Following is the complete question bank for – 

Lost Spring

MCQ Based Questions-

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQ – TEST)                                                                             

1.’Why do you do this?’ This question was asked by the author to

(a) the bangle sellers                                       (b) Mahesh

(c) Saheb                                                            (d) Saheb’s mother

2.Saheb’s profession was that of a

(a) cook                    (b) rag-picker                 (c) bangle seller                (d) driver

3.Saheb’s home, before Delhi, was in

(a) Bengal                (b) Orissa                        (c) Dhaka                            (d) Bihar

4.Why did Saheb and his family move to Delhi?

(a) because storms had swept away their fields and homes

(b) their village was flooded

(c) there were landslides

(d) there was a deadly epidemic in the village

5.What were Saheb and his family looking for in Delhi?

(a) dollars                         (b) rupees                      (c) pounds                                 (d) gold

6. The author advised Saheb to go to

(a) school                         (b) college                       (c) club                                      (d) playground

7. ‘Is your school ready? Who asked this question?

(a) Saheb’s mother         (b) Saheb’s friends        (c) the author                         (d) Saheb

8. Saheb’s full name was

(a) Mughal-e-Azam                                                (b) Saheb-e-Alam

(c) Shahenshah-e-Alam                                        (d) Shah Jahan

9. One explanation which the author gets about children choosing to remain barefoot is

(a) they have no money                                      (b) tradition

(c) no matching pairs                                            (d) like to wear only chappals

10. The man from Udipi was the son of an

(a) doctor                            (b) teacher                         (c) priest                      (d) engineer

11. What did the man from Udipi pray for, when he was young?
(a) a pair of trousers                                          (b) a pair of shoes

(c) a few friends                                                  (d) an opportunity to study in a school

12. The author visited the town and temple of Udipi after

(a) ten years                      (b) five years                      (c) thirty years                    (d) fifteen years

13. The colony of ragpickers is situated in

(a) the south of Delhi                                       (b) Mongolpuri

(c) Jehangirpuri                                                  (d) Seemapuri

14. The squatters in Seemapuri arrived as refugees from Bangladesh in

(a) 1965                               (b) 1971                                (c) 1982                           (d) 1986

15. The rag pickers have no identity, but they have

(a) permits                         (b) passports                        (c) ration cards              (d) licenses

16. For the rag pickers, food is more important than

(a) clothes                           (b) shoes                               (c) identity                    (d) shelter

17. According to the author, rag picking has become, over the years, a

(a) profession (b) fine art (c) tradition (d) culture

18. Garbage to the rag pickers is

(a) money                                                  (b) daily bread, a roof over their heads

(c) gold                                                        (d) silver

19. One day, Saheb was seen by the author, watching some young men playing

(a) cricket                         (b) tennis                            (c) hockey                         (d) soccer

20. Saheb did not like to work in the tea-stall because

(a) he was getting only Z 800                                         (b) he hated the steel canister

(c) he was no longer his own master                            (d) he had to carry heavy bags now

21. Mukesh belonged to a family of

(a) farmers                       (b) rag-pickers                   (c) bangle makers               (d) motor

mechanics

22. What did Mukesh want to become, on growing up?

(a) a motor mechanic                                                 (b) a shopkeeper

(c) a bangle maker                                                      (d) a carpenter

23. Bangle industry flourishes in the town of

(a) Ferozepur                   (b) Firozabad                    (c) Ferozgarh                         (d) Farukhabad

24. The families of the bangle-makers live in

(a) comfortable environment                                  (b) big houses

(c) very small houses                                                 (d) factories

25. If laws were to be enforced, it would bring about change and relief in the lives of about

(a) ten thousand children                                                     (b) twenty thousand children

(c) hundred children                                                               (d) a thousand children

26. Mukesh’s house is covered with

(a) stones                               (b) bricks                                 (c) tiles                                  (d)

thatch

27. The frail woman in Mukesh’s house is his

(a) mother                              (b) elder brother’s wife        (c) wife                                 (d), niece

28. Mukesh’s father is a

(a) car-driver                        (b) bangle-maker                   (c) cracker-maker               (d)

mechanic

29. What was the profession of Mukesh’s father before he became a bangle-maker?

(a) tailor                               (b) carpenter                           (c) plumber                         (d) Mason

30. ‘Can a god-given lineage ever be broken?’ These words were spoken by
(a) Mukesh                                                                            (b) Mukesh’s grandfather

(c) Mukesh’s grandmother                                                 (d) the author

31. Sunny-gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink, purple, every colour born out of the seven
colours of the rainbow. What is this a reference to?

