Lost Spring : Stories of Stolen Childhood by Anees Jung (Prose class 12th)

 Lost Spring by Anees Jung

1. About the Author: Anees Jung

Anees Jung is a renowned Indian author, journalist, and columnist. Born in Hyderabad into an aristocratic family in 1944, she pursued her education in India and later in the United States. Her writings primarily focus on social justice, women’s rights, and the lives of the marginalized in India. Anees gained recognition for her book “Unveiling India,” which explored the lives of Indian women across cultures and classes.

In “Lost Spring,” she reflects her journalistic eye for detail and empathy through real-life stories, showcasing the crushing poverty and lost childhoods of underprivileged children in India.

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2. Introduction to the Lesson: Lost Spring

“Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood” is a prose piece taken from Anees Jung’s collection. The lesson focuses on the lives of children forced into labour due to their family’s poverty and lack of social reform. It is divided into two parts:

• Part I: Sometimes I Find a Rupee in the Garbage – Focuses on a ragpicker boy named Saheb living in the slums of Seemapuri.

• Part II: I Want to Drive a Car – Tells the story of Mukesh, a child laborer in the glass-blowing industry of Firozabad.

The lesson highlights how poverty, tradition, and greed rob children of their youth, education, and dreams. The term “Lost Spring” metaphorically represents the loss of childhood joy and hope.

Part I: Sometimes I Find a Rupee in the Garbage

—from Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood
By Anees Jung

“Why do you do this?” I ask Saheb whom I encounter every morning scrounging for “gold” in the garbage dumps of my neighbourhood.

Saheb left his home long ago. Set amidst the green fields of Dhaka, his home is not even a distant memory. There were many storms that swept away their fields and homes, his mother tells him. That’s why they left, looking for gold in the big city where he now lives.

“I have nothing else to do,” he mutters, looking away. “Go to school?” I ask, provoking another half-humorous answer. “There is no school in my neighbourhood. When they build one, I will go.”

“If I start a school, will you come?” I ask, half-joking.

“Yes,” he says, smiling broadly.

A few days later I see him running up to me. “Is your school ready?”

“It takes longer to build a school,” I say, embarrassed at having made a promise that was not meant. But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.

After months of knowing him, I ask him his name.

“Saheb-e-Alam,” he announces. He does not know what it means. If he knew the meaning—lord of the universe—he would have a hard time believing it. Unaware of what his name represents, he roams the streets with his friends, an army of barefoot boys who appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon.

Over the months, I have come to recognise each of them.

“Why aren’t you wearing chappals?” I ask one.

“My mother did not bring them down from the shelf,” he answers simply.

“Even if she did, he will throw them off,” adds another who is wearing shoes that do not match. When I comment on it, he shuffles his feet and says nothing.

“I want shoes,” says a third boy who has never owned a pair all his life. Travelling across the country I have seen children walking barefoot, in cities, on village roads. It is not lack of money but a tradition to stay barefoot, is one explanation. I wonder if this is only an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty.

I remember a story a man from Udipi once told me. As a young boy he would go to school past an old temple, where his father, a priest, would give him a prayer and a coconut and a blessing as he left for school. He would stop briefly at the temple and pray for a pair of shoes. Thirty years later I visited his town and the temple, which was now adorned with marble, and the prayer-hall where boys sat in neat rows wearing brown uniforms and doing lessons. The man who had once prayed for shoes had now a son studying in the temple school, and wearing shoes. The dream of a better life, came true. But the ragpickers of Seemapuri remain barefoot.

Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971. Saheb’s family is among them. Seemapuri was then a wilderness. It still is, but no longer empty. In structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water, live 10,000 ragpickers. They have lived here for more than thirty years without an identity, without permits but with ration cards that get their names on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain. Food is more important for survival than an identity.

If at the end of the day, we can feed our families and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields that gave us no grain, say a group of women in tattered saris when I sit down to talk to them.

They say it with a sense of resignation. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

Saheb, too, is content to carry the bag he now owns, a bag that he drags along the ground like an extension of his lanky frame. He scrounges for gold in the garbage dumps. Occasionally he finds a rupee, even a ten-rupee note. Gold in a garbage. It is the wonder he sometimes finds without a meaning. The garbage is to them what gold is to us. It is their daily bread. A roof over their heads. Even if it is a leaking roof.

