INDIAN SCHOOL AL WADI AL KABIR

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH (2023-24)

QUESTION BANK – LOST SPRING

Class: XII Sub: ENGLISH
1. Seemapuri (is) a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it
metaphorically. Justify this statement.
Ans. Geographically, Seemapuri is a place on the outskirts of Delhi. It houses
migrants from Bangladesh, who earn their living as rag pickers. A run-down place
that lacks amenities of sewage, drainage, or running water, it is unlike the life of
glitter and glamour in Delhi.

2. Through the years rag picking has acquired the ‘proportion of a fine art’
in Seemapuri. Justify the statement.
Ans. The means of survival of the migrants of Bangladesh in Seemapuri is rag
picking. Garbage to them is gold. Like a fine art that has no end in appealing to the
sense of beauty, the rag pickers scrounging the garbage is a never ending process
which provides them their daily bread day after day.

3. Does rag picking mean the same thing for parents and children? Give
reasons for your answer.
Ans. No, rag picking is not the same for parents and children. For the elders, rag-
picking is a necessary evil-the only means of survival as it provides them their daily
bread. On the other hand, the children view the garbage as a mine of gold. They
marvel at what they might find in the garbage dumps. A chance finding of a
currency note or a coin thrills them beyond imagination and provides them hope of
finding more.

4. Why was not Saheb happy on getting a job?

Ans. Saheb was not happy on getting a job in a tea stall for a salary of Rs.800/- per
month as he lost his freedom. He had to carry the stall owner’s steel canister in
place of his bag. He lost his carefree look .He was now no longer his own master.

5. Why don’t the bangle makers of Firozabad organise themselves?

Ans. The bangle makers are trapped in the vicious circle of middlemen and police. If
they organise a co operative they will be hauled up, beaten and dragged to jail by
the police for doing something illegal. There is no leader to help them out of their

ISWK/ CLASS XII/QUESTION BANK/ENG/2023-24/ SONY PC Page 1

misery. They are the victims of greed and injustice.

6. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where
has he come from?
Ans. Unlike his parents who sifted through the garbage dumps for their survival,
Saheb took it to be a treasure trove, wondrous and magical. He sometimes chanced
upon a coin and hoped to find more. He was not only looking for the yellow metal
but anything valuable like money, clothes, shoes, etc.
He lived in Seepapuri . He had come from Bangladesh in 1971.

7. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing
footwear?
Ans. The author disagreed with the usual explanation that is offered for the
children going barefoot as a part of tradition. She felt it was only an excuse for the
lack of money. They could not afford shoes as they lived in ‘a perpetual state of
poverty’.

8. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

Ans. Firozabad was famous for its bangles. Most families in Firozabad are engaged
in making bangles. They work in the glass blowing industry, welding glass and
making bangles.

9. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangle industry?

Ans. Bangles are manufactured in glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy
cells without air or light. As a consequence, the children who slog away in dark
rooms close to the hot furnaces, often lose the brightness of their eyes, even their
vision.

10. What is the theme of ‘Lost Spring’?

Ans. This lesson highlights the author’s concern about the miserable condition in
which the poor children live and work. It creates an awareness in the minds of the
readers about the social responsibilities that we as citizens have in providing a
healthy atmosphere for the children to grow into complete individuals.

11. ‘Savita is a symbol of innocence and efficiency’. Comment.

Ans. Savita is a young girl. She wears a drab pink dress. She solders pieces of glass.
Her hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine. She is innocent and does
not understand the sanctity of the bangles that she’s making. She’s very efficient in
her work.

12. Bring out the irony in Saheb’s name.

Ans. Saheb’s name is Saheb-e-Alam. It means lord of the universe. Ironically, he is
a rag-picker who’s poverty stricken, barefoot and homeless . He scrounges the
garbage dumps to eke out a livelihood but rarely gets a full meal to eat. Thus is
name is a contrast to his existence.

