Lost Spring by Anees Jung

Lost Spring

Lost Spring describes the life of rag pickers living in Seemapuri, a place near Delhi. They have not been given any identities or permits. Only ration cards are given to them that help them eat food and vote for politicians. They are deprived of education and other rights. Over the years, rag picking has become an art for them.

Saheb, is a child who is a rag picker. Finding a rupee or a ten rupee note is a big achievement for him. The narrator sees every morning to him. She asks him to join a school, but he replies that there is no school in his neighborhood. The narrator promises him that she will start a school for him. Saheb’s face lights up. A few days later, Saheb meets the narrator, asking her if her school is ready. The narrator was embarrassed.

One day, she sees Saheb wearing a pair of tennis shoes. One of them had a hole in it, and it did not seem to bother him because it was a dream comes true for a child who had always walked barefoot.

Finally the narrator sees Saheb with a steel canister in his hand. She learns that he has started working at a tea stall recently and is paid 800 rupees in addition to daily meals. When asked if he was happy with his new job, Saheb looked downcast. He was working under someone, and his freedom was taken away from him. He no longer had a carefree attitude, and the steel canister seemed heavier than the plastic bag that he used to carry for rag picking.

The other part of the story deals with the life of bangle makers in Firozabad.  Nearly 20,000 children are involved in bangle making business. They are poor, illiterate and fatalists. They believe they are born in the families of bangle makers because of their fate. These children live in dark cells and they work close to furnaces with high temperature. Bangle making is very dangerous as it makes children blind at their mid age. There is no way for these children to come out of this business as they are trapped in the clutches of middleman and money lenders. 

Mukesh is a boy who belongs to the family of Bangle makers but he wants to give up this work. His father had lost his eyes working on furnaces and polishing bangles. He worked hard in all his life but could not provide education to his sons. So he dreams to be a motor mechanic.

Que. 1 What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?

Ans.    Saheb is looking for a rupee or a coin in the garbage dumps. He is in the neighbourhood of the narrator. His family came from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and now lives in Seemapuri, a slum on boundary of Delhi.

Que. 2 What explanation does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?

Ans.    The author explains that it is a tradition to stay barefoot. But the author does not agree with it. She thinks that it is because of perpetual state of poverty.

Que. 3 Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain. 

Ans.   No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea-stall. He is not happy because he has lost his freedom. He is no longer his own master. He is someone’s servant.

Que. 4 What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

Ans.     The city of Firozabad is famous all over the India for making beautiful glass bangles.

Que. 5 Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

Ans.     Working in the glass bangles making industry is hazardous. Workers have to look into bright hot furnaces, and polish bangles. It makes them blind over a period of time.

Que. 6 How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?

Ans.     Mukesh’s attitude to his situation is different from that of his family because he is determined to become a car mechanic. His father, a bangle maker, could not do anything for his family except teaching them the art of making bangles.

Que. 7 What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?

Ans.   The people migrate from villages to cities in the search of employment. They face unemployment in their native places. Some traditional works like pot making, wash clothing, shoemaking and weaving are not sufficient for the survival in the villages. Another reason is that there is no modern amenities in villages. So they migrate to city.

Que. 8 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 the poor children are rarely kept. In the text, the author promised to Saheb that she would start a school, and he would be able to study there. But it did not happen.

        The government has made laws. No child can work in glass bangles industry. But 20000 poor children are working there. They are deprived of education and good health.

Que. 9 What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty.

Ans.    There are vicious circle that has kept the bangle-makers in poverty generation after generation. They find themselves in the clutches of middle men and money lenders. The law enforcing authorities prey upon them instead of helping them. The police, the bureaucrats and the politicians  conspire with middle men and money lender to keep them poor.