THE LOST CHILD- Mulk Raj Anand

Theme
The lost child is a universal story written in the perspective of Indian village life. Throughout
the narration the child and the parents are not given any names. The child is the representative
of universal childhood and the parents are the true advocates of universal paternity disciplining
the child under tight vigilance. But despite all checks and restrictions nothing is of greater
importance in life than the bond of true relationship between a child and his parent.

GIST

• The story is all about the thrilling as well as frightful experiences of a small child who
accompanies his parents to a village fair on the occasion of spring festival. • The passage
to the fair is full of gaiety, spectacular sceneries and allurements to stimulate the sense
organs of any child anywhere in the world.
• The child is full of excitement, enthusiasm and curiosity. He is very sensitive about the
outside world and gets attracted towards everything that comes in his way. • All the
village folks are dressed in customary colourful dresses and yellow turbans as it is the
spring festival and the child is very excited to see such a huge crowd going in one
direction busy in merry making, singing, laughing and enjoying every moment of the
event.
• On the way he gets tempted towards the beautiful toys and meekly pleads his father to
buy them for him but father’s cold stare extinguishes his desire and damps his spirit. • He
is disheartened but very soon he overcomes his disappointment. • His eyes are
mesmerized when he beholds the scenic beauty of the flowering mustered fields wavering
like the ripples of a river with the gust of wind. • He gets very curious when he sees the
insects coming out of their holes to enjoy the sunshine.
• The bustling dragonflies with their gauzy purple wings steal his heart. • The world of
butterflies, bee hives and small insects arouse his curiosity to the core. • He runs
frivolously to catch them. But his mother’s cautionary call prevents him from getting that
pleasure.
• Now he is attracted by the majestic beauty of the grove where an old banyan tree stands
sheltering many blossoming trees.
• The intoxicating perfume of their pollen mingled with soft cool breeze pleases him most
and he stands there dumbfounded.
• A shower of petals falls upon the child and forgetting everything he tries to gather the
raining petals. The titillating touch of the soft flowers delights him extremely. • The
melodious cooing of dove and koel fills his heart with immense pleasure and the sound of
flute of a snake charmer hypnotizes him.
• But his parent’s call pulls him back from his paradise and a little bit disgusted he
follows them obediently.
• His mouth waters for his favorite sweet but his demand goes unheeded. • He also
suppresses his desire to have the scented garland and colorful balloons as his
presumptions regarding the eternal denial of his father for everything based on his past
experiences warn him not to yearn for them.
• Knowing well that his parents will not like him to listen to the coarse music of the flute
of the juggler he himself dismisses the idea of stopping there.
• An under current of disappointment, resentment and frustration runs in the heart of the
child as he is denied everything he wants to get.
• But quite stoically he braves the heartlessness of his parents.
• After making so many sacrifices he reaches a spot where people are enjoying the ride of
a roundabout.
 • Mesmerized he watches the motion of the roundabout intently unaware of the fact that
he is separated from his parents.
• This time the child could not resist his desire to go on the ride.
• Suppressing all his fears and anticipations he makes a bold request to get on the ride but
when he looks back he does not find his parents there to answer him. • The child calls
them aloud but his calls remain unanswered. He gets confused and panic stricken.
• In utter bewilderment he runs to and fro to look for them but to no avail. • A kind person
takes pity on the child and tries to console and comfort him. • Just to divert his mind he
offers him all of his favourite things he desired most to
have previously but all of a sudden they all lose significance for the child. •
Constantly he goes on crying,”I want my mother I want my father.” This proves that
nothing is of more importance for the child than the protective and caring shelter of his
parents.
Class 9 Moments – Chapter 1: The Lost Child English

1. What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?
Answer: The child sees many things which fascinates him on his way to thefair. He
saw many toy shops on road sides. To distract him from toys, his mother shows him a
flowering mustard field nearby. In the fields, the child sees dragon flies, butterflies
fluttering around the flowers. Then, while walking on the footpath he was amazed by
the insects and worms. After entering the grove where his parents were resting, he
saw cooing doves. As he neared the village with his parents, he saw huge crowds of
people going to the fair. As the distance to the fair gets closer, he sees many shops
converging to fair. A sweetmeat seller selling sweets like burfi andGulab-jamun and a
little further he comes across a flower seller who was selling a garland of Gulmohar.
Walking ahead, he sees a man selling rainbow coloured balloons. He also saw a snake
charmer who stood playing a flute to a snake. Finally, before losing track of his parents
he saw a roundabout swing.

The child keeps lagging on the way because the child is fascinated by all the things he sees
on his way. At times, he stops to buy toys and at other times he stops to admire the beauty
of the nature – collecting flowers, catching butterflies.

2. In the fair he wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without waiting
for an Answer?
Answer: Some of the things child wants in the fair are:
• Toys and Balloons
• Burfi from the sweetmeat seller
• Garland of Gulmohar
• Watching the snake charmer play flute to a snake
• A ride in the roundabout

The boy moved on without waiting for an answer because he knew that his request would
be refused every time.

3. When does he realize that he has lost his way? How have his anxiety and insecurity been
described?
Answer: He realises that he has lost his way when on reaching the roundabout; he stopped
to observe it moving in full swing, with men, women and children enjoying themselves on it.
Watching them intently he turned to his parents to ask for permission to go on the rounds
Class 9 Moments – Chapter 1: The Lost Child English

but there was no reply from them. He turned to look for them, but they were not there. He
looked all around but there was no sign of them. His anxiety and insecurity has been
worded beautifully. The description of his anxious moments is follows:

A full, deep cry rose within his dry throat and with a sudden jerk of his body he ran from
where he stood, crying out in real fear “Mother, Father.” Tears rolled down from his eyes,
his flushed face was convulsed with fear. Panic-stricken, he ran from one side to the other,
in all directions, knowing not where to go. His yellow turban came untied and his clothes
became muddy.

The author has captured the anxiety and fear a child faces in such situations in minutest of
the details of his body language. This helps the reader to connect to the child’s situations at
an emotional level.

4. Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier? Answer:
The lost child loses interest in the things that he had wanted earlier because he was panic
stricken on being separated from his parents. All he wanted was to be united with them. All
the things that attracted him in the fair no longer appeal to him as he realizes being with
parents is more important.

5. What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents? Answer: In the
end the parents, who continuously kept checking to see that he was with them right from
the beginning of their journey may have suddenly realized that he was missing and come
looking for the lost child. The kind and understanding man who tried to console the little
boy by offering him various things at the fair may have also asked him for some
description of his parents and helped him to reunite with them.