But for children it is even more. I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten-rupee note, Saheb says, his eyes lighting up. When you can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage, you don’t stop scrounging, for there is hope of finding more. It seems that for children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents. For the children it is wrapped in wonder; for the elders it is a means of survival.

One winter morning I see Saheb standing by the gate of the neighbourhood club, watching two young men dressed in white playing tennis. “I like the game,” he hums, content to watch it standing behind the fence. “I go inside when no one is around,” he admits.

The gatekeeper lets him use the swing. Saheb too is wearing tennis shoes that look strange over his discoloured shirt and shorts. “Someone gave them to me,” he says in the manner of an explanation. The fact that they are discarded shoes of some rich boy who perhaps refused to wear them because of a hole in one of them does not bother him. For one who has walked barefoot, even shoes with a hole is a dream come true.

But the game he is watching so intently is out of his reach. This morning, Saheb is on his way to the milk booth. In his hand is a steel canister. “I now work in a tea stall down the road,” he says, pointing in the distance. “I am paid ₹800 a month and all my meals.”

Does he like the job? I ask.

His face, I see, has lost the carefree look. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his shoulder. The bag was his. The canister belongs to the man who owns the tea shop. Saheb is no longer his own master.

Here are 100 difficult words from the lesson "Sometimes I Find a Rupee in the Garbage" (Part I of Lost Spring by Anees Jung), along with their meanings in English and Hindi:

Word	Meaning (English)	Meaning (Hindi)
Scrounging	Searching for something in a desperate way	ढूंढना या तलाश करना
Garbage	Waste material	कूड़ा
Dump	A place where waste is disposed	कूड़ाघर
Encounter	To meet unexpectedly	सामना होना
Storms	Violent weather with strong winds and rain	तूफ़ान
Bleak	Depressing, without hope	निराशाजनक
Promise	A declaration of intention to do something	वादा
Abound	To exist in large numbers	प्रचुर मात्रा में होना
Bleak	Lacking hope or encouragement	अंधकारमय
Provoke	To incite or stimulate a reaction	उकसाना
Embarrassed	Feeling awkward or ashamed	शर्मिंदा
Roams	Moves or travels around without purpose	इधर-उधर भटकना
Barefoot	Without shoes	नंगे पाँव
Shuffles	To walk without lifting the feet properly	घसीट कर चलना
Perpetual	Never ending or changing	निरंतर
State	Condition or situation	स्थिति
Poverty	The state of being extremely poor	गरीबी
Adorned	Decorated or made beautiful	सजाया गया
Squatters	People living on land or in buildings without permission	ज़बरन रहने वाले लोग
Wilderness	Uninhabited or wild area	जंगल या निर्जन स्थान
Tarpaulin	Heavy-duty waterproof cloth	तिरपाल
Devoid	Completely lacking something	रहित
Drainage	System for removing waste water	निकासी प्रणाली
Ration card	Government card to get subsidized food	राशन कार्ड
Resignation	Acceptance of something unpleasant	हार मान लेना
Initiative	Ability to take charge	पहल
Lanky	Tall and thin	दुबला-पतला
Drag	To pull something along	घसीटना
Occasionally	Sometimes, not often	कभी-कभी
Wonder	Feeling of amazement	आश्चर्य
Survival	Continuing to live in difficult conditions	जीवित रहना
Daily bread	Basic necessity of life	रोज़ी-रोटी
Meaningless	Without purpose or significance	अर्थहीन
Intently	With great concentration	ध्यानपूर्वक
Discoloured	Faded or changed in color	रंग उड़ा हुआ
Discarded	Thrown away	फेंका हुआ
Refused	Denied or not accepted	मना कर दिया
Content	Satisfied	संतुष्ट
Fence	Barrier or boundary	बाड़
Canister	Container or small metal tin	डिब्बा या कनस्तर
Master	One who controls or owns something	स्वामी या मालिक
Liberty	Freedom	स्वतंत्रता
Humorous	Funny or amusing	हास्यजनक
Identity	The fact of being who someone is	पहचान
Perspective	Point of view	दृष्टिकोण
Initiative	The ability to begin something independently	पहल
Tradition	A long-established custom or belief	परंपरा
Dream	A cherished aspiration or ambition	सपना
Scavenging	Searching through waste for something usable	कबाड़ खोजने का कार्य
Deprivation	The lack of basic necessities	अभाव
Exploitation	Using someone unfairly for one’s own benefit	शोषण
Inequality	Lack of equality	असमानता
Vulnerable	At risk or in danger	असुरक्षित
Hope	A feeling of expectation	आशा
Resilience	Ability to recover from difficulties	लचीलापन
Marginalized	Pushed to the edge of society	हाशिए पर रखा गया
Dispossessed	Deprived of land or property	अधिकार से वंचित
Destitution	Extreme poverty	निर्धनता
Transient	Lasting only for a short time	अस्थायी
Adolescent	A young person growing into adulthood	किशोर
Malnourished	Lacking proper nutrition	कुपोषित
Determination	Firmness of purpose	दृढ़ संकल्प
Injustice	Lack of fairness	अन्याय
Desperation	Hopelessness	निराशा
Dehumanizing	Stripping someone of human qualities	अमानवीकरण
Dilapidated	In a state of ruin or decay	जर्जर
Ramshackle	Poorly constructed or maintained	खस्ताहाल
Employment	Work or occupation	रोज़गार
Meagre	Very small or insufficient	बहुत कम
Opportunity	A chance to do something	अवसर
Literacy	Ability to read and write	साक्षरता
Empowerment	Gaining control over one's life	सशक्तिकरण
Despair	Complete loss of hope	निराशा
Disillusionment	Disappointment from false beliefs	मोहभंग
Margins	Edges of society or limits	सीमाएं
Subsistence	Maintaining oneself at a minimal level	निर्वाह
Hierarchy	System of ranks	पदानुक्रम
Disparity	A great difference	असमानता
Resistance	The refusal to accept or comply	विरोध
Futility	Pointlessness	व्यर्थता
Indifference	Lack of concern	उदासीनता
Compassion	Sympathy for others’ suffering	सहानुभूति
Altruism	Selfless concern for others	परोपकार
Redemption	Being saved from sin, error, or evil	मोक्ष / उद्धार
Upliftment	Improvement of status	उत्थान
Hardship	Severe suffering or trouble	कठिनाई
Irony	A contrast between expectation and reality	विडंबना
Symbolism	Use of symbols to represent ideas	प्रतीकवाद
Juxtaposition	Placing two elements side by side to compare	समानांतर तुलना
Anecdote	Short personal story	व्यक्तिगत कहानी
Impoverished	Made poor	गरीब बना दिया गया
Craving	A powerful desire for something	तीव्र इच्छा
Bleeding-heart	Extremely sympathetic (often critically used)	अति भावुक व्यक्ति
Neglect	Failure to care properly	उपेक्षा
Dignity	The state of being worthy of respect	गरिमा
Scarcity	Insufficiency or shortage	कमी
Degradation	The process of becoming worse	गिरावट
Fragile	Easily broken or damaged	नाज़ुक
Compassionate	Showing sympathy and concern	सहानुभूतिपूर्ण

