Chapter: 2
LostSpring Anees Jung
SUMMARY
The story is an excerpt from Anees Jung’s book titled Lost Spring, Stories of Stolen Childhood.
Here she analyses the grinding poverty and traditions which condemn these
children to a life of exploitation.
The first part of the story deals chiefly with a boy named
Saheb-e-Alam and the other rag-pickers. They have come from Bangladesh and
settled permanently in India. They lead a wretched life. The children’s
attitude towards their profession is different from that of their parents.
They feel quiet hopeful about it but the elders know what the reality is
because they have been doing the job for long without coming out of their
wretchedness. The narrator’s acquaintance with the rag-pickers leads her to
Seemapuri where they live, a bleak and squalid place, devoid of any facility.
They say, it is food that makes them stay in India. Saheb ultimately gets a
pair of shoes with a hole and also a job at a tea stall. But he loses his
carefree look.
The second story is that of a boy named Mukesh and a girl,
Savita who belong to Firozabad, centre of bangle making industry of India,
where for generations people are doing the same job of making bangles, never
coming out of that drudgery. But Mukesh is different. He wants to be a motor
mechanic and he is ready to do anything for that. Mukesh takes the narrator
to his house where she is introduced to the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother
and his father who fails to renovate the house and to send his two sons to
school. The cry of not having money rings in every house in Firozabad. The
narrator wants the young men of Firozabad to organize into a cooperative but
they are afraid and don’t have the guts to think and do differently. They
seem to be caught up in two different worlds- one of the family, caught in
the web of poverty, burderned by the stigma of caste in which they are born;
the other a vicious circle of the sahukars, middlemen, the policemen, the
keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians.
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Theme
It foregrounds the grinding poverty of the slum
children and banglemakers. They lose the spring of their life i.e. the youth of
their life in the breadwinning activity. There is no childhood in their
childhood. They lead a miserable life devoid of all the facilities, even not
enjoying two times meal and never coming out of the drudgery of their life.
Setting
The story uses Bangladesh, Seemapuri and
Ferozabad as the place of action. The rag-pickers in the story have come from
Bangladesh and have got settled in Seemapuri where they are involved in the
rag-picking task. The other story is about the banglemakers who live in
Ferozabad and slog their day-light hours around hot furnaces.
Characters
i) Saheb-e-
Alam -- He is a rag-picker who
lives at Seemapuri which is a slum area, on the outskirts of Delhi. His family
has immigrated from Bangladesh. His name means Lord of the Universe but he
doesn’t know its meaning. He quits ragpicking and joins a tea-shop.
ii) Mukesh
-- He belongs to a poor
banglemaker’s family but his dreams are different. He wants to be a motor
mechanic. He wishes to be his own master.
iii) Savita
-- She is young girl belonging to
a banglemaker’s family. She helps make bangles but she doesn’t know about the
sanctity of the bangles.
Main Points
1) Saheb
has left his home long ago. Set amidst the green fields of Dhaka, his home is
not even a distant memory.
2) Saheb
picks rags because there is nothing else to do for him.
3) He
wants to go to school but there are no schools in his neighbourhood.
4) His
full name is Saheb-e-Alam which means Lord of the Universe but he doesn’t know
its meaning.
5) The
ragpickers tell the narrator that it’s their tradition to stay barefoot but the
narrator takes it just as an excuse to explain away the perpetual state of
poverty.
6) The
narrator quotes the story of the priest boy to explain how everybody’s
condition has undergone a change but ragpickers are still the same.
7) When
the narrator visisted the place again 30 years later, she realized that the son
of the priest now has everything.
8) Mukesh
takes the narrator home which is being rebuilt.
9) Mukesh’s
father who first worked as a tailor and then a banglemaker, was unable to
renovate his house and to send his two sons to school.
10) Mukesh’s
grandmother feels that the go-givenlineage cannot be broken.
11) The
people in Ferozabad have bangles of all colours around them but there is no
colour in their life.
12) The
children sit alongside their parents in the flickering light of furnace welding
pieces of glass and grow up often losing the brightness of their eyes.
13) Savita
is a young girl from the bangle-maker’s family. She doesn’t know about the
sanctity of bangles she help make.
14) The
banglemakers are caught in a vicious circle of middlemen. They have no leader
among them.