(a) clothes                              (b) birds                                    (c) bangles                               (d)

bindis

32. Savita, a young girl is seen by the author,

(a) stitching clothes                                                                 (b) washing clothes

(c) soldering pieces of glass                                                   (d) embroidering a sheet

33. Which of the objects below best serves as a symbol of an Indian woman’s `suhag’?

(a) bindi                                 (b) sindoor                             (c) bangles                           (d) henna-

dyed hands

34. ‘She has not enjoyed a full meal in her entire lifetime’. Who is ‘she’ in the given
sentence?

(a) the elderly woman sitting close to Savita

(b) Mukesh’s sister-in-law

(c) Mukesh’s mother                                                          (d) Mukesh’s grandmother

35. “One wonders if he has achieved what many have failed to achieve in their lifetime. He
has a roof over his head”; these lines were said in reference to the condition of

(a) the elderly woman’s old husband                          (b) Mukesh’s father

(c) the bangle factory owner                                          (d) Mukesh’s elder brother

36. Who will be hauled up by the police if they try to get organized?

(a) the old citizens                                                           (b) the owners of the factories

(c) the group of young men                                          (d) Mukesh’s family

37. What bothers the author most about the bangle makers?

(a) the stigma of poverty and caste                            (b) the affluence of the landlords

(c) the behaviour of the factory owners                    (d) the labour laws

38. The sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of the law, the bureaucrats
and the politicians. Together these people

(a) worked for the benefit or bangle makers

(b) imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down

(c) worked for the upliftment of women

(d) abolished child labour

39. Mukesh wants to learn to become a motor mechanic by

(a) finding a tutor                                                    (b) going to a garage to learn

(c) by reading books                                               (d) by joining a school

40. He is content to dream of cars. Who is ‘he’ being talked about?

(a) Mukesh                             (b) Saheb                            (c) Sahukar                        (d) Politician

ANSWERS

1. (c) Saheb

2. (b) rag-picker

3. (c) Dhaka

4.(a) because storms had swept away their fields and homes

5.(d) gold

6. (a) school

7. (d) Saheb

8. (b) Saheb-e-Alam

9.(b) tradition

10.(c) priest
11. (b) a pair of shoes

12. (c) thirty years

13. (d) Seemapuri

14. (b) 1971                     

15. (a) permits

16. (c) identity

17. (b) fine art                       

18. (b) daily bread, a roof over their heads

19.(b) tennis

20. (c) he was no longer his own master

21. (c) bangle makers

22. (a) a motor mechanic     

23. (b) Firozabad

24.(c) very small houses

25. (b) twenty thousand children

26. (d) thatch

27. (b) elder brother’s wife

28. (b) bangle-maker

29.(a) tailor

30. (c) Mukesh’s grandmother

31. (c) bangles

32.(c) soldering pieces of glass

33. (c) bangles

34. (a) the elderly woman sitting close to Savita

35.(a) the elderly woman’s old husband

36. (c) the group of young men

37.(a) the stigma of poverty and caste

38.(b) imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down

39.(b) going to a garage to learn

40. (a) Mukesh
Short Answer Type Questions  (30 to 40 words)

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?

Ans. The people migrate from villages to cities because of natural disasters and resulting
poverty. A rag picker recollects many storms that have swept away his fields and home in
Dhaka. That is why they left, looking for gold in the big city where he now lives.

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?

Ans. I agree that promises made to poor children are rarely kept. It is easy to tell poor children
that they should be in school, but are we ever in a position to start a school? As individuals, it is
difficult to provide facilities and assistance that can remove poverty.

Q3. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come
from?

Ans. Saheb lives on the garbage dumps in Seemapuri on the outskirts of Delhi. His family came
from Bangladesh. Survival in Seemapuri means rag picking. Garbage to them is gold. Saheb
looks for coins in the heaps of garbage. He even finds a ten rupee note sometimes. When you can
find a silver coin in a heap of garbage you don’t stop scrounging, for there is hope of finding
more.

Q4. Describe Seemapuri.

