Lost Spring

LOST SPRING
State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. The author planned on building a school for the rag pickers. False
2. One of the boys had no chappals on because his mother had put them on a shelf out of his reach.
False
3. It is a tradition for rag pickers to stay barefoot. False
4. The bangle makers have no permits but they have ration cards because this gets their names on
voters’ lists. False
5. A rich boy presented Saheb with a new pair of shoes. False
6. Mukesh is proud of his home in Firozabad. True
7. The bangle makers are aware that child labour is illegal. False
8. The young men were excited at the idea of starting a cooperative. False
Answer these questions briefly:
1. a. Name the two boys that represent ‘stolen childhood’ in the text.
b. State the family background of each boy.
The two boys that represent stolen childhood in the text are Saheb-e-Alam and Mukesh.
Saheb belonged to a family of rag pickers from Seemapuri, Delhi. His family was originally from
Bangladesh but they had to leave the green fields of Dhaka due to the storms that destroyed their
crops and swept away their fields and homes.
Mukesh came from a family of bangle makers from Firozabad. Unlike the other children of
Firozabad, Mukesh had a dream of doing something different with his life. He did not want to remain a
bangle maker like most of the people in Firozabad. Mukesh’s dream was to be a motor mechanic.
2. The two boys have much in common and yet they view life very differently. What is the main
difference between them?
The main difference between Saheb and Mukesh is that Saheb does not have any dream of doing
something different with his life. He is satisfied and happy with rag picking and later when he is
working at a tea stall, he accepts his fate even though he is not happy anymore.
Mukesh, on the other hand, dreams of improving his life by doing something else other than making
bangles. He dreams of becoming a motor mechanic. Though the garage is far from his home, Mukesh
is determined to walk the distance in order to achieve his dream. Mukesh wants to change to a better
way of life which Saheb does not seem to display.
3. Do you think Saheb is happy working in the tea stall? Give a reason for your answer.
No, Saheb is not happy working in the tea stall because he is no longer his own master. Working in the
tea stall has taken away his freedom and his master is now the owner of the tea stall. He no longer has
the freedom to do whatever he likes with his time. The author notices that he has lost his carefree
look. Even though he is paid 800 rupees for his work and all his meals yet he feels that the canister he
carries is heavier than the plastic bag he used to carry as a rag picker.
4. How do you know that the women of Seemapuri are practical people?
The women of Seemapuri are practical people because they say that food is more important for
survival than an identity. Even though they live in Seemapuri as squatters and the living conditions are
extremely unhygienic and unhealthy compared to the clean and beautiful land of Bangladesh with its
green fields and clean rivers; at least in Seemapuri they still get food to feed their children. In
Seemapuri they live without an identity or permit but they are given ration cards which get their
names on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain. Bangladesh may be clean but their families starve
as the fields yield no crops due to the floods.
5. a. Who is Mukesh?
Mukesh is a young bangle maker from Firozabad.
b. How is he different from all the other children?
He is different from the other children because he dreams of a better life for himself.
c. What is his dream?
Mukesh’s dream is to be a motor mechanic.
d. He has a plan to make his dream a reality. What is it?
He plans to achieve his dream of becoming a motor mechanic by going to a garage and learning.
e. Why is the author pleased with Mukesh?
The author is pleased with Mukesh because she sees a spark of daring in Mukesh who wants to be a
motor mechanic and plans to learn at a garage. She sees the determination in him to learn as he tells
her that he will walk to the garage even if it is far from his home.
6. List the hazards of working in a glass bangles industry.

The hazards of working in a glass bangles industry are:
 Men, women and children sit in dark rooms with extremely high temperatures and poor
ventilation.
 They sit inside these dark, dingy rooms for long hours causing them to lose the brightness of
their eyes.
 Most of the bangle makers become blind after spending years polishing the glass of bangles.
They do not have any protective gear to protect their eyes from the dust.
 Young boys and girls are made to sit in dark hutments next to lines of flames of flickering oil
lamps, welding 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 end up losing their eyesight before they
become adults.
7. a. What is the new idea put to the bangle makers by the author?
The author suggests to the bangle makers to start a cooperative. In this way they can sell their
products directly to the market without having to go through the middlemen. These middlemen have
trapped their fathers and forefathers for many years. Organizing themselves into a cooperative will
allow them to earn more money and to come out of their poverty.
b. How do they react?
When this suggestion is made to the bangle makers, they are not open to the idea as they are
fearful of the middlemen and the police. They believe that if they organize themselves into a
cooperative, they will be hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something
illegal.
c. Why do they react in this manner?
They react in this manner because there is no leader among them who can help them see things
differently. Their fathers are as tired as they are. They talk endlessly in a spiral that moves from
poverty to apathy to greed and to injustice.

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LOST SPRING

State whether the following statements are true or false:

Answer these questions briefly:

6. List the hazards of working in a glass bangles industry.

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