Chapter 2 – Lost
Spring Questions and Answers: NCERT
Solutions for Class 12 English (Flamingo Prose)
By Santhosh
Kumar
Lost Spring Summary Class 12 English
Summary
of Lost Spring
The Lost Spring
summary describes the terrible condition of poor children. These children are
those who didn’t get to enjoy childhood because of the prevailing
socio-economic condition in this world. This is something that one can see all
over the world. These children don’t have the opportunity for schooling.
Moreover, there is a lot of pressure on these children to enter into labour
early in life. These unfortunate children are forced into labour. This
certainly denies them education as well as the opportunity to have
enjoyment. The author Anees Jung raises voice to eliminate child labour.
Jung does so by raising awareness regarding child education and strict law
enforcement against child labour. The call is to put an end to the exploitation
of children. This way the children will be able to enjoy the days of the spring
and have fun.
Lost Spring
Summary in English
The first part tells the author’s impressions regarding
the life of poor rag pickers. The rag pickers have come from Dhaka.
Furthermore, the settlement of the rag pickers is in the area of Seemapuri.
Destruction has come in their fields and homes due to the storms. They had come
to the big city in the hope of finding living there. However, the reality was,
in fact, painful for them and they had to face many hardships. They are
certainly poor and lack various resources.
The writer watches Saheb every morning as he scrounges
for “gold” in the neighbourhood. The means of survival for these rag pickers is
the garbage. Furthermore, for the children, it is a wondrous thing. The
children are able to find a coin or two from it. These people have ambitions
and desires. The problem is that they do not know the way to make them
possible. There are quite a few things that they are unable to reach. Later Saheb
joins a tea stall where there is a possibility for him to earn 800 Rupees and
all the meals. However, this job has deprived him of his freedom. As such their
condition is pretty hopeless and full of misery.
The second part explores the life of Mukesh. Mukesh is a
boy who belongs to the family of Bangle-makers. Firozabad is famous for its
amazing glass-blowing industry. There is an engagement of nearly 20,000
children in this particular business. Furthermore, no one over there
understands or respects the law that forbids child labour. Moreover, the
living condition, as well as the working environment, are both horrendous.
These children live in dreary cells. Also, they work
close to hot furnaces. This is certainly very dangerous as it makes these
children blind when they enter adulthood. Furthermore, these children have to
deal with the pressure of debt. Moreover, they are unable to think of a
solution to solve this problem. There is no way for these children to come out
of this trap.
The policemen, bureaucrats, middlemen, and politicians
will all hinder their way of progress. The women in the household consider it
to be their destiny or fate. As a result of such thinking, they just follow the
established tradition. There is something different about Mukesh. He is not
like the rest of the folk there. This is because Mukesh has big dreams. He has
a desire to become a motor mechanic in future. The garage is far away from
where he lives but he has the determination to walk.
Conclusion of Lost Spring
Lost Spring summary gives us an analysis of the
impoverished condition faced by many children that condemn them to a life of
pain, oppression, and lack of education.
THINK AS YOU
READ
Q1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage
dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
Ans. Saheb is looking for gold in the garbage dumps. He is in
the neighbourhood of the author. Saheb has come from Bangladesh. He Came with
his mother in 1971. His house was set amidst the green fields of Dhaka. Storms
swept away their fields and homes. So they left the country.
Q2. What explanations does the author offer
for the children not wearing footwear?
Ans. One explanation offered by the author is that it is a
tradition to stay barefoot. It is not lack of money. He wonders if this is only
an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty. He also remembers the
story of a poor body who prayed to the goddess for a pair of shoes.
Q3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall?
Explain.
Ans. No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea-stall. He is no
longer his own master. His face has lost the carefree look. The steel canister
seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his
shoulder. he bag was his. The canister belongs to the man who owns the
tea-shop.
THINK AS YOU READ
Q1. What makes
the city of Firozabad famous?
Ans. The
city of Firozabad is famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is
engaged in making bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry.
Families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making
bangles for the women in the land.
Q2. Mention
the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry?
Ans. Boys
and girls with their fathers and mothers sit in dark hutments, next to lines of
flames of flickering oil lamps. They weld pieces of coloured glass into circles
of bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside.
They often end up losing eyesight before they become adults. Even the dust from
polishing the glass of bangles is injurious to eyes. Many workers have become
blind. The furnaces have very high temperature and therefore very dangerous.
Q3. How is
Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans.
Mukesh’s grandmother thinks that the god-given lineage can never be broken. Her
son and grandsons are bom in the caste of bangle makers. They have seen nothing
but bangles.
Mukesh’s father has taught them what he knows—the art of making bangles. But
Mukesh wants to be a motor mechanic. He will go to a garage and learn, though
the garage is far away from his home.
UNDERSTANDING
THE TEXT
Q1. What could
be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?
Ans.
People migrate from villages to cities in search of livelihood. Their fields
fail to provide them means of survival. Cities provide employment, jobs or
other means of getting food. The problem in case of the poor is to feed the
hungry members. Survival is of primary concern.
Q2. Would you
agree that promises made to the poor children are rarely kept? Why do you think
this happens in the incidents narrated in the text?
Ans. The
promises made to the poor are rarely kept. The author asks Saheb half-joking,
whether he will come to her school if she starts one. Saheb agrees to do so. A
few days later he asks if the school is ready. The writer feels embarrassed at
having made a promise that was not meant. Promises like hers abound in every
comer of their bleak world.
Q3. What
forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans.
Certain forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle industry of Firozabad in
poverty. These include the moneylenders, the middlemen, the policemen, the
keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians. Together they impose a
heavy burden on the child.
TALKING ABOUT
THE TEXT
Q1. How, in
your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?
Ans.
Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle-maker of Firozabad. Most of the young men of
Firozabad have no initiative or ability to dream, but Mukesh is an exception.
He has the capacity to take courage and break from the traditional family
occupation. He has strong will power also. He does not want to be a pawn in the
hands of the middlemen or moneylenders. He insists on being his own master by
becoming a motor mechanic.
He can realise his dream by joining a garage and learn the job of repairing
cars and driving them. He will have to overcome many hurdles before he
succeeds. Then comes transport problem. Money is the first one. He will have to
earn some money himself. The garage is a long way from his home. He will have
to cover it twice everyday anyhow—by walking on foot.
Patience, hardwork, firm will and the determination to learn will help him
realise his dream.
Q2. Mention
the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
Ans. The
glass bangles industry has many health hazards. It usually employs small children.
It is illegal to employ very young children in hazardous industries, but
certain forces like ! middlemen, moneylenders, police and politicians combine
to entrap the poor workers.
Let us first consider the places where bangle makers work. It is a cottage
industry. They work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures. The dingy
cells are without air and light. Boys and girls work hard during day next to
lines of flames of flickering oil lamps.
They weld pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. Their eyes are more
adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. That is why, they often end up
losing their eyesight before they become adults.
Glass blowing, welding and soldering pieces of glass are all health hazards.
Even the dust from polishing the glass of bangles adversely affects the eyes
and even adults go blind. Thus, the surroundings, prevailing conditions and the
type of job involved-all prove risky to the health of the workers.
Q3. Why should
child labour be eliminated and how?
Ans. Child
labour should be eliminated because the children employed at tender age as i
domestic servants, dish-washers at road-side dhabas and in hazardous industries
making glass bangles, biris, crackers etc. lose the charm of the spring of
their life. Their childhood is stolen. Burdened by the responsibility of work,
they become adults too soon. Most of them are undernourished, ill-fed,
uneducated, and poor. They have a stunted growth.
Child labour can be eliminated only through concerted efforts on the part of
government agencies, NGOs (Non-Government Organisations), co-operative
societies and political leaders. Mere passing of law will not help. Laws should
be enacted faithfully. The children thrown out of work should be rehabilitated
and given proper food, clothes, education and pocket money. Their feelings,
thoughts and emotions should be respected. Let them enjoy sunshine and fresh
air.
SHORT ANSWER
TYPE QUESTIONS
Q1. Who was
Saheb? What was he doing and why?
Ans.
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.
Q2. “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?
Ans. 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.
Q3. What is
the meaning of Saheb’s full name? Does he know it? How does he conduct himself?
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 hardly believe it. He roams the streets
barefoot with other rag-pickers. This army of arefoot boys appears in the
morning and disappears at noon.
Q4. How does
the author focus on the ‘perpetual state of poverty’ of the children not
wearing footwear?
Ans. The
author notices that most of the young children engaged in rag picking are not
wearing footwear. Some of them do not have chappals. Others want to wear shoes.
Some say it is tradition to stay barefoot. To the author it seems lack of
money. Poverty forces them to walk without footwear.
Q5. Explain:
“For children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their
parents. ”
Ans.
Small children scrounge heaps of garbage. They expect to get some coin, note or
valuable thing in it. Sometimes they find a rupee or even a ten rupee note. This
gives the hope of finding more. They search it excitedly. For children, garbage
is wrapped in wonder.
For the elders it is a means of survival. Thus, garbage has two different
meanings.
Q6. Where does
the author find Saheb one winter morning? What explanation does Saheb offer?
Ans. 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.
Q7. What job
did Saheb take up? Was he happy ? [All India 2014]
Ans.
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.
Q8. How has “a
dream come true” for Saheb but what is “out of his reach?”
Ans.
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.
Q9. How does
Saheb’s life change when he starts working at the tea-stall?
Ans.
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.
Q10. 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 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.
Q11.What do
you learn about Firozabad from this chapter ?
Ans.
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.
Q12. “Born in
the caste of bangle-makers they have seen nothing but bangles.” Where do they
‘see’ bangles?
Ans.
Children like Mukesh are bpm 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.
Q13. 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 are of every colour bom 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.
Q14. What are
most of the bangle-makers ignorant of? What would happen if law were enforced
strictly?
Ans. 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. *
Q15. Where is
Mukesh’s house located? What is he proud of?
Ans.
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,
Q16. What
impression do you form about Mukesh ‘s family on having a glimpse of their
‘house?’
Ans.
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.
Q17. Give a
thumb-nail sketch of the “frail young woman” in the chapter ‘Lost Spring’.
Ans. 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- in-law of the house. She adheres to customs and traditions. She veils
her face before male elders. She gently withdraws behind the broken wall to do
so.
Q18. How would
you regard Mukesh’s father’s life and achievement?
Ans.
Mukesh’s father was bom 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.
Q19. “Savita
is a symbol of innocence and efficiency.” Comment.
Ans.
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.
Q20. 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?
Ans.
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.
Q21. “She
still has bangles on her wrist but no light in her eyes.” What exactly does the
author want to convey through this?
Ans.
‘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 nteal 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.
Q22. “The
young men echo the lament of their elders. ” What do you think is the common
complain t ? How has it affected their lives?
Ans. 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 even do not 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.
Q23. Why do
the bangle-makers not organise themselves into a cooperative?
Ans. 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 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 i inherited business.
Q24. Which two
distinct worlds does the author notice among the bangle-making industry ?
Ans. 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 bom. 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 politicians.
Q25. How is
Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad?
Ans.
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.
Q26. What do
you think is the plight of the children born in the families of bangle-makers?
Ans. 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.
Q27. What do
you think is the theme of ‘Lost Spring, Stories of Stolen Childhood’?
Ans. 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.
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