kiddingtown Lost Spring http://kiddingtow n.com/lost-spring/ March 8, 2011 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Where is Saheb coming from?

? Why did he have to leave his cou ntry? Saheb is a rag picker who lives in Seemapuri on the Delhi-UP boarder. He c ame to Seemapuri from Bangladesh with thousands of others forced by natural cala mities there. Why did the author realize that her advice was 'hollow?' On meetin g Saheb the author advised him to go to school. But when she gave an afterthough t the author realized that the thought of going to school had never occurred to children like Saheb. For them rag picking is more meaningful than schooling and learning. Why was the author embarrassed when Saheb asked her if her school was ready? Seeing Saheb ruining his childhood picking waste, the author once asked h im if he would join her school if she started one. Saheb gave her a positive ans wer. Another day when the two met, Saheb asked her if her school was ready. The author suddenly felt speechless as she had not meant to start a school as Saheb had expected. How does Anees Jung explain the over sensitivity of the poor rag p ickers to the rich men's promises? Anees Jung strongly believes that the poor pe ople are over sensitive to the promises of the rich. She had experienced this in the case of Saheb who believed the fake promise of starting a school given by h er. Why should there be a hard time for Saheb to believe the meaning of his name ? Saheb's full name is Saheb-E-Alam which means the Lord of the Universe. Being a poor rag picker, Saheb cannot believe that the Lord of the Universe is suppose d to be like him and therefore he will struggle to believe the meaning of his na me. How does the author reason the barefoot tradition of the rag pickers? The ra g pickers of Seemapuri are traditionally barefooted. The author is doubtful abou t the origin and reasons behind this tradition of the rag pickers. She believes that it is an excuse to explain their poverty. But on the other side she sees th e possibilities of the traces of an ancient tradition preserved by the poor rag pickers. What does the story the man from Udipi told the author tell about the b lindness to traditions and religious stigma? A man from Udipi once told the auth or his own story when he was a boy and his father a priest in the temple. As a y oung boy he would go to school past this old temple and stop briefly to pray for a pair of shoes. Thirty years later when the author visited his town and the te mple, she saw a lot of modern instances in the town and lifestyle of the people. The author means to indicate the timely changes education brings to people and how the illiterate rag pickers remain unchanged, carrying the rotten traditions. How is Seemapuri both near and far away from Delhi? Seemapuri is a backward are a on the periphery of Delhi. Geographically it is very close to Delhi

whereas its traditions, standard of life and people are far behind the time. Foo d is more important for survival than an identity. How is this statement true in the lives of the Seemapurian rag pickers? Thousands of rag pickers live in Seem apuri. They do not have any identity in their society or in the country. Yet the y are happy for the fact that here thsey don't need to starve as it used to be i n Bangladesh where they had come from. How did Seemapuri turn out to be a better place for the Bangladeshis? Seemapuri was a deserted area when the Bangladeshis arrived here three decades ago. They were forced to come here due to the natura l disasters in Bangladesh. They loved Seemapuri because they could survive here. They had food and shelter here. How do you understand rag picking having the pr oportions of a fine art in Seemapuri? Like any other art form, rag picking posse sses certain talents and rules. One needs guidance and inborn talents to be a su ccessful rag picker. He should know where to find garbage, what to take, what to ignore, what time is best for it and so on. In Seemapuri every child is taught the essential art of rag picking. 'It seems that for children, garbage has a mea ning different from what it means to their parents.' Explain. In Seemapuri survi val means rag picking. The elders have made it their profession for a fixed wage s whereas for the children rag picking is a game of treasure-hunting. They work through the garbage with a hope that one day they would get a gold coin or a rup ee note from the garbage heap. Why is Saheb keenly watching the neighborhood ten nis players? Sometime Saheb can be found outside the club watching people play t ennis. He is not interested in playing tennis. He was content to watch the game from outside. He is more interested in using the swing. Whether Saheb likes or n ot, he is altogether changed for all his prosperity. What is the change? What do es this change suggest? Saheb was once a rag picker and now works in a tea-shop, carrying milk for a better, fixed wages. Unlike the others in his family and ca ste, Saheb's willingness to opt another line of work other than the traditional way of following his lineage is a mark of change in his life. How is Mukesh's at titude different from that of Saheb, both two sides of the same coin? Mukesh and Saheb belong to slums and are forced to work as children. Saheb is cool and lac k much determination in life. He is less expressive. Changes happened to him une xpectedly. Mukesh is determined and well planned. He is practical too. Unlike th e rest of his people, Mukesh is ready to rebel with the social set up and is opt imistic about his bright future. What is the incongruity of Mukesh's dreaming to be a motor mechanic? Mukesh belongs to a bangle-making family in Firozabad. His people believe that they have to keep up with the traditions and that they have to do no other work other than bangle-making for the auspiciousness of marriage in the country. But Mukesh wishes to be a motor mechanic which is out of questi on in his tradition. How does the author narrate the child labor prevailing in F irozabad?

