LOST SPRING-Anees Jung

LOST SPRING-Anees Jung

Explanation:- Shahid Iqbal

Anees Jung, a famous story writer, utters destitution of rag-pickers of Seemapuri and bangle makers of Firozabad. 'Lost spring' is fascinating and revelatory description of the lives of poverty stricken children in India. It escapes from being a dry report about child labour because of its evaluative language. The story, “Lost Spring” describes the pitiable condition of poor children who have been forced to miss the joy of childhood due to the socio-economic condition that prevails in this man-made world. These children are denied the opportunity of schooling and forced into labour early in life. Anees Jung gives voice to eliminate child labour by educating the children and to enforce the laws against child labour by the governments strictly. The call is to end child exploitation and let the children enjoy the days of the spring that bring joy under their feet.

Points to Remember

Saheb-e-Alam:- • name means – lord of the universe • but earns living by rag-picking • lives in Seemapuri • walks barefoot

Living conditions in Seema Puri:- • on the outskirts of Delhi, yet miles away from it, home of 10,000 rag pickers • make their living by rag-picking • food and survival more important than an identity • garbage to them is gold because it is a means of survival

Mukesh:- • the bangle maker of Firozabad • high temperature • dreams of being a motor mechanic, wants to break the lineage.

Hazards of Working in Glass Bangle Factory:- • work place – small and dingy • long working hours in front of hot furnaces • boys and girls assist parents in the dim light of flickering oil lamps  • eyes more adjusted to dark than light • dust from polishing bangles affect their eyes, skin and health • exploited by money lenders, police, bureaucrats, politicians • fear of being ill-treated by police • live in a state of intense poverty • live in stinky lanes • over crowded place with humans and animals.

Value points

1.The first part tells the writer’s impressions about the life of the poor rag pickers.

2. The rag pickers have migrated from Dhaka and found a settlement in Seemapuri.

3.Seemapuri is a locality on the periphery of Delhi without any basic amenities. 

4. They had come to the big city to find a living.                                                                           

5 They are poor. Their fields and homes had been swept away by storms.

6. There are many things unreachable to them, namely shoes, tennis, and the like.                                                                                                              

7. The writer encounters Saheb every morning scrounging for gold in the garbage.

8. Saheb-e-Alam, a refugee from Dhaka, Bangladesh is a ragpicker. Wishes to enjoy pleasures of childhood, play tennis, wear shoes, watches rich boys playing tennis

9. Wants to go to school, but can’t – very poor.    

10. Food is more important for them than identity.

11. Rag picking is different for children and adults.

12. For adults – a mean of survival

13. For children – wrapped in wonders, The children come across a coin or two from it.                                             

14. Sahib gets a job in a tea stall, earns Rs. 800/- and all his meal but still unhappy

15. Loses his freedom and carefree look.                                                                        

16. Saheb’s Life as a Rag-picker & a Worker at Tea Stall:-

Garbage Dump                         Steel Canister 

Symbol of freedom for              Symbol of Slavery

rag pickers                          

Master of his own life and       No longer 

enjoyed life                                master of his own life

Full of Wonders                        Monotonous and dull

Under the control of no one    Under the control of 

                                                       the owner

The Second Part:-                                                                                        

1. The writer comes across Mukesh in Firozabad.                                                                  

2. Firozabad is best known for its glass-blowing industry.                                                                 

3. The living condition and the working environment is a woeful tale.                                                     

4. Nearly 20,000 children are engaged in this business and the law that forbids child labour is not known here.

5. Family members of Mukesh work in dingy cells without air and light and furnaces with high temperatures                          

6. This working condition makes many children blind when they step into adulthood.

7. They don’t have money to do anything except carrying on the business of making bangles.

8. They can’t organize into a co-operative.                                                                     

9. They Weighed down by the debt, they can neither think nor find a way to come out of this trap.                                   

10. They are afraid of being hauled up by the Police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something illegal.                         

11. The politicians, middlemen, policemen, and bureaucrats will all obstruct their way of progress. Children are Double victims:-First by birth bordered by stigma of caste second, No hope : have to accept family occupation, ruled by Shahukaars, Middle man, police , Little desire to dream snubbed in childhood.