ISWK/ CLASS XII/QUESTION BANK/ENG/2023-24/ SONY PC Page 2

13. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of
Firozabad in poverty?
Ans. Lack of education and awareness, stigma of being born in the caste of bangle
makers , vicious nexus of Shahukars, middlemen, politicians and the police who
suppress and oppress the bangle makers and keep them in poverty. Their low
spirits, dormant initiative, fear of being beaten and dragged to jail, absence of
awareness and leadership only make matters worse for them.

14. Why does the author describe children of the slums as partners in
survival?
Ans. Children in Seemapuri are offsprings of homeless rag pikers. Due to extreme
poverty , their parents are unable to provide for them and so they end up picking
rags at an early age for their survival and as support to their families.

15. How does Mukesh’s grandmother view the family occupation of bangle
making and its poverty?
Ans. She views it as the destiny of her family members. Her husband’s blindness,
their misfortune and impoverished condition – she feels, are ordained by destiny.
Years of deprivation and suffering have made her accept everything stoically in the
name of karma or fate.

16. How has being born in the caste of bangle makers become both a
destiny and a curse?
Ans. Many people in India follow a rigid caste system. Being born in a caste of
bangle makers in the city of Firozabad is both a destiny and a curse. By virtue of
their birth, extreme poverty, lack of education and opportunity, they have taken up
the profession of bangle making at an early age. Their destiny becomes a curse as
once in this profession, they’re in the grip of a vicious circle. All doors close on them
and in a short span of time they end up losing their spirit as well as their eyesight.

17. Describe the atmosphere in glass furnaces. How can working there
affect the young children?
Ans. Glass furnaces of Firozabad are ill-lit, ill-ventilated, unhygienic and dingy
hovels. Working for long hours in these hot furnaces with high temperatures bends
the backs of young children, leads to loss of vision at an early age and makes them
old before their time.

18. Why are the people of Firozabad averse to cooperative movement?

Ans. Generations of family subservience to middlemen, combined with lack of
education, awareness and acute poverty has broken the spirit of the younger
generations also. They fear that organizing themselves into a cooperative movement
will only make them bear the wrath of police. They lack a leader and are aware that
the vicious nexus of sahukars, middlemen, politicians and police will not allow the
cooperative movement to take shape.

ISWK/ CLASS XII/QUESTION BANK/ENG/2023-24/ SONY PC Page 3

Additional Short Answer Questions:
19. Where does the narrator encounter Saheb every morning?
20. Explain the use of literary devices in the sentence, “An army of barefoot boys
who appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon”.
21. Why do slums like Seemapuri mushroom around big cities?
22. Despite being refugees how do people in Seemapuri have ration cards?
23. Why does the author describe children of the slums as ‘partners in survival’?
24. Describe the condition of children in slums considering the author’s perception
of them as ‘partners in survival ‘.
25. Saheb wanted to be the master of his own destiny. Comment.
26. How are the tennis shoes a dream-come-true for Saheb?
27. Describe the atmosphere in glass furnaces. How can working there affect the
young children?
28. Is Mukesh’s sister-in-law’s life different from that of Mukesh’s?
29. What has Mukesh’s father achieved in life despite years of hard back-breaking
labour?
30. Describe the contrast that Anees Jung brings out between Saheb and the son of
the priest.
31. ‘Survival in Seemapuri means rag picking’. Elucidate.
32. Why can’t the bangle-makers break their ‘God-given lineage’?
33. ‘Little has moved with time in Firozabad’ says Anees Jung. Why does she say
so?
34. ‘I see two distinct worlds…’ says Anees Jung. Draw a contrast between the two.
35. Justify the title ‘Lost Spring’.

Long Answer Questions:

1. For most women, bangles are dreams in glass but for bangle makers
of Firozabad they are a vicious circle they cannot wriggle out of.
Comment.

