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Lost Spring Q&A

Saheb is looking for gold in garbage dumps in Seemapuri, where he has come from Bangladesh after his home was destroyed by storms. He now works at a tea stall but has lost his freedom and feels like a servant. Mukesh wants to break from his family's tradition of making glass bangles, a dangerous industry that causes many workers to lose their eyesight. He dreams of becoming a motor mechanic instead.

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Christina Ignatious
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61 views

Lost Spring Q&A

Saheb is looking for gold in garbage dumps in Seemapuri, where he has come from Bangladesh after his home was destroyed by storms. He now works at a tea stall but has lost his freedom and feels like a servant. Mukesh wants to break from his family's tradition of making glass bangles, a dangerous industry that causes many workers to lose their eyesight. He dreams of becoming a motor mechanic instead.

Uploaded by

Christina Ignatious
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

CHAPTER 2

Lost Spring

Page No: 13
Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
Looking for: Trying to locate or discover
Slog their daylight hours: Struggle persistently during the daytime
Roof over his head: A place to live
Perpetual state of poverty: Endless impoverishment
Dark hutments: Encampment of huts devoid of any light
Imposed the baggage on the child: Enforced the profession on the child

Page No: 17
Think As you Read
1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and
where has he come from?
Answer: 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 it.
2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not
wearing footwear?
Answer: The author comes across many shoeless rag-picker children
in her neighbourhood. According to her, one explanation of this habit
of remaining barefoot is that it is a tradition among the poor children
of this country. However, the author quickly mentions that calling it a
tradition could be just a means of justification of the utter
destitution.
3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.
Answer: No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea-stall. He is paid
800 rupees and all his meals, but he has lost his freedom. His face
has lost the carefree look. The steel canister seems heavier than his
plastic bag. He is no longer his own master. He is a servant at the tea
stall.
Page No: 20

1. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?


Answer: Firozabad is famous for its glass bangles. The place is the
centre of India’s glassblowing industry.
2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
Answer: The bangle makers face many problems in the glass
industry. They have to work in the dingy cells without air and
light, in the high temperature of the furnace . The dust from
polishing the bangles is injurious to eyes. They often lose their
eyesight before they become adults. Their eyes are more adjusted
to the dark than to the light outside.

2. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of


his family?
Answer: Mukesh belongs to a poor family of bangle-makers, but
his attitude is very different from his family. He wants to break
the family tradition of bangle making. He is daring and
determined. He has hopes and dreams. He wants to be a motor
mechanic.

Understanding the Text

1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people


from villages to cities?
Answer: There are many factors that cause migration of people
from villages to cities. Some villagers voluntarily move to the
cities in search of jobs and better civic and health facilities, etc.
Others are forced to migrate when natural disasters like flood,
storm, drought, famine, etc. destroy their houses and properties.
History has records of large-scale migrations caused by wars.
Furthermore, many villagers who are better off than others
manage to send their children to study in the cities. In the lesson
‘Lost Spring’, Saheb and his family migrates to Seemapuri from
Dhaka after their houses were destroyed in the storms.
2.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?
Answer: Yes, the promises made to poor children are rarely kept.
Often, they are not taken seriously..They are made on the pretext of
retaining a child’s fancy for something. This keeps the child hoping
for a better possibility till he/she realises the truth. It is difficult for
people to shatter the children’s dreams; while it is also painful to see
these children thriving on false hopes given to them. Once during an
interaction with Saheb, the narrator ends up encouraging him to
study and jokingly talks about opening a school herself. At that time,
she fails to realise that unknowingly she has sown a seed of hope in
Saheb’s heart. She becomes conscious of her mistake when, after a
few days, Saheb approaches her, enquiring about her school. Her
hollow promise leaves her embarrassed.
3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry
of Firozabad in poverty?
Answer: The unfavourable social and legal systems, the deceptive
middlemen, and their own sad destinies keep the workers in the
bangle industry of Firozabad in perpetual poverty.

Talking about the Text

1. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?

Answer: Mukesh is different from the others in his community.


By daring to dream, he has already taken the first step towards
a big change. He wants to become a motor mechanic and drive
a car. He can realize this dream with determination and hard
work. There might be many obstacles on his way, but a strong
willpower will help him move towards the way to success. The
fact that he is willing to walk a long distance in order to learn
the vocation, underlines his firm resolve. The only thing left for
him to do is to make that first journey to that garage and
request the owner to take him in and guide and direct him
through his journey as a mechanic.

2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

Answer: The impoverished workers in the glass bangles


industry toil in potentially hazardous working conditions while
welding. The furnaces they work in have extremely high
temperature and lack proper ventilation. Persistently working
in low light conditions, without any protective eye gear, leaves
them blind. Even burns and cuts are quite common. The
workers are quite prone to ailments such as lung cancer.

3. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?


Answer: Child labour should be eliminated because it takes
away from the child his childhood and the prospect of
elementary education. Moreover, since the child laborers are
cheap, and consequently engaged in hazardous and dangerous
employment, they are often vulnerable to mental and physical
illness. In order to curb this problem, it is important to make
education easily accessible. Apart from that, the parents must
be made aware of the consequences of working in harmful
environments. It is also important to make the public aware of
the fact that child labour is a criminal offence and is
punishable under law. The government must ensure that the
offenders are punished and stricter child -labour laws should
be enforced.

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