12. There is no leader among them.

13. The people talk of poverty, apathy, greed, and injustice.

14. So poor that they can’t even dream – to do anything means to dare – and daring is not part of their growth.                  

15. The women in the household consider it as their fate and just follow the tradition.

16. The author is cheered when she senses a flash of it in Mukesh who wants to be a motor mechanic.                         

17. His family is engaged in making bangles but Mukesh insists on being his own master.

18. He desires to become a motor mechanic.

19. Mukesh is different from the rest of the folk there. He dreams to become a motor mechanic. The garage is     far away from his house but he shall walk.                                                                          

QUESTION-ANSWER

1. What is the irony in the name "Saheb-e-Alam"?                                                             

Saheb’s name is full of irony. The meaning of his name is ‘Lord of the Universe’, but he is poverty stricken, barefooted and homeless. He is rag-picker who gets up early in the morning, rushes barefooted to garbage bins and scrounges the garbage dumps of Delhi to have his bread.

2. Why have the rag-pickers settled in Seemapuri?

Several families like Saheb have been the victims of nature's fury. They left Dhaka after storms swept away their fields and houses and settled in Seemapuri.

3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? Explain.

Saheb is not happy working at the tea stall. Even though he is paid

more and given his meals, but he is no longer his own master. The steel cansister seem to be heavier than the plastic bag. He has lost his carefree look.

4. Explain the significance of the title 'Lost Spring".

• Spring is the season of optimism and hope. It symbolises life. • unfortuntely, millions of children in our country waste their childhood in ragpicking and other hazardous industries. • the joys of childhood, the vibrance of spring is lost either in the garbage or in dingy cells with furnaces. • the grinding poverty and traditions condemn these children to a life of exploitation. • they see very little hope of escaping from their impoverished life of misery & deprivation. • moreover, years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream. • they are entangled in a spiral that moves from poverty to apathy to greed and injustice.

5. What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ convey? (OR) What does Anees Jung want to reveal in her story ‘Lost Spring’?

The title ‘Lost Spring’ conveys that childhood is like the spring. As flower blooms in this season, it brings freshness and make tress lively in the same way, childhood should bloom but the poverty of Saheb and Mukesh tells us that their childhood was stolen and destroyed and dumped in the web of extreme poverty pitiable condition of life and exploitation. For the rag-pickers of Seemapuri, garbage is gold and means of survival. 

4. What makes the authoress embarrassed at having made a promise that was not meant?

On encountering Saheb, the writer asks him to go to school. Immediately at the second thought, she realizes that the advice must sound very hollow. On the other hand, Saheb replies that there is no school in his neighbourhood. And he will go if the authorities make one. The writer asks half-jokingly if she starts school, “will he go?” Saheb goes on asking her “Is your school ready?” She feels embarrassed at having made a promise that was not meant.

5. Why was not Saheb happy about getting a job?

Saheb was unhappy about 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 had lost his freedom and carefree look. He was now no longer his own master.

6. Why don’t the bangle makers of Firozabad organize themselves?

The bangle makers are trapped in the vicious circle of middlemen and police. If they organize 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 from their misery. They are the victims of greed and injustice.

7. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?(Or) What was Mukesh’s dream? (Or) How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream? (Or) Who is Mukesh? What is his dream? Why does it look like “a mirage amidst the dust?”

Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle-maker of Firozabad .He wants to be a motor mechanic and drive a car. He wants to break away from the generations-old family tradition of bangle making. His family is not as optimistic as he is, but he is determined and exhibits a spark of courage and hope and dares to dream, even though it means walking miles to get to the garage.

The determination is as firm as a rock in Mukesh. That is why he says he will walk to the garage which is a long way from his home. Though his dream appears to be vague, unclear, and like a mirage yet he has a different ambition to fulfill. He can materialize his dream.

8. Why does the author say that the bangle-makers are caught in a vicious web? (Or) Poverty is a vicious circle for poor slum dwellers and bangle makers. Comment in the light of 'Lost Spring.'

The family of bangle makers was caught in the vicious web of poverty. They are forced to practise their ancestral profession. They remain ill-fed and ill-clad throughout their life. They have no money to switch over their profession. Their hard work is mind-numbing. The police do not allow them to form co-operatives.

9. “But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.” What promise does the author recall? In what context was it made? Was it fulfilled?

The author asked Saheb about going to school. Saheb explained that there was no school in his neighbourhood. He promised to go to school when they built one. Half joking, the author asked whether he would come in case she started one. Saheb smiled broadly and agreed to come. After a few days, he ran upto the author and asked if the school was ready. The author felt embarrassed. She had made a promise that was not meant.