 Summary of the lesson "Sometimes I Find a Rupee in the Garbage" from Lost Spring by Anees Jung:

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Summary: Sometimes I Find a Rupee in the Garbage

Anees Jung’s narrative brings to light the stark reality of child poverty through the story of Saheb, a young ragpicker living in Seemapuri, on the outskirts of Delhi. The author often sees him scavenging through garbage heaps looking for “gold,” a term used to describe anything valuable he might find, like a rupee or even a ten-rupee note. For Saheb and many others like him, garbage is not waste, but a source of livelihood and hope.

Saheb originally hails from Dhaka, Bangladesh. His family migrated to India due to the destruction of their fields and homes by repeated storms. The dream of a better life brought them to Delhi, but what they found was Seemapuri—a place filled with poverty, yet more secure than hunger and homelessness. Seemapuri is home to about 10,000 ragpickers living in makeshift shelters without proper sanitation or official identity, but with ration cards that guarantee them food.

The author shares a touching conversation with Saheb about education. When asked if he would go to school, Saheb responds that there is none in his neighbourhood. Amused, the author jokingly promises to open one, a promise that Saheb naively believes. It reflects the broken promises and lost dreams common in the lives of such children.

The narrative also highlights the children’s longing for simple things like shoes. Many walk barefoot, not necessarily due to lack of money, but because poverty has become a tradition that people have adapted to over generations. Through a story of a man who once prayed for shoes and eventually ensured his son received a proper education, the author contrasts dreams fulfilled with the harshness of lives like Saheb’s.

