Lost Spring
Very short questions carrying 1 mark each
1. Who is the writer of the story Lost Spring?
Ans: The writer of the story "Lost Spring " is Anees Jung
2. From which book, has the story Lost Spring been excerpted?
Ans: The story Lost Spring been excerpted from ‘Lost Spring, Stories of
Stolen Childhood’.
3.
‘Why do you do this?’ This question was asked by the author to whom?
Ans:
This question was asked by the author to Saheb.
4.
What was Saheb’s profession?
Ans:
Saheb was a rag-picker.
5.
“If I start a school, will you come?” Who is referred to as ‘I’?
Ans:
Here, the writer Anees Jung is referred to as ‘I’.
6. What is the full name of Saheb?
Ans: The full name of Saheb Saheb-e- Alam
7. Where has Saheb come/hailed/originally from?
Ans: Saheb came from Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1971.
8. What is the meaning of Saheb’s name?
Ans:
The meaning of Saheb’s name is ‘Lord of the Universe’.
9. What are the boys not wearing?
Ans: The boys are not wearing Chappals.
10. Where does a man of the story belong to?
Ans: A man of the story belongs to Udipi.
11. What is the occupation of Saheb and his friends?
Ans: The occupation of Saheb and his friends is Rag-picking.
12. Where does Saheb's family live in India?
Ans:
Saheb's family lives in Seemapuri which is on the periphery of Delhi.
13. When had they come to India?
Ans: They had come to India in 1971.
14. How many ragpickers live there in Seemapuri?
Ans: Around 10,000 ragpickers
live there in Seemapuri.
15. What is more important for the people in Seemapuri
for survival?
Ans: Food is more important for the people in Seemapuri
for survival.
16. Which game is Saheb watching?
Ans: Saheb watching is tennis game.
17. Where is Saheb working now?
Ans: Saheb is working now at a tea-stall.
18. Which place is famous for bangles?
Ans: Firozabad is famous for
bangles.
19. What does Mukesh want to become?
Ans: Mukesh wants to become motor mechanic
20. What business does Mukesh's family do?
Ans: Mukesh's family make bangles.
21. How many children work in bangle industry?
Ans: Around 20,000 children work in bangle industry.
22. When the writer visits Mukesh's house, whom does
she confront?
Ans: When the writer visits Mukesh's house, whom she confronts Mukesh's
sister-in-law (bhabhi)
23. What is Mukesh's sister-in-law cooking that time?
Ans: Mukesh's sister-in-law is preparing evening meal. Spinach leaves
are boiling in a large vessel.
24. How was Mukesh's grandfather got blind?
Ans: Mukesh's grandfather got blind with the dust from polishing the
glass of bangles.
25. Had Mukesh and his brother ever been to school?
Ans: No
26. Where is Seemapuri?
Ans: Seemapuri is a
place on the periphery of Delhi.
27. “Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage”. Who is
the narrator of this line?
Ans: Saheb is the
narrator of this line.
28. “Why aren’t you wearing chappals?” Who said the
quoted lines?
Ans: Anees Jung said the quoted lines.
29. What does survival in Seemapuri mean?
Ans: Survival in
Seemapuri means rag-picking.
30. What does garbage mean to the people living in
Seemapuri?
Ans: Garbage means gold
to the people living in Seemapuri. It is their daily bread, a roof over their
heads, even if it is a leaking one roof.
31. “I now work in a tea stall down the road”. Who is
working in a tea stall down the road now?
Ans: Saheb working in a tea stall down the road now.
32. How much Saheb get paid working in a tea stall?
Ans: Saheb is paid 800
rupees and all his meals.
33.
Does Mukesh know how to drive c car?
Ans:
No. He doesn’t.
34.
What is the occupation of the people of Firozabad?
Ans:
Every other family in Firozabad is engaged
in making bangles.
35.
Who is Savita?
Ans:
Savita is a young girl in a drab pink dress, sits alongside an elderly woman,
soldering pieces of glass.
36.
What does bangles symbolize to Indian women?
Ans:
Bangle symbolizes an Indian woman’s
suhaag, auspiciousness in marriage.
37.
What may arouse a ray of hope in rag pickers?
Ans:
Discovery of a few more rupees in the heaps of garbage may arouse a ray of hope
in rag pickers.
38.
“Can a god-given lineage ever be broken?” These words spoken by whom?
Ans:
Mukesh’s grandmother
39.
What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ symbolize?
Ans: The title ‘Lost Spring’ symbolizes Lost blooming childhood.
40.
What do the bangles symbolise in Indian culture?
Ans.
The bangles symbolise auspiciousness for a married Indian woman in Indian
culture.