10. What is the meaning of Saheb’s full name? Does he know it? How does he conduct himself?

His full name is “Saheb-e-Alam”. It means the lord of the universe. He does not know the meaning of his name. If he knew it, he would hardly believe it. He roams aound the streets barefoot with other rag-pickers. This army of barefoot boys appears in the morning and disappears at noon.

11. How does the author focus on the ‘perpetual state of poverty’ of the children not wearing footwear?

Ans. The author notices that most of the young rag-picking children are not wearing footwear. Some of them do not have chappals. Others want to wear shoes. Some say it is tradition to stay barefoot. To the author it is lack of money. Poverty forces them to walk without footwear.

12. Where does the author find Saheb one winter morning? What explanation does Saheb offer?

Ans. The author finds Saheb standing by the fenced gate of a neighbourhood club. He is watching two young men, dressed in white, playing tennis. Saheb says that he likes the game, but he is content to watch it standing behind the fence. He goes inside when no one is around. He uses the swing there.

13. How has “a dream come true” for Saheb but what is “out of his reach?”

Ans. Saheb is wearing discarded tennis shoes. One of them has a hole. Saheb does not bother about the hole. For one who has walked barefoot, even shoes with a hole is a dream come true. But tennis, the game he watches so intently, is out of his reach.

14. “Born in the caste of bangle-makers they have seen nothing but bangles.” Where do they ‘see’ bangles?

Children like Mukesh are born in the caste of bangle-makers. They know no other work. They see bangles in the house, in the yard, in every other house, every other yard, on four wheeled hand carts every street in Firozabad, on four wheeled hand carts. The spirals of bangles lie in mounds in unkempt yards..

15. What are most of the bangle-makers ignorant of? 

Most of the bangle-makers are ignorant of the fact that employing children in bangle making is illegal. This is a hazardous industry. Many children become blind before reaching their adulthood. 

16. Where is Mukesh’s house located? What is he proud of? (or) impression do you form about Mukesh ‘s family on having a glimpse of their ‘house?’

Mukesh’s house is built in a slum-area. The lanes stink with garbage. The homes there are hovels with crumbling walls, wobbly doors and no windows. These are crowded with families of humans and animals. Most of these houses are shacks or huts. Mukesh’s house is a half built shack with a wobbly door. One part of it is thatched with dead grass. There is a firewood stove. Spinach leaves are sizzling in a large vessel. More chopped vegetables lie on aluminium platters. The scene depicts their grinding poverty but contentment with their lot. Mukesh is proud that his house is being rebuilt. His eyes shine as he volunteers to take the author to his home,

17. Give sketch of the “frail young woman” in the chapter ‘Lost Spring’.

Ans. The young woman is the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother. Her eyes are filled with the smoke of firewood. Though not much older in years, she commands respect as the daughter- in-law of the house. She adheres to customs and traditions. She veils her face before male elders. She gently withdraws behind the broken wall to do so.

18. How would you regard Mukesh’s father’s life and achievement?

Ans. Mukesh’s father was born in the caste of bangle-makers. His father went blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. He is an old and poor bangle-maker. He has worked hard for long years, first as a tailor and then as a bangle-maker. He has failed to renovate a house and send his two sons to school.

19. “Savita is a symbol of innocence and efficiency.” Comment. (Or) What do bangles symbolise? When, according to the author, will Savita know “the sanctity of the bangles she helps make?” How is the Indian bride dressed? 

Ans. Savita is a young girl. She has put on drab pink dress. She is soldering pieces of glass. Her hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine. She is innocent as she is ignorant about the sanctity of the bangles she helps to make. Bangles symbolise auspiciousness in marriage for an Indian woman. Savita will come to know “the sanctity” of the bangles when she becomes a bride.

20. “She still has bangles on her wrist but no light in her eyes.” What exactly does the author want to convey through this?

Ans. ‘She’ is an elderly woman who became a bride long ago. Since her husband, an old man with a flowing beard is still alive, she still has bangles on her wrist. She has, however, not enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime. So, there is no light in her eyes. This is just a comment on the abject poverty and helplessness of the bangle-makers.

21. “The young men echo the lament of their elders. ” What do you think is the common complaint ? How has it affected their lives?