Despite the hardship, Saheb has moments of joy—finding coins, playing on swings, or wearing discarded tennis shoes. But these moments are fleeting. Eventually, he finds work at a tea stall and earns ₹800 a month with meals. Although it seems like a step up, the author notes that he has lost his freedom. Earlier, the plastic bag he carried gave him a sense of ownership and choice. Now, the steel canister he carries belongs to someone else. He is no longer his own master.

In essence, the lesson sheds light on the struggles of displaced families and the stolen childhoods of countless children forced into labour. It presents a poignant picture of poverty, lost opportunities, and the enduring human spirit amidst bleak surroundings. Through Saheb’s story, Anees Jung appeals to our conscience, drawing attention to the need for education, dignity, and hope for every child.

Sure, here is the full original CBSE-prescribed text of Part I: “Sometimes I Find a Rupee in the Garbage” from the chapter Lost Spring by Anees Jung. This is provided for educational purposes only and is aligned with the NCERT curriculum.

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Part II: I Want to Drive a Car

—from Lost Spring by Anees Jung

“I want to drive a car,” Mukesh insists on being his own master.

I ask him if he knows anything about cars. “I will learn to drive a car,” he answers, looking straight into my eyes. His dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets that fill his town, Firozabad, famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles.

It is his family’s profession. For generations, they have been working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles for all the women in the land it seems. Mukesh’s family is among them. None of them know that it is illegal for children like him to work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light. But they are used to it. They have seen nothing but bangles. In fact, they have become so accustomed to the grime that they think it is part of their existence, and they do not even complain. They have accepted it as naturally as the coming of the sunrise.

Mukesh’s father is old and poor. He has worked hard all his life, first as a tailor, then as a bangle maker. He has never had the means to organize a cooperative, nor has he even dared to dream. He knows nothing except his trade. “It is his karam, his destiny,” says Mukesh’s grandmother, who has seen her husband go blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. “Can a god-given lineage ever be broken?” she implies.

Born in the caste of bangle makers, they have seen nothing but bangles—eyes more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside, that the rays of the sun cannot brighten their lives. They do not know that there is a world beyond the bangle-making.

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 in Firozabad. The young men echo the lament of their elders. They say, “Little has moved with time, it seems, in Firozabad.”

Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

“Why not organize yourselves into a cooperative?” I ask a group of young men who have fallen into the clutches of middlemen, who trapped their fathers and forefathers.

“Even if we get organized, we are the ones who will be hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something illegal,” they say. There is no leader among them, no one who can help them see things differently. Their fathers are as tired as they are. They talk endlessly in a spiral that moves from poverty to apathy to greed and to injustice.

Listening to them, I see two distinct worlds—one of the family, caught in a web of poverty, burdened by the stigma of caste in which they are born; the other, a vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians.

Together they have imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down. Before he is aware, he accepts it as naturally as his father. To do anything else would mean to dare. And daring is not part of his growing up.

When I sense a flash of it in Mukesh, I am cheered. I ask him, “Do you also dream of flying a plane?”

He is silent.

“No,” he says, staring at the ground.

In a very small voice, he says, “I want to be a motor mechanic. I will learn to drive a car.”

He is content to dream of cars that he sees hurtling down the streets of his town. Few airplanes fly over Firozabad.

          

