Lost Spring

Lost Spring-
Stories of Stolen
childhood
By Anees Jung
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• Born in Rourkela, spent her

childhood and adolescence in
Hyderabad
• Received education in Hyderabad

and U.S.
• Parents were writers
• Began her career as a writer in

India
• Social Worker
WORKS DONE
• Editor of Youth Times and columnist for major

newspaper in India and abroad
• Authored books: Unveiling India, Night Of the New

Moon, Seven Sisters, Breaking The Silence,etc…
OVERVIEW
Many children work as domestic servants in houses,

sweeping, dusting and performing other such
innumerable household chores. Often at traffic
signals young children can be spotted selling
indifferent articles, while their financially better off
counterparts are busy at school. Poor children in a
bedraggled condition beg in front of temples,
flocking devotees and reciting well-rehearsed lines,
to evoke their sympathy. It is heartrending to see
young rag pickers hunting for food in garbage
dumps and fighting amongst temselves for it.
THE PAINFUL REALITY
MILLIONS OF children in India are engulfed in

this darkness. Their innocence and childhood
lost in the bid to seek out a living. Books,
school and toys are beyond their reach as
they are grounded in the harsh reality of
being poor.
These street urchins enter the adult world
much before their time and learn to fend for
themselves at an early age. The carefree
attitude and effervescence of childhood are
alien to them. They are either orphans or their
parents are too poor to provide for them. The
future does not hold much promise for these
unfortunate children. Eventually they are
sucked into the quagmire of crime and
languish in juvenile homes, where they are
often ill-treated.
ABOUT THE LESSON
• This lesson is an excerpt from her book titled ‘lost
Spring:stories of stolen childhood’
• She analyses the grinding poverty and traditions
which condemn the poor children to a life of
exploitation
• The plight of street children forced into labour early
in life and denied opportunity of schooling
• Sub Theme: the callousness of society and the
political class to the sufferings of the poor
▪ ‘Lost Spring’ written by
Anees Jung talks about the
national shame of children
being forced to live a life
of poverty and
exploitation.
▪ The main two protagonists
of the chapter, Saheb-e-
Alam and Mukesh don’t live
their childhood as they
have to carry the burden of
poverty and illiteracy.
▪ In their miserable stories of
exploitation, the author
provides glimpses of
fortitude and resilience.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE:
• The title of the chapter 'Lost Spring' is a
metaphor used for the loss of childhood of
millions of child-laborers in India.
• Spring is symbolic of joy, happiness,
beauty and hope. Childhood can be called
the spring of a person’s life.
• However, children like Saheb-e-alam and
Mukesh have no spring in their life because
of the poverty they have been born into.
• They don't enjoy the privileges of
childhood .
STORY 1: SOMETIMES I FIND A
RUPEE IN THE GARBAGE
• Migrants From Bangladesh: left

green fields, rivers-no grain-
storms destroyed all
• Migrants live In Seemapuri –the
outskirts of Delhi.
• Geographically near yet
metaphorically far from the
prosperity and growth of the
capital.
• No identity but migrants have a
ration card and name on voter’s
list.
STORY 2:I WANT TO DRIVE A CAR
• The second part is about Mukesh, who
comes from a family of bangle-makers.
• Firozabad is quite popular for its glass-blowing industry.
A staggering 20,000 children are a part of this business and
any law that forbids child labour is brutally ignored here.
• The working environment is pathetic.
• Children live in dingy cells and work around hot furnaces that
make them blind when they enter adulthood.
• Small , dingy houses with
crumbling walls, wobbly doors
,without windows.
• Co-existing with animals
• Since they are weighed
down by debt, they cannot
find any way to escape this
trap.
• The politicians, policemen,
middlemen and bureaucrats
obstruct their way of
progress.
• Mindset in such families is
that this is their fate and
hence they must follow the
tradition.
• Mukesh is very
different from
the rest of the
people there.
• He has dreams
of becoming a
motor mechani
c.
Hence he is a silver lining in the otherwise bleak sky of Firoza

THEMATIC OVERVIEW
• The story, “Lost Spring” deals with the deplorable

condition of poor children who are forced to miss the
simple joyful moments of childhood because of their
socio-economic conditions.
• These children are not given the opportunity of

schooling and are compelled to start working early in
life.
• She propagates the education of children and

enforcement of strict laws against child labour by the
government.
• The message is to put an end to child exploitation and

let all children enjoy their days of the spring and joy.
The true potential of underprivileged children is not
channelized in the right direction. Poverty is the bane of
their life and education, which can be instrumental in
their up liftment, is denied to them. This is the scenario
in our country where the`Right to Education' has been
incorporated in the Fundamental Rights, guaranteed to
citizens, by the state. How can our country boast of
technological advancement and development when
millions of children are wallowing in the darkness of
ignorance and poverty? The vision of a strong and
powerful India cannot be envisaged until every child
becomes equipped with the tool of education.

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Lost Spring-

• Born in Rourkela, spent her

• Received education in Hyderabad

• Parents were writers

• Began her career as a writer in

• Editor of Youth Times and columnist for major

• Authored books: Unveiling India, Night Of the New

Many children work as domestic servants in houses,

MILLIONS OF children in India are engulfed in

• Migrants From Bangladesh: left

Hence he is a silver lining in the otherwise bleak sky of Firoza

• The story, “Lost Spring” deals with the deplorable

• These children are not given the opportunity of

• She propagates the education of children and

• The message is to put an end to child exploitation and

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