41.
What was the profession of Mukesh’s father before he became a bangle maker?
Ans:
the profession of Mukesh’s father before he became a bangle maker was tailor.
42.
What is Saheb watching from the fenced gate of a club?
Ans.
Saheb is watching two young men playing tennis from the fenced gate of a club.
Each question carries 2 marks
1. How many ragpickers used to live in Seemapuri,
Delhi? How did they settle there?
Ans. In Seemapuri, Delhi,
more than 10,000 ragpickers used to live. They have lived there for more than
thirty years as they are the squatters who came from Bangladesh in 1971.
2. What was the meaning of garbage for children? What
did they find in it?
Ans. For children, garbage
was wrapped in wonder. In it, they sometimes found rupee, even a ten rupee note
and therefore they didn’t stop scrounging in hope of finding more.
3. There are two parts of the story. Name them.
Ans: 1st part is about Saheb
who came from Bangladesh.
2nd
part is about Mukesh who worked in bangle making industry in Firozabad.
4. Why did ‘Anees Jung’ ask Saheb about the school?
What was its impact on Saheb?
Ans: ‘Anees Jung’ asked Saheb
about the school because she wanted to know about the intention of Saheb
regarding studies. At the author’s offer Saheb immediately got ready to join
the school, though the author offered him non-seriously.
5. Why did Saheb and other ragpickers not wear
chappals? What excuse did they give for it?
Ans. Saheb and other
ragpickers did not wear chappals because it’s they don’t have shoes and they
didn’t like to wear also. They excused that their mother didn’t give them from
the shelf.
6. It is his Karam, his Destiny.” Explain.
Ans. Mukesh’s grandmother
believes in destiny. She believes that they cannot break God-given lineage. It
is their destiny to suffer like this. They were born in the caste of
bangle-makers and will always be one, for they do not have any control over
their destiny.
7.
Describe Mukesh as an ambitious person.
Ans.
Mukesh is an ambitious person because he wants to become a motor-mechanic by
breaking chain from the vicious web of generations of families being involved
in bangle-making. He has the courage to dream of driving a car.
8.
What is Mukesh’s dream?
Ans.
Mukesh belongs to the bangle-makers of Firozabad where each family is engaged
in bangle-making. On asking, Mukesh says, “I will be a motor-mechanic. I will
learn to drive a car.” Thus, he wants to be his own master.
9. Describe the irony in Sahib’s name?
Ans. Saheb is a poor ragpicker who lives in Seemapuri. His full name is Saheb-e-Alan’, which means Lord of the Universe’. The irony lies in the meaning of his name itself. According to his name, he should be a king and enjoy all the luxuries of life. But unfortunately, he is a barefoot ragpicker, who lacks even the basic necessities.
10. What does the bangles symbolize? What is the role
of bangle makers of Firozabad?
Ans. The bangles symbolize an
Indian woman’s ‘Suhaag’. The bangle makers of Firozabad produce the largest
quantity of bangles in the country and export bangles to all over the world.
11. Why could the bangle makers not organise
themselves into a co-operative? What do they face if they do so?
Ans. The bangle makers
couldn’t organise themselves into a co-operative because if they do so, they
are hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged to jail.
12. What does the title, ‘Lost Spring’ convey?
Answer: In spring,
everything sprouts and blooms in this season. But lost spring means it doesn’t
sprout and doesn’t bloom. In the same way the childhood should bloom of every
child but through the poverty of Saheb and Mukesh, we come to know about their lost
childhood. It is the time to enjoy, study and live a happy life. But they
couldn’t. They are compelled by their life to earn their livelihood.
13. Who is Mukesh? What is his dream?
Answer: Mukesh is a child who
works in a glass factory in Firozabad. Belonging to a family of bangle makers,
he shows no fascination towards bangle-making and wants to drive a car. He
dreams of becoming a motor mechanic.
14. Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? Why/ Why
not?
Answer: No, Saheb is not
happy working at the tea stall. He has lost his freedom and his carefree days. The steel canister seems heavier than the
plastic bag he would carry. He is no longer his own master.
15. Mention any two problems faced by the bangle
sellers.
Answer: The bangle makers
had to work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells
without air and light. They were also caught in a web of poverty, burdened by
the stigma of caste in which they were born and also caught in a vicious circle
of sahukars, middlemen and policeman.
16. Garbage has two different meanings—one for the
children and another for the adults. Comment.
Answer:
For the children it is wrapped in wonder, their eyes light-up when they find a
rupee or a ten-rupee note in it. They search the garbage with the hope of
finding something more. But for the elders it is a means of survival.