Ans. Seemapuri is in the periphery of Delhi, yet miles away from it metaphorically. Squatters
who came from Bangladesh in 1971 live here. Their shanties are devoid of sewage, drainage and
running water. The main occupation of the people living there is rag picking.
Q5. What is the meaning of Saheb’s full name? What does he do the whole day?

Ans. 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 not believe it. He roams the sheets barefoot with other children carrying
plastic bags and scrounging for garbage.

Q6. Describe the importance of garbage in the life of residents of Seemapuri.

Ans. Garbage has acquired the proportions of a fine art. For the elders, garbage is a means of
survival and for the small children who scrounge heaps of garbage, it is wrapped in wonder.
Sometimes they find a rupee or even a ten rupee note. This gives them hope of finding more.

Q7. Where does the author find Saheb one winter morning? What does a dream come true
for him?

Ans. The author finds Saheb standing by the fenced gat of a neighbourhood club. He is watching
two young men, dressed in white playing tennis. He is wearing discarded tennis shoes. One of
them has a hole. Having walked barefoot, even shoes with a hole is a dream come true.

Q8. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?

Ans. Travelling across the country the author has observed children walking barefoot in cities
and on village roads. It does not lack money but a tradition to stay barefoot is one explanation.
The author wonders if this is only an excuse to explain away a constant state of poverty.

Q9. Is Saheb happy working at the Tea Stall? Explain.

Ans. Saheb has got a job at a small tea stall. He is paid 800 and all his meals. There seems to be
some improvement in his condition but his face has lost the carefree look. The steel canister that
he carries belongs to the owner of the shop. It seems heavier than the plastic bag he used to carry
as a rag picker. ‘Saheb is no longer his own master’.
Q10. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

Ans. Firozabad is famous for 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 women all over India.

Q11. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

Ans. The glass bangle industry of Firozabad employs children and they work in very unhealthy
and hazardous conditions. They are made to work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures,
in dingy cells without air and light. Almost twenty thousand children work in the hot furnaces,
often losing the brightness of their eyes. A number of workers become blind with the dust from
polishing the glass of bangles. Many children lose their eyesight before they become adults.

Q12. How is Mukesh’s attitude toward his situation different from that of his family?

Ans. Mukesh insists on being his own master. He has seen enough of the poverty, the dangers
and the sub-human living conditions of the glass bangle industry. He wants to be a motor
mechanic. His resourcefulness and determination to break free are admirable, even though ‘his
dream looks like a mirage’, amidst the dust of streets. He stands out with a positive attitude
which is so different from that of his family. The people of Ferozabad are struggling to survive
the burden of the lineage. Mukesh, on the other hand, wants to rebuild his destiny and not be a
glass bangle maker.

Q13. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in
poverty?

Ans. The workers in the bangle industry have remained in poverty and years of mind-numbing
labour has destroyed their initiative and ability to dream. They cannot organize themselves into a
cooperative as they have fallen into a vicious circle of middlemen who trapped their fathers and
forefathers. The police beat them up if they get organized, there is no leader who can take up
their cause. The author identifies the forces that conspire against them. They are the stigma of
caste, a destructive cycle of the Sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of the law,
the bureaucrats and the politicians.

Q14. How does the author focus on the ‘perpetual state of poverty’ of the children not
wearing footwear?

Ans. Most of the young ragpickers do not wear footwear. The author noticed this. Some of them
were even without chappals. The children wanted to wear shoes though some of then say that it
is tradition to stay barefoot. The author attributes it to the scarcity of money. It is poverty that
does not allow them to possess footwear.

Q15. Explain ‘For children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their
parents’.

Ans. The small ragpickers scrounge heaps of garbage for some coin, note or valuable things.
Sometimes they do find a rupee or even a ten rupee note. Then they hope to find more. They
search excitedly. For children, garbage is wrapped in wonder. For the grown-ups, it is a means of
survival. Hence, garbage has two different meanings.

Q16. Who is Mukesh? What is his dream? Why does it look like a ‘mirage amidst the
dust’?

Ans. Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle maker of Firozabad, where every other family is
engaged in making bangles. His poor father has been unable to renovate the house or educate his
sons. Mukesh wants to be his own master and dreams of becoming a motor mechanic. He wants
to drive a car. But the conditions under which he exists, make this dreamlike an illusion, a
mirage.