15) They
are caught between two worlds. One is the world of family, caught in the web of poverty, burdened by the stigma of caste: the other, a vicious circle of the
Sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and
the politicians.
GLOSSARY
Scrounging - Hunting, Foraging
Hollow - Meaningless, Empty
Embarrassed - Ashamed, Uneasy
Perpetual - Everlasting,
Unending
Desolation - Isolation, Bleakness
Roam - Wander, Saunter
Periphery - Border, Margin
Wilderness - Wasteland, Wilds
Devoid - Lacking, Wanting
Sewage - Waste, Excrement
Crumbling - Collapsing, Dilapidating
Wobbly - Shaky, Rickety
Discarded - Abandoned, Forsaken
Intently - Attentively, Keenly
Dingy - Dark, Dirty
Loom - Hover, Overhang
Hovel - Shack, Hut
Primeval - Primitive, Aboriginal
Slog - Toil, Labour
Stinking - Reeking, Stenching
Sizzling - Boiling, Hot
Frail - Weak, Delicate
Renovate
- Renew, Refurbish
Lineage - Hereditary pattern, Line of descent
Mounds - Heap, Pile
Unkempt - Untidy, Disordered
Shanty - Ugly dwelling
Flickering - Wavering, Twinkling
Drab - Dull, Discoloured
Sanctity - Sacredness, Holiness
Auspicious - Favourable, Opportune
Dawn - Emerge, Appear
Numb - Desensitize, Deaden
Haul - Pull, Drag
Stigma - Disgrace, Dishonour
Impose - Enforce, Compel
Regret - Remorse, Compunction
Hurtle - Rush, Spurt
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Mention the hazards of working in the
glass bangles industry?
Ans: The glass bangle
industry of Firozabad employs children and they work in very unhealthy and
hazardous conditions. They are made to work in the glass furnaces with high
temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light. Almost twenty thousand
children work in the hot furnaces, often losing the brightness of their eyes.
Many workers become blind while polishing the glass bangles. Many children lose
their eyesight before they become adults.
2. Explain ‘For children, garbage has a meaning different from
what it means to their parents’.
Ans: The small rag pickers
scrounge heaps of garbage for some coin, note or valuable things. Sometimes
they do find a rupee or even a ten rupee note and so they hope to find more.
The children find it mysteriously wonderful package as their continuous search
leads them to grab a small fortune. But for the adults, it is a means of
livelihood and is a compulsion to search through the garbage. Hence, garbage
has two different meanings.
3. 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?
Ans: I agree that promises
made to poor children are rarely kept. It is easy to say to poor children that
they should be in school but it is easier said than done. In the story
“Lost Spring” the narrator also makes a false promise to Saheb which he takes
seriously.
4. What explanations
does the author offer for the children not wearing foot wear?
Ans Though the children
say, it is not lack of money but a tradition to stay barefootyettravelling
across the country the author has observed children walking barefoot in cities
and on village roadsand she knows that this is only an excuse to explain a
perpetual state of poverty.
5. Why does the steel canister seem heavier than the bag Saheb
used to carry?
Ans: The steel canister
seems heavier than the bag Saheb used to carry because the steel canister that
he carries belongs to the owner of the shop. He is no longer his own master. He
is a servant now, always at the beck and call of his master, following his
orders.
6. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from
that of his family?
Ans Mukesh insists on
being his own master. He wants to be a motor mechanic. Thoughhe has seen
poverty, dangers and sub-human living conditions of the glass bangle industry
yet unlike others who dare not think of doing anything else than continuing the
task of bangle-making, he has the guts to do what he aspire for, leaving a long
time bound lineage of making bangles.
7. “His dream looms like a mirage…” Whose dream looms like a
mirage? Why?
Ans: Mukesh’s dreams looms
like a mirage because he belongs to the poor caste of bangle-makers who have
spent generations sitting around furnaces making bangles but in spite of their
long years of toil, they could never lead a prosperous life and so there are
rare chances of Mukesh’s dream getting fulfilled.
8. What is the irony underlying Saheb’s
name?
Ans: Saheb’s full name is Saheb-e-Alam which means Lord of the
Universe and contrary to what his name suggests he is doing a menial job of
picking rags.
9. Why don’t the
bangle makers organize themselves into a cooperative?