Ans. The bangle-makers of Firozabad are quite poor. They do not have enough money to do anything except carry on the business of making bangles. Some even do not have enough to pacify their hunger. Building a house for the family is an achievement for them. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

22. Why do the bangle-makers not organise themselves into a cooperative?

Ans. Most of the young bangle-makers have fallen into the traps of the middlemen. They are also afraid of the police. They know that the police will haul them up, beat them and drag to jail for doing something illegal. There is no leader among them to help them see things differently. Their fathers are equally tired. They can do nothing except carrying on their i inherited business.

23. Which two distinct worlds does the author notice among the bangle-making industry ? (OR) Mukesh finds himself caught between two different worlds. How do they affect his life and that of the other bangle makers?

Ans. The families of the bangle-makers belong to one of these worlds. These workers are caught in the web of poverty. They are also burdened by the stigma of the caste in which they are born. They know no other work. The other world is the vicious circle of the moneylenders, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of the law, the bureaucrats and the politicians.

24. What do you think is the theme of ‘Lost Spring, Stories of Stolen Childhood’?

Ans. The theme of the chapter is the grinding poverty and the traditions which condemn poor children to a life of exploitation. The two stories taken together depict the plight of street children forced into labour early in life and denied the opportunity of schooling. The callousness of the society and the political class only adds to the sufferings of these poor people.

25.Firozabad presents a strange paradox. Contrast the beauty of the glass bangles of Firozabad with the misery of the people who produce them.

Ans. Firozabad, the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry, is famous for its bangles. Spirals of bangles of various colours can be seen lying in mounds in yards or piled on four wheeled push carts. These bangles have shining bright colours: sunny gold, paddy

green, royal blue, pink, purple-in fact, every colour bom out of the seven colours of the rainbow.

The banglemakers lead a miserable life. They know no other work than bangle making. They have neither courage nor money to start another trade or job. they have spent generations in the clutches of middle men and moneylenders. Extreme poverty forces them to remain hungry and yet work all day. The elderly woman,who works with Savita, has not enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime. Her husband has made a house for the family to live in. He has achieved what many have failed in their lifetime. Mukesh’s father has failed to renovate a house or send his two sons to school. Young boys are as tired as their fathers. Their work at hot furnaces makes them blind prematurely.

26 “The cry of not having money to do anything except carry on the business of making bangles, not even enough to eat, rings in every home. The young men echo the lament of their elders. Little has moved with time, it seems, in Firozabad.” Comment on the hardships of the banglemakers of Firozabad with special emphasis on the forces that conspire against them and obstruct their progress.

The bangle-makers of Firozabad are born in poverty, live in poverty and die in poverty. For generations these people have been engaged in this trade—working around hot furnaces with high temperature, welding and soldering glass to make bangles. In spite of hard labour throughout the day, the return is meagre. Some of them have to sleep with empty, aching stomachs. Others do not have enough to eat. Whatever they do get is not delicious or nourishing.

The stinking lanes of their shanty town are choked with garbage. Their hovels have crumbling walls, wobbly doors and no windows. These are overcrowded with humans and animals.

Poverty and hunger, social customs and traditions, stigma of caste and the intrigues of powerful lobby that thrives on their labour combine to keep them poor, uneducated and hungry. The moneylenders, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians—all are ranged against them. Children are engaged in illegal and hazardous work. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and ability to dream. They are unable to organise themselves into cooperative due to lack of a leader and fear of ill-treatment at the hands of the police. They seem to carry the burden that they can’t put down. They can talk but not act to improve their lot.

27.Explain:- “… an army of barefoot boys who appear like morning birds and disappear at noon.”                                     Due to poverty, these boys cannot afford slippers or shoes but are free spirited and enjoy an revel their freedom like birds.These boys call it a tradition to walk barefoot, but in reality they cannot afford slippers or shoes. Their condition is poorer than the priest boys who could get shoes in life after a few decades but the rag-pickers suffer from deprivation since generations and their is still no hope of change for them.                                         

28.Explain:-Few aeroplanes fly over Ferozabad                                                     

The condition of workers in Firozabad is so poor that thy couldn’t even think of high things even in their dreams. Becoming a motor mechanic is a great challenge for Mukesh, he could never (even in his dreams) think of becoming a pilot.                                                                                                      

29. “The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his shoulder……...Saheb is no longer his own master.” Explain. 