Q17. What contrast do you notice between the colours of the bangles and the atmosphere of
the place where these bangles are made?
Ans. The bangles made in Firozabad are of every hue (colour) born out of the rainbow. They are
sunny, gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink and purple. Boys and girls work in dark dingy huts
next to the flames of oil lamps around the high heat of the furnaces, blowing glass, welding and
soldering it to make bangles. The colours of the bangles ironically have no meaning for the
bangle makers.

Q18. The bangle makers are ignorant of something. What is it? What would happen if laws
were enforced strictly?

Ans. The bangle-makers are unaware of the fact that child labour is illegal and has been banned
by law. The industry is hazardous to their health. Many children become blind before reaching
adulthood. If the law were enforced strictly, 20000 children would be released from working
hard throughout the day at hot furnaces with high temperatures.

Q19. `Savita is a symbol of innocence and efficiency’. Comment.

Ans. Savita is a young girl. She has put on a drab pink dress. She is soldering pieces of glass.
Her hands move mechanically and efficiently like the tongs of a machine. She is innocent and
does not understand the sanctity of the bangles that she is working so hard to create.

Q20. Why can’t the bangle makers not organize themselves into a cooperative?

Ans. Most of the young bangle makers are subjected to exploitation at the hands of the
middlemen. They are frightened of the police who usually haul them up, beat them and drag
them to jail for daring to form co-operatives. There is no leader among them to help out and their
parents are too old and helpless. Hence, the idea of organizing themselves into a cooperative
becomes too far-fetched.

21. Who is Mukesh? What is his dream?

Ans. Mukesh is a young boy from a poor family of Firozabad. His family is under heavy debt
and is working in a bangle-making factory for generations. But Mukesh is different and dreams
of becoming a motor mechanic and drive a car.

22. Why could the bangle makers not organise themselves into a cooperative?

Ans. The bangle makers could not organise themselves into a cooperative due to being exploited
by the middlemen. They are not able to break the vicious circle which is created by the
middlemen, sahukars, politicians, bureaucrats and policemen.

23. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family members?

Ans. Though Mukesh belongs to a bangle maker family, he has his ambition to be a motor
mechanic. He doesn’t want to be subjected to the exploitation of the middlemen. He wants to
break the generations-old family tradition of bangle making.

24. Why had the ragpickers come to live in Seemapuri?

Ans. The ragpickers are the migrants from Bangladesh. They have been living at Seemapuri
since 1971. They have no identity and no permit. They only have ration cards that get their
names on the voters’ list and enable them to buy grain. These are refugees from Bangladesh who
come and settled in Seemapuri 45 years ago.

25. To which country did Saheb’s parents originally belong? Why did they come to India?

Ans. Saheb’s parents originally belonged to Bangladesh. They left their village in Dhaka in 1971
due to extreme poverty and migrated to Delhi and started living at Seemapuri.

26. In what sense is garbage gold to the ragpickers?       

Or
What does garbage mean to the children of Seemapuri and to their parents?

Ans. Garbage is gold to the ragpickers because in the garbage, they hope to get something useful
for them, or some money, or some articles which can be sold at the junk shop to fetch them
money. For the ragpickers, garbage is a means of their livelihood. For children of the ragpickers,
garbage is wrapped in wonder. They find new things in the garbage every day.

27. Whom does Anees Jung Name for the sorry plight of the bangle makers?

Ans. Anees Jung says the bangle makers of Firozabad are caught in the vicious circle of
sahukars,  middlemen, police, bureaucrats and politicians who keep on exploiting them. Due to
this, bangle makers are not able to organize themselves into a cooperative.

28. How is Mukesh different from other bangle makers of Firozabad?

Or

Describe Mukesh as an ambitious person.  

Ans. Mukesh, a young boy of a bangle makers’ family in Firozabad, is different from others
because he is ambitious and wants to break the generations-old traditions. He, unlike others,
doesn’t want to make bangles. He wants to be a motor mechanic and drive a car.

29. How was Saheb’s life at the tea stall?

Ans. Saheb lost his freedom as a child at the tea stall. Though earning? 800 per month and two
times meal,  he was not happy. Now he was no more his own master. He had to obey his
employer and had lost the carefree life that he had earlier.

30. Justify the title `Lost Spring’.

Ans. Spring symbolizes ‘childhood’. In the chapter ‘Lost Spring’, Anees Jung has described the
lost childhood of thousands of poor children in our country who live in slums like Seemapuri or
work in the bangle industry of Firozabad.

