpet and textile industries, quarrying, bangle making and brick making. These children are forced to work in horrible conditions. There are no set working hours for these children. They are given low wages.
In some cases poverty of the household and low level of parental education are responsible for child labour. Employing children in factories implies that the nation’s future is in dark. These children never feel happy. They become devoid of human emotions. They adopt illegal ways to earn their bread and butter when they become able-bodied. It gives rise to violence and corruption. Child labour should be stopped and the governments should educate these children free of cost. At least elementary education should be given to all the children.

Question. Grinding poverty and tradition condemn the children of ragpickers or bangle makers to a life of exploitation. Such children are deprived of all opportunities in life. Mukesh, who opts out of the existing profession of his forefathers by resolving to start a new job of a motor mechanic symbolises the modern youth. What lesson do we learn from Mukesh’s example?
Answer. It is not only the grinding poverty but also tradition that condemns the children of ragpickers or bangle makers to live a life of exploitation. On one side is the family, trapped in poverty and burdened by stigma of the caste they are born in, on the other side they are trapped in the vicious circle of inhuman Sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the so called keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians. All of them have created a situation, from which there is no way out. The trapped do not have the guts to break out of it. Mukesh, in fact is like a ray of hope with his dreams of becoming a motor mechanic. He wants to opt out of the existing profession of his forefathers. He has resolved to start a new job as a motor mechanic. The long distance to the garage where he will learn the work of a motor mechanic does not deter him. He is prepared to walk. But he is firm. He symbolises the youth of his clan. If this persists, the day is not far when a new generation will bring brightness and hope to the dark and dingy homes of these poverty-ridden workers.

Question. How is Mukesh more ambitious in life than Saheb? Give a reasoned answer.
OR
How is Mukesh’s attitude towards his situation different from that of Saheb? Why?
Answer. Mukesh is definitely more ambitions than Saheb. Unlike most of his friends in Firozabad, Mukesh did not want to follow the profession of making bangles. No one else could dare to think of breaking the conventional style of living. Mukesh dreamt of becoming a motor-mechanic. He had already decided to go to a garage and learn about cars. Though the garage was a long way from his home, he was prepared to walk that distance. He insisted on becoming his own master.
Saheb, on the other hand had sacrificed his freedom as a ragpicker to take up a salaried job that would pay him 800 rupees and give him all his meals. Now he was no longer his own master. He had lost his carefree look (which he had when he was a ragpicker). The can that he carried seemed heavier than the bag he carried as a ragpicker, for this job was not to his liking.

Question. The barefoot ragpickers of Seemapuri live on the periphery of Delhi yet, metaphorically speaking, miles away from it. Comment.
Answer. The barefoot ragpickers of Seemapuri live on the periphery of Delhi yet, metaphorically speaking, miles away from it, sums up the true condition of the ragpickers of Seemapuri. Seemapuri is a slum area, which houses approximately 10,000 ragpickers. They live in mud houses with roofs of tin and tarpaulin. There is no sewage, drainage or running water. They came here from Bangladesh in 1971 and have been living here ever since without any identity of their own or permits, but they have ration cards and their names figure in the voter’s list. Women wear tattered saris. Survival in Seemapuri means ragpicking. This is an example of the gross negligence and apathy of the Delhi Government. It has failed to do anything for them. Though Seemapuri is so close to Delhi, almost on its periphery, but the glitter and glamour, advantages like education, proper facilities for living a clean and decent life are beyond the reach of these slum dwellers of Seemapuri, which is so close to Delhi yet so far.

Question. The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone happy but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate.
Answer. The bangle makers of Firozabad live in utter poverty, generation after generation. They believe that they are the people who are destined to work as glass banglemakers. They make beautiful bangles for women but they live in the dark. The workers have to look at the hot bright furnaces while polishing bangles. While welding pieces of coloured glass into bangles they have no other option but are forced to sit near flickering lamps. Hence, they are forced to stay in dark room huts and their eyes are not in a position to see the daylight outside. They become blind quite early in life. They are in a vicious circle tossed around by moneylenders, middlemen and politicians. Instead of helping them, the law enforcing authorities only prey on them.

Question. Give a brief account of the life and activities of people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri.
Answer. Saheb is a poor boy belonging to a refugee family from Bangladesh. His family came to Delhi and settled in the trans-Yamuna area called Seemapuri. Here they have no work to do. They pick garbage for their livelihood. Saheb also, like others, looks and searches the garbage dumps for some coins. They leave their houses in the morning with a bag on their back to collect something from the garbage. They remain barefoot. It has become their habit not to wear any footwear. The families like Saheb’s left behind a life of abject poverty in flood-hit areas of Bangladesh and came to India. They move to big cities in the hope of getting some work. In the absence of work, they begin rag picking.

