Lost Spring Question and Answer 12th Eng.

Ch-2 Lost Spring by Anees Jung 

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.she wonders if this is only an excuse to explain away a regular state of poverty. Other reason they are too poor to buy footwear.She also remembers the story of a poor boy 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. The bag was his. The canister belongs to the man who owns the tea-shop.So he has lost his freedom and liberty there.

Q4. 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. It is known as Suhag Nagari, and twin City also.

Q5. 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 the dingy cells are without air and light.

Q6. 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 born 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.He wants to break the profession of generation.

Q7. 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,for better education, better health department,for exciting entertainment and means of distraction, better life standard in cities.The problem in case of the poor is to feed the hungry members. Survival is of primary concern

 Q.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. Yes, our political leaders make promises of a rosy future to the voters before the elections. Once elected, they would not look back to their supporters for five years. They promise to end poverty and child labour, to provide free education to poor children, to reserve jobs for the scheduled castes/scheduled tribes. But there has been no marked improvement in the living conditions of the poor. Promises are perhaps made to be broken. The ragpickers of Seemapuri are enough to expose the hollow claims of our politicians and the authorities. Before their eyes children are exploited but they remain blissfully ignorant because they lack will-power to bring about any change.

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

Ans. The forces that conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry are political, economic and bureaucratic. Two distinct worlds operate in Firozabad. The first is of bangle-makers who live in abject poverty. The other is of moneylenders, police, middlemen and büreaucrats. Clearly laughing at the laws of the land, children are exploited and forced to work in sub-human conditions. Middlemen with their oily tongues and the lure of money exploit the elders and fleece them. The poor bangle-makers are given bare minimum which keeps them hunger away. If young people unite and try to organise themselves, they are hauled up by the police. So to form any co-operative, they think twice. Money Lenders charge high interest and the borrowers remain where they were.

Q10. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

Ans. Children are the wealth of a nation. They are like minerals buried under the soil. They have to be discovered, groomed and polished to become leaders, scholars and scientists. Child labour is a curse. It leaves no scope for them to grow and rise. It is a crime, a sin and a shame for a free country. Children are the weakest sections of the society. Hence they are easily exploited and abused by grown-ups. They are put on tiring and hazardous jobs because they have no leaders and no spokespersons. Child labour has rightly been declared a legal offence by the government. Primary education should be made compulsory for all children. Can anyone visualise the future of a country where we have children with hollow cheeks and sunken eyes, lacklustre eyes and wrinkles on the entire face.

*lacklustre- dull

Q11.What is the full name of Saheb? How is it full of irony?

Ans. Saheb's full name is Saheb-e-Alam. It means 'Lord of the universe'. His name is a complete irony. Saheb is a poverty stricken barefoot, homeless ragpicker who scrounges the garbage dumps of Delhi streets to earn his living. Thus, his name is in total contrast to his very existence and so is deeply ironical.

Q12.How do squatters of Seemapuri live?

Or

Describe the living conditions of the people of Seemapuri.

Ans. The squatters who come from Bangladesh back in 1971, live in pitiable conditions. They live in structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water. Wherever they find food, they pitch their tents which become their transit homes. Children grow up in them and become partners in survival. And survival in Seemapuri means ragpicking.

Q13.Garbage to them is gold. Why does the author say so about the ragpickers of Seemapuri?

Ans. Garbage is gold to the ragpickers of Seemapuri because sometimes they actually find silver coins or some other valuables. Moreover, by picking rags and selling them for cash they are able to buy food to sustain their families.

Q14. Why do slums like Seemapuri mushroom around big cities?

Ans. Exodus from neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh to India and migration from villages to the metropolitan cities within India, in search of livelihood is an endless phenomenon. This migratory population settles on the periphery of big cities and starts doing odd jobs like ragpicking to earn bread for the family. Such illegal settlements abound around all big cities. Dharavi in Mumbai and Seemapuri bordering Delhi are some glaring examples.

*Exodus -a situation in which many people leave a place at the same time

Q15.The description of Seemapuri creates a very dismal picture. Explain.

Ans. Seemapuri is on the periphery of Delhi yet it seems miles away from it. Seemapuri has been infamous for its filthy living conditions, poor sanitation and lack of basic amenities. It is densely populated with migrants who come from various parts in search of work. Thus, the description of Seemapuri creates a very dismal picture.