31. What was Saheb full name? Why was it ironical?

Ans. Saheb’s full name was ‘Saheb-e-Alam’ which means the master of the universe. But, on the
contrary, Saheb is a victim of poverty. He lives in a slum and is not able to get a meal. So the
name of Saheb is highly ironical.

32. ‘Seemapuri is on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it metaphorically.’ What
does the author mean by this?

Ans. Seemapuri is on the periphery of Delhi which is a metropolitan city and the capital of India.
The living conditions at Seemapuri are highly pathetic. This place is devoid of even basic
facilities such as to as sewage drainage and running water. The houses are made of mud with the
roof of tin and tarpaulin. It is beyond imagination that such a place is part of a progressive and
developed capital of the country.

33. ‘Together they have imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down.’ Who
do ‘they’ refer to? What is the ‘baggage’ and why can the child not get rid of it?

Ans. ‘They’ refers to the sahukars, middlemen, bureaucrats, politicians and policemen. Together

all these forces have created a vicious circle for the bangle makers. The ‘baggage’ refers to the
burden or the compulsion to work in the bangle factories. The child cannot refuse to work in
these factories due to the heavy debt on his parents. As a result, they are compelled to work in
hazardous conditions.

24. ‘When I sense a flash of it in Mukesh I am cheered.’ What is this a reference to and why
does it make the author happy?
Ans. This refers to the fact that Mukesh had the courage to think differently and dream of a
better life. Unlike others, Mukesh had dared to dream. This is something which makes the author
happy. She is pleased to see the spark of optimism and determination in Mukesh’ eyes.

Important Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- to be answered in about 100 -150 words
each

Value-based questions-

ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS                                                                                  

Q1. ‘The beauty of the glass bangles of Firozabad contrasts with the misery of people who
produce them’. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangle industry. Discuss the
endless spiral of poverty, apathy, greed and injustice present there.

Ans. The lesson ‘Lost Spring’ describes the pathetic condition of the bangle-makers. On the one
hand, it is the plight of the street children forced into labour early in life and denied the
opportunity of studying in schools. The glass industry has its own hazards. The illegal
employment of very young children and the pathetic working conditions leads to many children
becoming blind. They work in glass furnaces with high temperatures. Their dingy cells have no
light, nor any ventilation. Boys and girls work under these conditions while welding pieces of
coloured glass to make bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light
outside. They thus often lose their eyesight at a young age.

Over and above this, it is the apathy and callousness of society and the political class to the
sufferings of the poor that makes us feel sympathetic towards these bangle makers. The poverty-
stricken bangle makers also suffer because of the exploitation at tthe he hands of the middlemen
and politicians. They do not improve their lot and instead get only beaten up by the police. They
are unable to organize themselves. Hence, their life is full of sufferings i.e. physical and
emotional.
Q2. “For the children, it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders, it is a means of survival.”
What kind of life do the rag-pickers of Seemapuri lead? Answer in about 120-150
words.                      [All India 2017]

Ans. 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 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 appears 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.

3. ‘Grinding poverty and traditions 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?           

Ans.No doubt grinding poverty and tradition have condemned the children of ragpickers and
bangle makers to a life of exploitation. The ragpickers’ children have accepted their fate to be
barefoot as their tradition. Similarly, bangle makers persist with bangle making, saying it is their
karma. Their spirits due to constant suppression and servitude make them incapable of raising
their voices against injustice and exploitation.

Mukeshsymbolises the modern youth who dares to fight with their destiny and change it. He has
hope and aspiration to do differently and better his future. In spite of the environment, he is
living in, and with no support from his family, Mukesh wants to break the age-old tradition to
work as a bangle maker throughout his life. He wants to be a motor mechanic. This shows that
one should not give up hope even in the worst circumstances and always strive to do better.

4. ‘Lost Spring’ explains the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn thousands of
people to a lift of abject poverty. Do you agree? Why/Why not?

Ans. ‘Lost Spring’ is indeed a description of the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn
thousands of people to a life of abject poverty.

Saheb, a young ragpicker is doomed to live a miserable life of poverty. He wants to go to school
and play tennis. Due to poverty, he has to even give up his freedom and start working as a helper
at a tea shop. Here he is burdened with the commands of his employer and is forced to live a
miserable life. Another such example is that of Mukesh who belongs to a bangle makers family
in Firozabad. He wants to be a motor mechanic. But his family traditions and poverty have
forced him to work in the inhumane conditions of a bangle factory, in dark rooms and near hot
furnaces.