Bangles – red, green, blue, yellow etc. are a symbol of ‘suhaag’ and
auspiciousness in marriage in our country since centuries. In today’s world,
they are also a fashion statement for the young and old women alike. These
glass bangles of varied hues adorning a woman’s wrist provide not only a
visual treat but also music of their own. These bangles spread joy and
happiness in the lives of women. But ironically little do these women realize
that the makers of these beautiful bangles themselves lead a miserable life.
After nearly 60 years of independence, Firozabad, the hub of the bangle
industry is an underdeveloped, backward town with neither any infra-
structure nor basic amenities. The town resembles a dumping ground. The
glass furnaces where workers make bangles are ill-lit and ill-ventilated,
dingy hovels with high temperatures. People here do not even get one frugal
meal a day. To add to the misery, all of them lose their eyesight at a young
age and live in a dark world for the rest of their lives.

ISWK/ CLASS XII/QUESTION BANK/ENG/2023-24/ SONY PC Page 4

 2. ‘The beauty of the glass bangles of Firozabad contrasts with the
misery of people who produce them.’ Mention the hazards of working
in the glass bangle industry. Discuss the endless spiral of poverty,
apathy, greed and injustice present there.

The lesson ‘Lost Spring’ describes the apathy of the bangle-makers on two
planes.
Firstly, it is the plight of the street children forced into labour early in life
and denied the opportunity of studying in schools. Secondly, the glass
industry has its own hazards. The employment of very young children in the
pathetic working conditions is illegal. Over and above, it is the apathy and
callousness of society and the political class to the sufferings of the poor that
makes us sympathetic towards these bangle makers. They work in glass
furnaces with high temperatures. Their dingy cells have no light, no
ventilation. Children work in these extreme conditions while welding pieces
of coloured glass to make bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark
than to the light outside. They often lose their eyesight at a young age.

The other reason for which the poverty stricken bangle makers suffer is
because of the exploitation at the hands of the middlemen and politicians.
They do not work to bring an improvement in their conditions, instead they
get brutally beaten up by the police. They are unable to organize themselves.
Hence, their life is full of sufferings both physical and emotional.

3. “But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.”
What does the writer mean?
The writer, Anees Jung, met Saheb every morning looking for money in the
garbage. Saheb confessed that he scrounged the rubbish heaps as he had
nothing better to do. He longed to go to school but there was not one in the
neighbourhood. When Anees asked him casually that if she started a school,
would he join, he consented very gladly. In fact, he was so enamoured with
the idea that a few days later he asked her if her school was ready. Anees
was embarrassed at having made a promise that she was not serious about.
She felt that most people made promises to children like him that were never
fulfilled.

4. What change do you find in Saheb’s life when he stops rag-

picking and starts working at a tea-stall? (2016-17)

Additional long Answer Questions:

5. Describe the bangle makers of Firozabad. How does the vicious circle of the
sahukars and?
middlemen never allow them to come out of a web of poverty?
6. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realize his dream?
7. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

ISWK/ CLASS XII/QUESTION BANK/ENG/2023-24/ SONY PC Page 5

 8. Like all children of his age, Saheb also has many hopes and dreams. Do you
think children like Saheb are able to fulfill their dreams? Why?
9. Slums are the ugly underbelly of all big cities the world over. Describe the
contrasting world of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ treading these two worlds.
10. Politicians exploit all people and situations to their benefit. Comment, keeping
in view the situation of refugees in Seemapuri.
11. Why is Mukesh’s dream of learning to drive a car likened to a mirage?
12. What is a Cooperative movement? Why does Anees suggest to bangle makers to
form a cooperative?
13. Why does a young child of a bangle maker accept his destiny without question or
rebellion?
14. The author observes that ‘daring is not part of the children’s growing up’. What
does this tell you about the mental suppression and apathy among the children?
15. Describe the author’s visit to Mukesh’s house.
16. “Saheb and Mukesh are brothers in penury and suffering.” Discuss.
17. How is Mukesh more ambitious in life than Saheb? Give a reasoned answer.
(CBSE 2013)

ISWK/ CLASS XII/QUESTION BANK/ENG/2023-24/ SONY PC Page 6