PROSE-2 LOST SPRING

   
                                                                        Anees jung

Textual Questions

Q.1. What makes the city of Firozabad?

Ans:- It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry.

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

Ans:- Men have to work in dingy cells without air and light. They lose brightness of their eyes. They go blind with the dust from polishing bangles.

Q.3. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?

Ans:- Mukesh wants to break away from the family traditional of making bangles. He wants to become a car mechanic.

Q.4. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?

Ans:- Their fields and homes were swept away by frequent storms. They had nothing to eat. So they had to leave their homes and come to the cities.

Q.5. Would you agree that promises made to the poor children are rarely kept? Why do you think this happens in the incidents narrated in the text?

Ans:-  Promises made to the poor rarely kept. It is because these people are not organised and can’t put any pressure on the government.

Q.6. What forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?

Ans:- They include Sahukars, middlemen, policemen, bureaucrats and politicians.

Q.7.How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realize his dream?

Ans:- He can realise his dream by working at some garage and learning the job of a motor mechanic.

Q.8. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

Ans:- Child labour is a cruel practice. It should be eliminated by educating the children. It should be banned by law also.

Examination-style question

Q.1. Who was Saheb? What was his full name? What was the irony about his name?

Ans:- Saheb was a poor regpicker. His full name was saheb-e-alam. It means lord of the universe but the poor boy had even shoes to wear. Thus there was deep irony in his name.

Q.2. What had saheb’s mother told him about their coming to the big city?

Ans:- Saheb’s mother had told him that their home used to be in the green fields of Dhaka. Their were many storms. All homes and fields were swept away. So they left their country and came to the big city looking for livelihood.

Q.3. What is saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where has he come from and why?

Ans:- Saheb is a poor regpicker. Every morning. He comes to probe the garbage heaps in the author’s neighborhood. He looks for anything that can get him some coins. His family has migrated from Dhaka because of the violence and poverty there. Now they are living in the Seemapuri area of Delhi.

Q.4. What promise had the writer made with saheb? What was it that embarrassed her?

Ans:- Saheb did not go to school. He said that there was no school in his neighborhood. ‘’if i start a school, will you come?’’ asked the writer. Yes ,’’ said saheb. But the writer had to feel small when, after a few days, saheb asked her if her school was ready.

Q.5. How did the writer come to recognize each of the regpickers in her neighborhood?

Ans:- The writer had formed an acquaintance with saheb who was a ragpicker. The other ragpickers were saheb’s friends. They came every morning and disappeared at noon. The writer used to watch them with interest. Over the months, she came to recognize each of them.

Q.6. What explanations does the author give for the children not wearing footwear?

Ans:- The regpickers were poor children. They always went about barefoot. They had become used to it. Even if they if had shoes, they looked for excuses not to were them. Some even said that going barefoot was a tradition among them.

Q.7. How does the author describe the area of seemapuri?

Ans:- Seemapuri is a place on the periphery of Delhi. Those who live here are Bangladeshis They came here in 1971. They live in structures of mud. They have roofs of tin and tarpaulin. They are all ragpickers. They have no sewage, drainage or running water.

Q.8. Where have the people living in seemapuri come from? Why don’t they want to go back?

Ans:- These people have come from Bangladesh. Their land is beautiful. It has rivers and green fields. But the homes and fields are often swept away by floods. They get no corn to feed themselves and their children. That is why they don’t want to go back.

Q.9. What does garbage mean for the elders and the children in seemapuri?

Ans:- Garbage to the elders is gold. It is their daily bread. It means a roof over their heads but for children, it is even more. For them, it is a thing wrapped in wonder. For the elders, it is a means of survival.

Q.10. Where did the writer see saheb one winter morning? What was he doing there/

Ans:- saheb was standing by the gate of a club. He was watching two young men. The young men were dressed in white. They were playing tennis. Saheb told the writer that he liked the game.

Q.11. What was saheb wearing one winter morning? Where did he get it?