17.
How is Mukesh’s attitude towards life different from that of his family?
Answer:
Unlike his family, Mukesh insists on being
his own master. He dreams to be a motor mechanic. He wants to break away from
the family’s work of making bangles wherein his forefathers have spent
generations working around furnaces.
18.
Survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Comment.
Answer:
To survive, people of Seemapuri needed
money and that they earned by rag-picking. They had no opportunities for
employment in any other profession. For them, work meant rag-picking. It is
their daily bread, the roof over their heads and is the very means for their
survival.
19.
A young man in Firozabad is burdened under the baggage of two worlds. What are
they?
Answer: The two worlds that burden a young man in Firozabad include one of the family, caught in the 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.
20.
Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India?
Answer:
Saheb’s home was set amidst the green fields of Dhaka. His mother told him that
many storms had swept away their fields and homes. For this reason, his parents
were forced to leave Dhaka and migrate to India in search of livelihood.
21.
What is Mukesh’s dream? Do you think he will be able to fulfil his dream? Why?
Why not?
Answer:
Mukesh’s dream is to learn to drive a car and become a motor mechanic. His
dream is likely not to be fulfilled because he was born in such a place where
every family was engaged in making bangles.
22.
In what sense is garbage gold to the ragpickers?
Answer:
The rag-pickers of Seemapuri consider
garbage as nothing less than gold. For the elders it is their only means of
survival as it provides them with their daily bread. children it is wrapped in
wonder.
23.
To which country did Saheb’s parents originally belong? Why did they come to
India?
Answer:
Saheb’s parents originally belonged to
Dhaka in Bangladesh. His home, which was set amidst the green fields of Dhaka,
had been swept away due to the storms. So, his parents had left their native
place and come to the big city in search of livelihood.
24.
What does Saheb look for in the garbage dumps?
Answer:
According to the author Saheb scrounges
for ‘gold’ in the garbage dumps. ‘Gold’ here infers to items that are valuable
to him like currency notes.
25.
“It is his karam, his destiny.” What is Mukesh’s family’s attitude towards
their situation?
Answer:
Mukesh’s family have accepted their misery
and impoverished condition as factors that have been ordained by destiny. They
feel that a God-given lineage can never be broken and have accepted bangle
making as his destiny.
26.
What does the reference to chappals in ‘Lost Spring” tell us about the economic
condition of the rag pickers?
Answer:
The reference to chappals in ‘Lost Spring’
tells us that the ragpickers were poverty-stricken. The fact that they are not
able to buy chappals reflects their extreme state of poverty because of which
they are unable to buy basic things.
28.
Which industry was a boon and also bane for the people of Firozabad? How?
Answer: The glass-bangles making industry was a boon and also bane for the people of Firozabad. The industry has given them a means of livelihood but the hazardous working conditions in the hot furnaces take a toll on their physical health.
Previous Year Questions (2014)
1.
Who is the author of "Lost Spring" ?
Ans:
Answer is given.
2. What does the author of "Lost Spring" find Saheb doing every morning?
Ans:
The author of “Lost Spring” finds Saheb
scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps every morning.
3.
What does Saheb look for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he
come from?
Ans:
Saheb looks for gold/notes in the garbage
dumps. He is in Seemapuri. He has come from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
4.
Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Why?
Ans:
See question no 14. (2 marks question
section)
2015
1.
What does the author of 'Lost Spring' find Saheb doing every morning?
Ans:
See solved paper 2014, question no 2.
2.
What does Mukesh want to be?
Ans:
Ans:
Mukesh wants to become motor
mechanic.
3.
What explanation does the author of 'Lost Spring' offer for the children not
wearing footwear?
Ans:
The author thinks that being barefoot is a
tradition for most and that it is not due to lack of money. But she also can’t
help but wonder if that is only an excuse to explain their eternal poverty.
4.
What is Firozabad famous for and why?
Ans:
The city of Firozabad is famous for its
bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles. It is
the centre of India's glass-blowing industry. Families have spent generations
working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles for the women in the
land.
2016
What does Saheb look for in the garbage dumps?
Ans:
Saheb looks for gold/notes in the garbage
dumps.
2.
Where has Saheb come from?
Ans:
Saheb has come from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
3.
What is the irony inherent in Saheb's full name?
Ans:
See question no 9. (2 marks question
section)
4.
Why do the young inhabitants of Firozabad end up losing their eye-sight?
Ans:
The bangle makers had to work in the dingy
cells without air and light in the high temperatures of the furnace. The dust
particles from the bangles injured their eyes. They often lost their eyesight
before they became adults.