The life of Saheb as a rag-picker was very poor, but his life as a child labourer became even worst.

                                                                                                              

VALUE-BASED QUESTION

(INSTRUCTION:- Write the answer to the following questions in the context of or with reference to the chapter ,” Lost Spring”) 

1.Hunger knows no friend but its feeder. The downtrodden lead a miserable life. Elucidate the dictum keeping in mind the following lines: “survival in Seemapuri means ragpicking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art. Garbage to them is gold. It is their daily bread a roof over their heads.                        

OR  “Poverty: A Vicious Circle

2.There is no denying the fact that ‘Life is action and not contemplation.’ Those who shirk work and waste their time in thinking about bitter consequences never achieve greatness. They lack enthusiasm. Substantiate the aphorism keeping in mind the following lines:- “I will be a motor mechanic’’ “I will learn to drive a car”. His dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets…” OR  Life is Action and not Contemplation

3.Devotion are the factors responsible for phenomenal success. Substantiate the above quoted statement in the light of the following lines: “I want to be a motor mechanic,’ he repeats. He will go to a garage and learn. But the garage is a long way from his home. We will walk’, he insists.” OR Key to Success

4. Health plays an important role in the life of a mortal. But the destitute fail to get nutritious food and do not remain healthy. It is said that health is wealth. People believe that a sound mind lives in a sound body. Elucidate it taking ideas from the following lines: “Ek waqt ser bhar khana bhi nahin Khaya.” OR Health and Food

5. Child abuse is a very serious problem in our country. Children are forced by circumstances to work in various factories. Write an article, on the topic ‘Child Abuse’. Take ideas from the following lines:“None of them knows that it is illegal for children like him to work in the glass furnaces 1 with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light; that the law, if enforced, could get him and all those 20,000 children out of the hot furnaces where they slog their daylight /hours, often losing the brightness of their eyes.” (OR) Child Abuse (OR) Little children have to work at the age of their mental and physical development. Write an article on 'Child labour - A Blot on Society'. (OR) Why should child labour be eliminated and how? Explain with reference to the chapter Lost Spring. (OR) You have been stunned with the condition of children in the country. The government, on one hand, feels proud to enact the anti-child labour act. While on the other hand, the childhood is being ruined under the net/trap of child labour. Write your views on ‘Elimination of Child Labour’.

6. Indiscriminate migration to big cities has resulted into the growth of slums . Moreover, people are seen living in inhuman conditions here. You may take reference from the test ‘The Lost Spring’ about two poor boys Saheb and Mukesh. Write a paragraph about this problem suggesting steps to deal with it.

7. In this case the elder, is an impoverished bangle-maker. Despite long years of hard labour, first as a tailor, then a bangle-maker, he has failed to renovate a house, end his two sons to school. All he has managed to do is teach them what he knows: ‘the art of making bangles’. These lines show the apathy prevailing in some strata of society. These groups have been known by their profession. Their ‘profession’ is their ‘caste’. Is it fine to force someone to be a part of his ancestral profession Or some specific reasons or thoughts are responsible for it. Write an article to be published in your school magazine on the issue- ‘Profession cannot be termed as legacy.’                                                                   

Practice-Questions:- (NOTE:- DON’T SKIP THE QUESTIONS GIVEN IN THE NCERT BOOK PRESCRIBED FOR 12TH STD.) 

1.(i) “Survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking.” (ii) “Garbage to them is gold.” (iii) “For the children it (garbage) is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival.” In the light of the above remarks write an account of the life and activities of the ragpickers settled in Seemapuri .(Or) Give a brief account of the life and activities of the Bangladeshi squatters like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri.                                                                                          

2. Compare and contrast the two families of bangle-sellers portrayed in ‘Lost Spring.’ Comment on the roles of individuals in highlighting the issues raised by the author.                                                                                                                          

3.Explain the lesson 'Lost Spring" is a realistic portrayal of the lives of the street children.                                     

4.Compare and contrast the characters of Saheb and Mukesh.                                                      

5. What change did Anees Jung see in saheb when she saw him standing by the gate of the neighborhood club?                   

6.Why does the author compare the "army of barefoot boys to birds ?                                                      

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

8.What contrast do you notice between the colours of the bangles and the atmosphere of the place where these bangles are made?