Ans:- Saheb was wearing tennis shoes. Some rich boy had given these to him They were discarded shoes. Their was a hole in one of them. For saheb who walked barefoot, even these were a dream come true.

Q.12. How did saheb feel working at a tea stall? What did he get there?

Ans:- Saheb did not feel happy there. He had lost his carefree look. He was paid 800 rupees and given all his meals. But he was no longer his own master. He belonged to the man who owned the tea shop.

Q.13. Who was Mukesh? What was him aim in life?

Ans:- Mukesh belonged to a family of bangle makers in Firozabad. He did not like the life of a bangle maker. He wanted to be his own master. His dream was to become a motor mechanic.

Q.14. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

Ans:- Firozabad is famous for its bangles. Every other family here engaged in making bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry. It makes bangles for all the women of the land.

Q.15. What is the condition of children working in the glass furnaces of Firozabad?

Ans:- About 20000 children work in the glass furnaces of Firozabad. They have to work in very hot temperatures. They work in dingy cells without air and light. They have to work all day. Thus they lose the brightness of their eyes.

Q.16. What does Mukesh’s grandmother say about her husband?

Ans:- She says that her husband belonged to a family of bangle makers. She calls it a God-given lineage. It could not be broken. Her husband went blind with the dust from the polishing of bangles. She calls it his karma.

Q.17. Who is Savita? What is doing? What does the writer wonder about?

Ans:- Savita is a young girl. She is soldering pieces of glass. Her hands are moving mechanically. The writer wonders if she knows the sanctity of the bangles she is making. They symbolize an Indian women’s suhaag.

Q.18. Why does the author say that the makers are caught in a vicious circle?

Ans:- There are sahukars, middlemen, policeman, bureaucrats and politicians. All these from a vicious circle, poor bangle makers have been trapped in it for generations. Now they have come to accept it as something natural.

Q.19. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?

Ans:- Mukesh wants to be a motor mechanic. He can realise his dream through hard work and firm determination. He will go to a garage and learn. The garage is a long way from his home. But he says he will walk all that distance to realise his dream.

Q.20. What does the writer mean when she says, ’Saheb is no longer his own master?

Ans:- Saheb had started working at a tea-stall. But he was not happy there. He had lost his old carefree look. He was paid reasonably well, but he was no longer his own master. He now belonged to the man who owned the tea-stall.

Q.21. It is possible for Mukesh to realize his dream? Justify Your answer.

Ans:- Yes, he can realise his dream. He wants to be a motor mechanic. He can realise his dream through hard work and firm determination. He had determined to go to a garage and learn the job. The garage is a long way from his home. But he says that he will walk all that distance to realise his ambition.

Q.22. Do you think saheb was happy to work at the tea-stall? Answer giving reasons.

Ans:- No, saheb was not happy to work at the tea-stall. He had lost his past carefree look. Though he was paid reasonably well, he was no longer his own master. Now he belonged to the man who owned the tea-stall.

Q.23. What does the title, lost spring conveys?

Ans:- Spring symbolizes happiness. But the children living in slums have to work in miserable condition. There is hardly any joy left in their lives. Thus through the title’ Lost spring’ the writer wants to convey the dark and dreary life of the slum-dwellers.

Q.24. What does the writer want saheb to do? Why has she to feel embarrassed about it later?

Ans:- Saheb is a poor ragpicker. The writer sees him every morning probing the garbage heaps in her neighborhood. She asks saheb why he doesn’t go to school. At this saheb says, “There is no school in my neighborhood. When they build one, I will go.’’

                    A few days later, Saheb sees the writer. He comes running to her and asks, “Is your school ready?’’ The writer has to feel small. She had made a promise which she did not mean.

Q.25. How does the writer describe seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi?

Ans:- Seemapuri is a slum area. About 10000 ragpickers live here. They live in structures of mud. They roofs of tin and tarpaulin. There is no sewage, drainage or running water. Those who live here came from Bangladesh in 1971. They have no identity or permits. But they have ration cards. They have their names on voters’ lists . When they find a silver coin in a heap of garbage, they don’t stop probing it. They have always a hope of finding more.