2017
1.
What does the 'garbage' mean for the elders of Seemapuri?
Ans:
For the elders garbage means of survival.
2.
Where does Mukesh live?
Ans:
Mukesh lives in Firozabad. He belongs to
the family of bangle maker.
3.
What is the significance of bangles in an Indian society?
Ans:
Bangle symbolizes an Indian woman’s
suhaag, auspiciousness in marriage.
2018
1.
Why have Saheb and his family migrated to Seemapuri?
2.
What are the two different worlds in Firozabad?
Ans:
Answer is given. (Q. No-19, 2 marks
question section)
3.
What was the promise made by Anees Jung to Saheb?
Ans:
Anees Jung promised Saheb that she would
start a school for him. However, on their next meeting, Saheb questioned her
about the school. She declined and said that it took a long time to construct a
school.
2019
1.
Where does Saheb originally hail from?
Ans:
Saheb hails from
Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1971.
2.
What is the actual name of Saheb? What does it signify?
Ans:
Saheb’s full name is Saheb-e-Alan’. It
signifies Lord of the Universe’.
2020
1.
Give a brief description of Seemapuri.
Ans:
Seemapuri is a settlement of more than
10,000 ragpickers. It is a place on the periphery of Delhi. Those who live here
are squatters who came from Bangladesh in 1971. They live here without an
identity and without permits. They do have ration cards that enable them to
vote and buy grain.
2.
Is Saheb happy with his job at the tea stall?
Ans:
See question no 14. (2 marks question
section)
3.
Mukesh want to become?
Ans: Mukesh wants to become motor mechanic.
4.
Where was the original home of Saheb's family?
Ans:
The original home of Saheb's family was in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2022
1.
Was Saheb happy with his job at the tea stall?
Ans:
See question no 14. (2 marks question section)
2.
Where does Mukesh live?
Ans:
Mukesh lives in Firozabad. He belongs to the family of bangle maker.
3.
What does Saheb look for in the garbage dumps?
Ans:
Answer is given.
2023
1.
What explanation does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
Ans:
See solved paper 2015, question no 3.
2. Whom did Saheb observe standing at the fenced gate of the neighbouring club?
Ans: Saheb
is watching two young men playing tennis from the fenced gate of a club.
2024
1.
Who is Savita?
Ans:
Savita is a young girl in a drab pink
dress, sits alongside an elderly woman, soldering pieces of glass. She lives in
Firozabad.
2.
Write a short note on the significance of the title, ‘Lost Spring’.
Broad
Notes from Lost Spring
1.
Describe the miserable plight of the people of Firozabad. 2014, 2015, 2017
Or
2.
Describe the bangle makers of Firozabad. How does the vicious circle of
sahukars, the middleman, never allow them to come out of their poverty? 2018, 2022
Or
3.
Write briefly on the hazard of working in the glass bangles industry. 2020
Ans:
Every other family in Firozabad is engaged
in making bangles. More than 20000 children also engage on it. The children
work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air
and light.
They
live in stinking lanes choked with garbage where they remain hovels with
crumbling walls, wobbly doors and no windows. They live in crowded with families
of humans and animals coexisting in a primeval state.
Their
eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. That is why; they
often end up losing their eyesight before they become adults. They have not
enjoyed even one full meal in their entire lifetime. They do not know anything
except bangles.
The
vicious circle of the sahukars’ and the middlemen never allow them to come out
of poverty. If the young men try to get organized then they are hauled up or
arrested by the police, beaten and dragged to jail. There is no leader among
them and no one can help them see things differently for the sahukars and the
middlemen.
4.
Describe the condition of Seemapuri. (2024)
Ans:
Seemapuri is a place on the periphery of
Delhi. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971.
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.
Children
grow up in them, becoming partners in survival. And survival in Seemapuri means
rag-picking. 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, even
if it is a leaking roof.
They
are devoid of even the basic amenities of life. Their poverty doesn’t allow them
to live a hygienic and healthy life. They cannot even think of a good life and
keep engaged in rag-picking.
2025
What
makes the city of Firozabad famous?
Ans:
Firozabad is famous for its bangle making industry.
What
was Mukesh’s dream?
Ans:
Question No 13 and Page No 4
Describe the irony in Sahib’s name?
Ans:
Page No 3 and Question No 9
'Garbage
to them is gold'. How do ragpickers of Seemapuri survive?
Ans: The ragpickers of Seemapuri survived by scrounging gold in the garbage dumps. It's their daily bread and provides a roof over their heads, even if it's a poor one. For the children, it's also a source of wonder, sometimes even finding coins or notes. For elders, it meant of survival.
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