Ans: They are caught in the vicious circle of middlemen. They are frightened of the police who usually haul them up, beat
them and drag them to jail for doing something illegal. There is no leader to
help them out. Their fathers too are old and helpless. Hence, the idea of
organizing themselves into a cooperative becomes far-fetched.
10. Justify the title “Lost Spring.”
Ans: Literally “Lost Spring” denotes a season of freshness, energy,
fragrance and vitality which is lost. But here it has been associated with the
lives of the rag-pickers and bangle-makers. It suggests how these children even
in a tender age when they should be carefree and enjoying their lives, engage
themselves in the breadwinning task. There is no childhood in their childhood.
11. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realize
his dreams?
Ans: Mukesh can realize his dream by sticking to his aim, persevering
hard to achieve it and by not getting distracted by the hurdles that come in
his way. Moreover, he can persuade his parents to allow him to pursue a
different goal.
12. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle
industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans: Grinding poverty, lack of awareness and education which keep them
bound in the shackles of emotion, tradition and the vicious circle of
exploiters which never let them see that there can be a way out of the
drudgery, conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in
poverty.
13. “…Seemapuri, a
place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically.”
Explain.
Ans: Though Seemapuri is on the periphery of Delhi yet they are poles
apart from each-other. Delhi is a metropolitan city with high standard of life
and modern amenities whereas Seemapuri witnesses a poor life style devoid of
even the basic facilities like- drainage, sewage etc.
14. Under what conditions the rag-pickers in
Seemapuri live?
Ans: The rag-pickers in Seemapuri live in
structures of mud with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage
and running water. They don’t have any permit or identity but they have ration
cards.
15. Why does the Anees Jung narrate the story
of a young priest boy?
Ans: Anees Jung narrates the story of the young
priest boy to explain that everybody’s condition has improved and undergone a
change but the rag-pickers are still the same. There has been no improvement in
their life.
16. Which are the two distinct worlds, the
banglemakers feel themselves caught in?
Ans: The banglemakers are caught in two distinct
worlds – one of the families caught in a web of poverty, burdened by the stigma
of caste in which they are born; the other is a vicious circle of sahukars, the
middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the
politicians.
17. Is
Saheb happy working at the Tea Stall? Explain.
Ans: Saheb gets a job at a small tea stall. He is
paid Rs 800 along with all his meals. There seems to be some improvement in his condition but his
face loses the carefree look. The steel canister that he carries belongs
to the owner of the shop. It seems heavier than the plastic bag he used to
carry as a rag picker. The symbolic meaning implies that Saheb inspite of
having constant monthly income is not free to work according to his own free will as he used to do when he was a
ragpicker. So ‘Saheb is no longer his own master’.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. ‘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.
Ans: 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 illegal employment of very
young children and the pathetic working conditions. Over and above, it is the
apathy and callousness of society and the political class to the sufferings of
the poor that makes us feel sympathetic towards these bangle makers. They work
in glass furnaces with high temperatures. Their dingy cells have no light, no
ventilation. Boys and girls work under these 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 that the poverty stricken bangle
makers suffer is because of the exploitation at the hands of the middle men 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.
PREVIOUS YEARS' QUESTIONS
(2018) “Listening to them, I see two distinct
worlds…” In the context of Mukesh, the banglemaker’s son which two disctinct
worlds, Anees Jung is referring to? [3Marks]
(2017) “Garbage to them is gold” How do
ragpickers of Seemapuri survive? [6 Marks]
(2016) What does the reference to chappals tell
us about the economic condition of the ragpickers?
(2015) What did garbage mean to
the children of Seemapuri and to their parents? [3 Marks]
What
does Saheb look for in the garbage dumps? [3 Marks]
"It
is his karam, his destiny." What is Mukesh's family's attitude towards
their situation? [3 Marks]
(2014) What job did Saheb take
up ? Was he happy? [2 Marks]
(2012) Who is Mukesh? What is
his dream? [2 Marks]
(2011) 'Lost Spring' explains
the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn thousands of people to life of
object poverty. Do you agree? Why / Why not. [10
Marks]
(2010) Why does the author say
that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web ?
[2 Marks]
(2009) It is possible for Mukesh
to realize his dream ? Justify your answer. [2 Marks]
(2008) "Garbage to them
is gold''. Why does the author say so about the rag pickers? [2 Marks]
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