Question. ‘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?
Answer. Yes, I fully agree that ‘Lost Spring’ explains abject poverty. Saheb-e-Alam came alongwith his family from Bangladesh to Delhi. His family settled on the banks of the Yamuna river. Here, they have no work to do and no house to live in. So they began the work of rag-picking. His family lives a hand-to-mouth existence. Thus this lesson deals with the plight of street children like Saheb-e-Alam, and Mukesh of Firozabad working in a glass bangle factory. The children of such families are forced to labour early in life and denied the opportunities of going to school. These children are trapped in the vicious circle of social stigma, tradition, poverty and exploitation. Thus the title of the story rightly explains and brings out the depravity of child labour in our country.

Question. What contrast do you notice between the colour of the bangles and the atmosphere of the place where these bangles are made?
Answer. The dusty streets of Firozabad, the bangle making district, are overflowing with garbage and the stink is overwhelming. The hovels where the bangle makers dwell have walls that are crumbling down, with unstable doors and no windows. The conditions are so terrible that families of humans and animals live together. The drabness and lack of colour in the lives of these people contrast starkly with the colour of the bangles which lie everywhere—“sunny gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink, purple, every colour born out of the seven colours of the rainbow”. The unhappiness and tedium in the lives of the bangle makers contrasts the joy and merriment that their bangles will bring to the women who will buy and wear them.

Question. What did the writer see when Mukesh took her to his home?
Answer. The writer realised that it was a slum area. The lanes were stinking and were choked with garbage. The homes looked like hovels. Their walls were crumbling. The doors were wobbly, with no windows. The homes were crowded with humans and animals living together. Mukesh’s home looked like a half-built shack. In one of its parts, a firewood stove had a large vessel on it. A frail young woman cooked the evening meal. She was the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother. As Mukesh’s father came in, she brought her veil closer to her face. The old man was a poor bangle maker. Even after long years of hard labour, he had been unable to renovate his house. He was unable to send his two sons to school. Mukesh’s grandmother was also there. Her husband had become blind with dust from the polishing of glass bangles.

Question. Describe the difficulties the bangle makers of Firozabad have to face in their lives.
OR
Describe the circumstances which keep the workers in the bangle industry in poverty.
Answer. The bangle-makers of Firozabad live in utter poverty generation after generation. They believe that they are the people who are destined to work as glass bangle-makers. They make beautiful bangles for women but they live in dark. The workers have to look at the hot bright furnaces while polishing bangles. While welding pieces of coloured glass into bangles they have no other option but are forced to sit near flickering lamps. Hence, they are forced to stay in a dark room and their eyes are not in a position to see the daylight outside. They become blind even before they become adults. Their life is embroiled in a web that is created the moneylenders, middlemen and politicians. Instead of helping them, the law enforcing authorities only prey upon their misfortunes.

Question. In the lesson ‘Lost Spring’, Saheb and Mukesh are deprived of their childhood pleasures and education. Noble Peace prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai have been fighting for the rights of the children. Motivated by these activists, you write an article on the topic, ‘Evils of child labour and denial of Education’. You are Mahesh/Malvika. Write your article in about 125-150 words.
Answer.
EVILS OF CHILD LABOUR AND DENIAL OF EDUCATION
By– Malvika
Child labour has been a major problem not only in India but in all the developing countries. It is a great social problem.
We often find children working in dhabas, factories, tea-stalls, fields and homes. They often become ragpickers and street performers. All this deprives children of a normal, carefree childhood. Schooling becomes a distant dream and a perpetual state of poverty becomes a reality. Dreams become a mirage.
Child labour is often borne out of the need for survival. Often the reason is to increase the income of a poor family. Industries often employ children under 14, in the hope of reducing the labour cost in their organisation.
In a developed society where every citizen counts and all citizens have to have proper education, health care support, games and entertainment, a child with less or absolutely no education finds it hard to survive.
Taking up a small job as a domestic help or in a restaurant for a nominal salary of ₹ 750-1800 per month, does not leave a child with enough time for primary and secondary education. All this renders a child completely illiterate, unskilled and perhaps unhealthy.
Free education should be provided to poor children to motivate their parents to send them to school. The government should come forward with schemes for upliftment of the poor and unemployed. This will take away the burden of earning their livelihood from the tender shoulders of poor children. Hence, no child should be engaged as labourers, both from a legal point of view as well in the interest of the child’s future.