Word	English Meaning	Hindi Meaning
Insists	Strongly demands	ज़ोर देना
Master	Controller or ruler	मालिक
Mirage	Illusion	मृगतृष्णा
Amidst	In the middle of	के बीच में
Furnaces	Enclosed chambers for heating	भट्ठियाँ
Welding	Joining materials by heating	जोड़ना (धातु)
Dingy	Dark and dirty	गंदा और अंधेरा
Accustomed	Used to	अभ्यस्त
Grime	Dirt	मैल
Existence	Life	अस्तित्व
Sunrise	The rising of the sun	सूर्योदय
Organize	To set up or arrange	संगठित करना
Cooperative	A jointly owned enterprise	सहकारी संस्था
Dared	Had the courage	साहस किया
Destiny	Fate	किस्मत
Lineage	Ancestry or family background	वंशावली
Polishing	Making shiny	चमकाना
Implies	Suggests indirectly	संकेत देना
Adjusted	Adapted	अनुकूलित
Rays	Beams of light	किरणें
Lament	Expression of grief	विलाप
Mind-numbing	Extremely boring or dull	दिमाग सुन्न करने वाला
Toil	Hard work	कठिन परिश्रम
Initiative	Ability to take charge	पहल
Clutches	Grasp or control	पकड़
Middlemen	Intermediaries	बिचौलिए
Trapped	Caught	फँसा हुआ
Hauled	Dragged forcefully	घसीटना
Beaten	Hit	पीटा गया
Dragged	Pulled	घसीटा गया
Illegal	Against the law	अवैध
Bureaucrats	Government officials	नौकरशाह
Apathy	Lack of interest	उदासीनता
Vicious	Evil or immoral	दुष्ट
Circle	Loop or cycle	चक्र
Imposed	Forced	थोपा गया
Baggage	Burden	बोझ
Naturally	Without effort	स्वाभाविक रूप से
Daring	Courageous	साहसी
Growing up	Becoming mature	बड़ा होना
Cheered	Felt happy	प्रसन्न हुआ
Staring	Looking fixedly	घूरना
Content	Satisfied	संतुष्ट
Hurtling	Moving fast	तेजी से बढ़ना
Distinct	Clearly different	भिन्न
Stigma	Disgrace	कलंक
Poverty	The state of being poor	गरीबी
Tradition	Custom	परंपरा
Profession	Occupation	पेशा
Exploit	Take unfair advantage	शोषण करना
Acceptance	Agreeing to reality	स्वीकार
Blindness	Loss of sight	अंधापन
Survival	Continuing to live	जीवित रहना
Spiral	Continuous loop	सर्पिल
Trap	A snare or trick	जाल
Victim	One who suffers	पीड़ित
Illiterate	Cannot read/write	निरक्षर
Unaware	Not knowing	अनजान
Resistance	Opposition	विरोध
Oppression	Cruel treatment	उत्पीड़न
Marginalised	Pushed to the edge	हाशिए पर लाया गया
Opportunity	Chance	अवसर
Rebellion	Act of resistance	विद्रोह
Suppression	Act of subduing	दमन
Helplessness	State of no power	लाचारी
Darkness	Lack of light	अंधकार
Injustice	Lack of fairness	अन्याय
Cycle	Repeated pattern	चक्र
Constraint	Limitation	प्रतिबंध
Identity	Who someone is	पहचान
Rights	Legal entitlements	अधिकार
Exposure	Being subjected to	संपर्क
Fate	Destiny	भाग्य
Freedom	State of being free	स्वतंत्रता
Burden	Heavy load	बोझ
Inherited	Passed down	विरासत में मिला
Mistrust	Lack of trust	अविश्वास
Voice	Expression	आवाज़
Solution	Answer to a problem	समाधान
Violation	Breaking a rule	उल्लंघन
Exploitation	Using unfairly	शोषण
Irony	Contradiction	विडंबना
Hope	Desire for something better	आशा
Resistance	Struggle against something	प्रतिरोध
Caste	Social division	जाति
Courage	Bravery	साहस
Patience	Ability to wait	धैर्य
Struggle	Fight	संघर्ष
Determination	Strong will	दृढ़ निश्चय
Humiliation	Feeling of shame	अपमान
Livelihood	Means of living	आजीविका
Traditional	Based on customs	पारंपरिक
Mechanic	Car repair worker	मिस्त्री
Opportunity	Chance for advancement	अवसर
Reality	Actual state	वास्तविकता
Background	Family or social origin	पृष्ठभूमि
Disheartened	Discouraged	निराश

Summary of Part II: “I Want to Drive a Car”