Thus, the poor and destitute of both Seemapuri and Firozabad are caught in the web of poverty,
servitude, suppression and exploitation.

5. Most of us do not raise our voice against injustice in our society and tend to remain mute
spectators. Anees Jung in her story ‘Lost Spring’ vividly highlights the miserable life of
street children and bangle makers of Firozabad. She wants us to act. Which qualities does
she want the children to develop?

Ans. Anees Jung in her story ‘Lost Spring’ analyses the grinding poverty and traditions which
condemn the small children to live a miserable life of exploitation. Street children or the
ragpickers of Seemapuri are forced to either rely on the garbage for their livelihood or work as
labourers. These children live in a condition of extreme exploitation throughout their lives due to
their poverty. Similar is the situation of children from the bangle making families of Firozabad.
Here the children are forced to accept bangle’ making as their doom due to poverty and family
tradition.
The author has also given a story of resistance and fortitude. In spite of the harsh conditions of
poverty and exploitation, there are children like Mukesh who have refused to accept their fate.
They have their ambition to do something different and better. The author stresses the need to
aspire for betterment. No doubt for this one needs to be daring, confident, diligent and
hardworking.

6. Describe the circumstances which keep the workers in the bangle industry in poverty.

Ans. The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles. But these people work in a very
unhygienic atmosphere. They work in glass furnaces at high temperatures, in dingy cells without
sufficient air and light. In spite of so much hard work, these people live in a state of poverty
because they work in an unorganized manner and are exploited by the middlemen. This results in
their poor state. Even if they try to get organized, they get beaten up by the police. They are not
able to come out of the vicious circle of their exploiters: middlemen, policemen, sahukars,
lawmakers, bureaucrats and politicians. They have been repeatedly exploited physically as well
as economically for generations and so are forced to live a life of poverty.

7. Describe the life of ragpickers at Seemapuri. Why is this place, in spite of being on the
periphery of Delhi, considered miles away from it?                                             

Ans. In 1971, some families migrated from Bangladesh and took refuge, at the outskirt of Delhi,
at a place called Seemapuri. It is a colony where about 10,000 ragpickers and their families live
in structures of mud, with the roof of tin or tarpaulin. They are devoid of basic facilities like
sewage, drainage or running water. They have no identity but a ration card to have their names
on the voters’ list. They have never bothered for their identity because for them food is the prime
focus. Children of these families work as ragpickers and garbage for them is the only means of
survival.

The place Seemapuri, at the periphery of Delhi, the capital of India, yet is miles apart from Delhi
metaphorically. The place is devoid of even basic amenities in contrast to the highly developed
and progressive Delhi.
8. ‘Saheb is no longer his own master. Mukesh insists on being his own master.’ Discuss.

Ans. Both Saheb and Mukesh, symbolise the exploited children in India who are forced to live a
life of poverty. Saheb is a ragpicker who lives at Seemapuri. His only means of survival is
garbage. He lives in a subliminal condition. Finally, he starts working at a tea stall where he
completely loses his freedom and childhood. But he has compromised with his fate. He has
accepted his condition and has completely given up himself. Mukesh, on the other hand, is a boy
who also belongs to a very poor family but doesn’t give up and compromise with circumstances.
Though he belongs to a bangle maker’s family and is destined to work as a bangle maker, he
refuses to accept it. He has his own ambition to become a motor mechanic. He doesn’t want to be
dominated and exploited by others. He wants to be his own master and take his own decisions.

9. The paradoxes of the society that we live in are aptly featured in ‘Lost Spring’.Comment.

Ans. ‘Lost Spring’ is a vivid description of the grinding poverty and tradition that condemn the
children in our country to a life of poverty and exploitation.

Saheb, a small boy, who is a ragpicker and relies on garbage for his living, seems to be very
enthusiastic about going to school. But he never gets this opportunity and his entire childhood is
lost in solving the greatest problem of his life, i.e. to earn a meal. He has to compromise with his
freedom and joy of childhood and works at a tea stall to earn money.