Around 20,000 children are working in glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light. Here they slog their daylight hours, often lo sing the brightness of their eyes. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. Due to this they often end up losing their eyesight befor e they become adults. Karam and God-given lineage amply tell the sad picture of the stigma of religion that rules the poor people of India? Explain. India is st ill primitive in many spheres of life even in our time. A big majority of Indian s in the villages still believe the division of labor system that began centurie s ago. When one is not doing any better in life due to the unwillingness to adop t another profession, they accept it as God's plan and do the same work as if it is a God given lineage. Which are the two hurdles that Mukesh has to break away for a better existence? Mukesh has realized that being a bangle maker will not alleviate his poverty and therefore he wishes to become a motor mechanic to be s uccessful in his life. But doing any job other than bangle making is out of ques tion in his society. He has to first convince his family and society of the need of undertaking another profession. If the society lets him choose his way, Muke sh has to face an inconvincible group of middlemen, politicians and their watchd ogs, the police of Firozabad, who are altogether the sole beneficiaries. Why is Saheb not his own master? Saheb was his own master when he was a rag picker. He was not accountable to anyone nor was he to work for someone. But now Saheb is w orking for a tea shop, having to carry milk from a milk booth. Even though he is paid Rs.800 and all his meals, Saheb has lost his freedom to roam with his frie nds and to be his own master. How far is the change good for Saheb? Saheb was on ce a carefree boy, with no responsibilities and tensions, and of course, no achi evements in life. But now he is a responsible boy, earning more than anyone in h is society does. While the others go on a lazy life, Saheb-e-Alam is rising to a prosperous life. Soon he will be rich and leading a different life and a model for the rest of him. In what sense is Mukesh s father a failure and why is he a more successful man than many others in his slum? Mukesh s father was once a tailor befo re he became a bangle maker in Firozabad. He was a failure in his life as he cou ld not teach his two sons nothing other than the art of bangle making. But he co uld have a better house than all the rest of the people in his slum and therefor e he is a success in his life. Explain: Daring is not part of his growing up. Mu kesh s society does not dare to question the social evils that they suffer under the middlemen and politicians and policemen. Most people here believe that they are asked by god to carry on this unprofitable profession of bangle making while so me people blame their destiny for their wretchedness. So no one is allowed to th ink differently and the question of how to overcome the curse of the middlemen u sually doesn t arise among them because if any one dared to rise against them, they are suppressed. What do you mean by 'stigma of religion?' Religion has the power to make anyone anything. Once one got trapped by any religion, he is no more ru led by reason; superstitions start ruling them. He finds reason for any senseles s act of him in the mirage created by the religion. This illusion is called stig ma of religion.

What is the vicious circle for the people of Firozabad? Why is it called so? Peo ple of Firozabad live in an illusionary world. Bangle makers over generations, t hey believe that it is a god-given work that they are doing and feel proud of be ing bangle makers. In fact this superstition is a trap for them. They are in an inescapable whirlpool, surrounded by beliefs and traditions. They do not underst and that the rich people and the politicians want them believe such beliefs. Do you think Mukesh will reach his goal of becoming a motor mechanic? Give reasons. Yes, there are all the possibilities that Mukesh will one day become a motor me chanic. First of all it is his unique ambition in life that he shares with none else in his society. He is aware of the hurdles he has to face. His dream is a v ery reasonable and not far from his reach if he could overthrow the middlemen or run away from them.