The second part of the lesson Lost Spring is titled “I Want to Drive a Car”, and it tells the story of Mukesh, a young boy who lives in Firozabad, a town in Uttar Pradesh known for its glass bangle industry. Through Mukesh’s life, the author Anees Jung highlights the struggles of child labourers and the vicious cycle of poverty, tradition, and helplessness. Mukesh belongs to a family of bangle makers, a profession that has been passed down through generations. His family, like thousands of others in Firozabad, is engaged in making glass bangles—a task that requires working in dangerous conditions, near hot furnaces, in dark, airless rooms. These children, including Mukesh, are exposed to heat, dust, and toxic substances at a very young age. As a result, many of them lose their eyesight before they even become adults. The families in Firozabad are trapped not just in economic poverty but also in the mental poverty of tradition. Mukesh’s family has accepted their condition as destiny. His grandmother believes that their profession is “god-given,” and cannot be changed. They lack awareness of their legal rights, and they do not know that child labour is illegal. Most of them are illiterate and believe they have no option but to continue the work of their ancestors. The situation is worsened by the corrupt system that includes sahukars (moneylenders), middlemen, bureaucrats, and even the police. If the workers try to protest or organize themselves into cooperatives to escape the exploitation, they are threatened or even jailed. This fear stops them from taking any action to improve their lives. The result is a vicious circle of poverty and oppression that continues from one generation to the next. However, Mukesh is different. Even though he is a child labourer, he dares to dream of a better life. He tells the author that he wants to become a motor mechanic and learn to drive a car. His dream is small, but it is real and courageous. It shows that change is possible if one dares to hope. While other boys of his age are stuck in hopelessness, Mukesh represents a new spirit of resistance and ambition. The author is moved by Mukesh’s determination and sees a ray of hope in his dream. Though he does not dream of something grand like flying a plane, his desire to become a car mechanic is a step toward breaking free from the chains of tradition and poverty. In conclusion, “I Want to Drive a Car” is not just a story about a boy—it is a powerful social commentary on the evils of child labour, caste-based professions, and the failure of systems to protect the vulnerable. Mukesh's small but brave dream stands as a symbol of hope, change, and self-belief. Short Answer Type Questions (from Lost Spring) 1. Why did Anees Jung ask Saheb about the school? What was its impact on Saheb? Ans- Anees Jung asked Saheb if he went to school. Saheb replied that there was no school nearby. He felt embarrassed and sad as he realized the importance of education. 2. Why did Saheb and other rag pickers not wear chappals? What excuse did they give for it? Ans-Saheb and other rag pickers did not wear chappals because they were too poor to afford them. They gave excuses like not liking to wear them or it being a tradition. 3. How many ragpickers used to live in Seemapuri, Delhi? How did they settle there? Ans- Over 10,000 ragpickers lived in Seemapuri. They had come from Bangladesh looking for a better life. They settled there without proper houses or facilities, living in mud huts. 4. What was the meaning of garbage for children? What did they find in it? Ans- For children, garbage was like treasure. They found coins, toys, and other useful things in it. It gave them hope and helped them survive. 5. Why did Saheb join the job at milk booth? What was he paid for his service? Ans- Saheb joined the milk booth to earn a regular income. He was paid 800 rupees a month and got meals. But he lost his freedom and joy. 6. Who was Mukesh? Where did he belong and what was his ambition? Ans- Mukesh was a boy from Firozabad, a city known for bangle making. He belonged to a poor family. His dream was to become a motor mechanic. 7. Why did Mukesh volunteer to take the narrator home? Who were there in the home? Ans- Mukesh wanted to proudly show his home to the narrator. In his home, there were his mother, grandmother, and other family members living in poor conditions. 8. "It is his Karam, his destiny." Who said this and why? Ans- This was said by Mukesh’s grandmother. She believed that working in bangle factories was their fate and they could not escape it. 9. What does the bangles symbolize? What is the role of bangle makers of Firozabad? Ans- Bangles symbolize Indian tradition and marriage. The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles but live in poverty and poor working conditions. 10. Why could the bangle makers not organise themselves into a co-operative? What do they face if they do so? Ans- They cannot form a co-operative because of fear from police and middlemen. If they try, they may be harassed, jailed, or punished. 11. What was the importance of garbage for children in Seemapuri? Ans- For children in Seemapuri, garbage was a means of survival. It gave them food, coins, and other useful things to help their families. 12. What explanation does the author offer for children not wearing footwear? Ans- The author says some children cannot afford shoes. Others follow a tradition of staying barefoot. Poverty is the main reason for this condition. 13. Why did children stay barefoot in Seemapuri? Ans- Children in Seemapuri stayed barefoot due to poverty. They had no money to buy footwear and accepted it as a part of life. 14. What did Mukesh want to become in life? Ans- Mukesh wanted to become a motor mechanic. He wished to break free from the family tradition of making bangles. 15. What do the inhabitants of Seemapuri do for their survival? Ans- The people of Seemapuri survive by rag picking. They collect garbage and sell useful items to earn money for food and shelter. 