Mukesh, who was born into a bangle maker’s family of Firozabad, wants to be a motor
mechanic. He works in the most hazardous conditions in the glass furnaces with high
temperature and no lights. People of his community are caught in the vicious circle of sahukars,
middlemen, policemen, bureaucrats and politicians. Mukesh wants to be his own master and do
something different.

The story very clearly describes the reality of our society.

10. Justify the title of the story ‘Lost Spring’.

Ans. Childhood is considered the spring of human life. It is full of exuberance and playfulness.
But the children of ragpickers of Seemapuri and bangle makers of Firozabad are deprived of this
period; their life. They never enjoy the carefreeness of their childhood. They have to assist their
poor parents in earning their living since the very tender age.

In fact, the story brings out the reality of our society where poor children work as ragpickers and
bangle bakers in inhuman and hazardous conditions. The plight of these children highlights the
apathy of the rich and powerful people of the society who have no concern for them.

‘Lost Spring’ refers to those moments of childhood which are full of happiness, growth and
carefree spirit and which have been snatched from the children of Seemapuri and Firozabad. The
title justifies the story which makes an effort to sensitize the people towards these poor children.
It emphasizes the need to save the childhood of these poor children and provide them with their
basic rights of a decent life and good education.

11. “For the children, it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders, it is a means of survival.”
What kind of life do the rag-pickers of Seemapuri lead? Answer in about 120-150 words.
[All India 2017]

Ans. 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 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 fine art’. An army of barefoot children appears 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.

Value Based Questions and Answers of Lost Spring

 VALUE BASED QUESTIONS

Answer the following questions                                                           

Q1. Most of us do not raise our voice against injustice in our society. Anees Jung in her
story, ‘Lost Spring’ vividly highlights the miserable life of street children and bangle
makers of Firozabad. What values do we need to inculcate among the people to bring back
the spring in the lives of these children.

Ans. Anees Jung wants to uplift the cause of street children and bangle makers. Children living
in Seemapuri do not go to school as there is no school. They are barefooted and spend their days
scrounging for something wonderful in heaps of garbage. The children lead miserable lives,
caught in the vicious circle of poverty into which they have fallen due to the middlemen,
chukars, and law enforcement officials.

Media can create awareness about the underprivileged. We need to garner support from
youngsters and start night schools for children like Saheb-e-Alam. There is hope when Anees
Jung encounters youngsters like Mukesh who dare to dream. More people need to come forward
and create an environment in which these children dare to dream.

Q2. “None of them knows that it is illegal for children like him to work in the glass
furnaces with high temperatures”. What can be done to improve a lot of poor children in
India?

Ans. The problem of employment of children in hazardous conditions is prevalent in India. The

Government has taken measures to curb this malpractice. However, the implementation of the
laws must be stringent. The children must be provided with education. Moreover, the parents
also have to be made aware of the hazards and dangers their children face in such working in
hazardous conditions.

Most of the children working in Firozabad lose their eyesight before they become adults. There
is a vicious cycle of poverty due to middlemen, chukars and law enforcers. A situation must be
created where the children can exercise their right to education and their parents receive their
dues.

3.’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—‘

‘ These words from ‘Lost Spring’ throw light on the grinding poverty that forces many
children in India to lead a life of exploitation whereby they have to slog in subhuman
conditions.

Driven by a concern for such children, who lose their childhood and who go through an
unjust treatment, write an article in 100-150 words on ‘Child Labour in India.’

Ans.                                                       CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA

A child, whose childhood has been snatched away, now works hard, day and night, to earn a
meagre pay.

This is the scenario with more than 10 million children who are employed in hazardous and
dangerous trades and industries. At a tender age, they are forced to work for 10-15 hours under
sub-human conditions. Fireworks factory, cashew nut industry, bangle-making factories, carpet
industry—there are innumerable such factories prevailing in our country where these children are
being exploited. They are underpaid and ill-treated. As a result, they develop many life-long
deformities like losing their eyesight, asthma, bone deformity, etc.

In spite of the constitutional laws against child labour and RTE which enforces the right to
education for each and every child below the age of 14 years, these children are deprived of any
education. Their day starts in factories and ends there.

It is said that children are the future of a nation. We need to ponder on what kind of future are we
building. With so many children stuck in the clutches of child labour, we are building an
uneducated• unhealthy and diseased India. So, it is high time that the government and society
work for these underprivileged children by strictly implementing the law and rehabilitating them