16. Describe the life of ragpickers at Seemapuri. Ans- Ragpickers in Seemapuri live in poverty. They live in huts without proper facilities. Their only source of income is collecting and selling garbage. 17. Where is Seemapuri situated? Ans- Seemapuri is a place on the edge of Delhi. It is near Ghaziabad and home to many poor ragpicker families. 18. What does garbage mean to the elderly people? Ans- For the elderly, garbage means a way to earn a living. It gives them food and money for survival. 19. What was the utility of garbage for the poor children in Seemapuri? Ans- Garbage was very useful for poor children. They found things like coins, food, and toys. It helped them and their families survive. 20. What did the children find in garbage? Ans- Children found coins, toys, and other interesting things in the garbage. These things gave them joy and some hope.  Long Answer Type Questions  "Lost Spring" by Anees Jung. 1. Who was Saheb? What was the plight that compelled him to wander in the streets of Delhi for ragpicking? Ans- Saheb was a poor boy who came from Dhaka, Bangladesh. His family had no home or land. They moved to Seemapuri, Delhi, to survive. He wandered the streets collecting garbage to earn some money. He had no chance to go to school. His life was full of struggle. Poverty forced him to work from a young age. He searched for useful things in garbage to help his family live. 2. Children like Saheb often go for private jobs in very small age. Is this their final destiny? How can such situation be overcome? Ans-Children like Saheb do small jobs at a very young age because of poverty. This should not be their final destiny. They also have dreams like other children. To improve their future, they must get free education, good food, and care. Government and society should help them with schools, shelters, and jobs for their parents. Only then can they live a better life and not be stuck in child labour. 3. Who was Mukesh? What did he want to do in his life and what did he not want to follow? Ans- Mukesh was a young boy from Firozabad, a city known for glass bangle making. His family made bangles for generations. But Mukesh did not want to follow the same work. He wanted to break free from the poor and hard life. He dreamed of becoming a motor mechanic. He wanted to learn a new skill and live a better life. He had the courage to think differently and make a change. 4. What did the narrator notice in the locality where Mukesh lived? What was the condition of bangle makers? Ans-The narrator saw that Mukesh’s area was very poor and crowded. The houses were small and dark. People were working in hot rooms without fresh air. They made bangles for a living. The bangle makers lived in bad conditions. Their eyes got weak because of the heat and smoke. They earned very little money and lived in poverty. They could not even think of doing anything else in life. 5. Every other house in Firozabad is engaged in glass industry. In every other yard, there finds the spiral of bangles. Even then the makers remain in miserable condition. What are the reasons? Explain with the suggestions to overcome this situation. Ans- The people of Firozabad work in the glass bangle industry for many generations. Every family is involved in making bangles. Still, they live in poverty. The main reasons are low wages, middlemen, lack of education, and no support from the government. They cannot escape this life. To help them, the government should provide loans, better working conditions, and free education. They must be taught new skills and helped to form cooperatives. 6. What is the vicious circle of middlemen? How are they trapped since the time of their forefathers? Can they get organised? If not, why? Explain. Ans- The bangle makers are caught in a vicious circle of middlemen who take most of the money. These workers do hard work but get very low payment. This has been happening since their ancestors’ time. They are scared to speak up or form groups. If they try, they may be threatened, harassed, or punished. Fear and poverty keep them trapped. They need education and support to get organised and fight for their rights. 7. How is Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad? Ans- Mukesh is different from other bangle makers because he has dreams. While most children follow their family tradition of making bangles, Mukesh wants to become a motor mechanic. He wants to learn a new skill and live a better life. He is ready to struggle for his dream. Unlike others, he doesn’t accept poverty as his fate. His courage and willpower make him special. 8. Describe the deplorable plight of bangle makers. Ans- The bangle makers live a very hard life. They work in hot, dark rooms with no fresh air. Many lose their eyesight at a young age. They earn very little money and cannot afford proper food, health care, or education. They are stuck in a life of poverty. They cannot leave this work because they have no other skills or support. Their lives are full of pain and suffering. 9. Describe the plight of ragpickers as depicted in the lesson 'Lost Spring'. Ans- The ragpickers in Seemapuri live in small huts with no proper water or electricity. They came from Bangladesh to find a better life but still live in poverty. They pick garbage daily to earn some money. For them, garbage is like treasure. The children do not go to school. They walk barefoot and wear torn clothes. Their life is full of struggle, hunger, and sadness. 10. Describe the life of people working in the glass bangle industry. Ans- People in the glass bangle industry work for long hours in hot furnaces. They sit in dark rooms full of smoke. Many lose their eyesight early. Their homes are dirty and overcrowded. They earn very little and remain poor. They cannot break free from this work because of middlemen and lack of education. They live without dreams, suffering in silence, generation after generation.