Lost Spring Short Question Answer
Lost Spring Short Question Answer
Short Answer Type Questions of the lesson ‘Lost Spring’
Short Answer Type Questions –
Q.1. Who was Saheb ? What was he doing and why ?
Ans. Saheb was a young boy of school going age. He was looking for gold in the garbage dumps of the big city. He had left his home in Dhaka, Bangladesh and came to the big city in search of living. He has nothing else to do but pick rags.
Q.2. “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 ?
Ans. The author asked Saheb about going to school. Saheb explained that there was no 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 because she did not fulfil the promise she had made.
Q.3. What is the meaning of Saheb’s full name ? Does he know it ? How does he conduct himself ?
Ans. His full name is “Saheb – e – Alam”. It means the lord of the universe. He does not know it. If he knew it, he would hardly believe it. He roams the streets barefoot with other rag – pickers. This army of barefoot boys appears in the morning and disappears at noon.
Q.4. Explain: ” For children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents ?”
Ans. Small children scrounge heaps of garbage. They expect to get some coin, currency note or valuable thing in it. Sometimes they find a rupee or even a ten rupee note. This gives the hope of finding more. They search it excitedly. For children, garbage is wrapped in wonder. For their parents and the elders it is a means of survival. Thus, garbage has different meanings for them.
Q.5. 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.
Q.6. What job did Saheb take up ? Was he happy ?
Ans. Saheb took up the job at a tea – stall. But he was not happy with it. He was no longer his own master. His face had lost the carefree look. Although he earned 7800, even then he was not satisfied.
Q.7. 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 in it. 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 is watching so intently, is out of his reach.
Q.8. How does Saheb’s life change when he starts working at the tea – stall ?
Ans. Saheb now has a regular income. He is paid 800 rupees and all his meals. Thus, food is no problem. But his face has lost the carefree look. The steel canister in his hand now seems a burden. He is no longer his own master. He may have to work for longer hours. The helplessness of doing things at his master’s will makes him sad.
Q.9. Who is Mukesh ? What is his dream ? Why does it look like ” a mirage amidst the dust ?”
Ans. Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle – maker of Firozabad, where every other family is engaged in making bangles. His poor father has failed to renovate his house or send his two sons to school. Mukesh insists on being his own master. His dream is to be a motor mechanic. He wants to drive a car. Given the conditions of existence, his dream looks like a mirage amidst the dust.
Q.10. What do you learn about Firozabad from this chapter ?
Ans. Firozabad is famous for its glass bangles. It is the center of India’s glass – blowing industry. Families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles for all the women in the land. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles.
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Q.11. .”Born in the caste of bangle – makers they have seen nothing but bangles.” Where do they ‘ see’ bangles ?
Ans. Children like Mukesh are born in the caste of bangle – makers. They know no other work than bangle – making. They see bangles in the house, in the yard, in every other house, every other yard, every street in Firozabad. The spirals of bangles lie in mounds in unkempt yards. They also see them piled on four wheeled hand carts.
Q.12. What contrast do you notice between the colours of the bangles and the atmosphere of the place where these bangles are made ?
Ans. The bangles are of every colour born out of the seven colours of the rainbow. These are sunny gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink and purple. Boys and girls work in a gloomy atmosphere of dark and dirty hutments, next to the flickering flames of oil lamps around furnaces, blowing glass, welding and soldering it to make bangles.
Q.13. What are most of the bangle – makers ignorant of ? What would happen if laws were enforced strictly ?
Ans. 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. If the laws were enforced strictly, 20,000 children would be released from working hard throughout the day at hot furnaces with high temperatures.
Q.14. Where is Mukesh’s house located ? What is he proud of ?
Ans. Mukesh’s house is located 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 and huts. Mukesh is proud that his house is being rebuilt. His eyes shine as he volunteers to take the author to his home.
Q.15. What impression do you form about Mukesh’s family on having a glimpse of their ‘house ?”
Ans. 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 eyes of the frail young woman are filled with smoke, but she smiles. The scene depicts their grinding poverty but contentment with their job.
Q.16. Give a thumb – nail 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 and gently withdraws behind the broken wall to see them.
Q.17. 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 po lishing 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 or send his two sons to school.
Q.18. “Savita is a symbol of innocence and efficiency.” Comments ?
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.
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Q.19. What do bangles symbolize ? When, according to the author, will Savita know ” the sanctity of the bangles she helps make ?” How is the Indian bride dressed ?
Ans. Bangles symbolize auspiciousness in marriage for an Indian woman. Savita will come to know “the sanctity of the bangles when she becomes a bride. The head of a bride is draped with a red ved. Her hands are dyed with red henna. Red bangles are rolled on to her wrists,
Q.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. 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.
Q.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 pace their hunger. Building a house for the family is an achievement for them. Years of mind – numbing toil have killed all initiative and their ability to dream.
Q.22. Why do the bangle – makers not organize 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. no leader among them to help them see things differently. Their fathers are equally tire 1. They can do nothing except carrying on their inherited business.
Q.23. Which two distinct worlds does the author notice among the bangle – making industry ?
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 who promise their welfare but never keep it.
Q.24. How is Mukesh different from the other bangle – makers of Firozabad ?
Ans. Mukesh is quite different from other bangle – makers of Firozabad because he has the courage to take initiative and break from the traditional family occupation. He has strong will power also. He insists on being his own master by becoming a motor mechanic.
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Q.25. What do you think is the plight of the children born in the families of bangle – makers ?
Ans. The vicious circle of the middlemen and their allies have entrapped the poor bangle – makers in their nets. The stronghold is suffocating. They have imposed a heavy burden on little children. They can’t put it down. Before they are able to think, they accept the baggages as naturally as their fathers.
Q.26. 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 labor 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.
Q.27. Why did Saheb’s family migrate to India ?
Ans. Saheb’s family lived in Dhaka. There were many storms that swept away their fields and homes. So they left Dhaka for Delhi to earn their livelihood.
Q.28. Why does the writer feel her advice to be hollow ?
Ans. The writer knew that there was no school for Saheb in the neighbourhood, nor could she start one in the near future, yet she asked him to go to school. This apparently shows the hollowness of her advice.
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Q.29. What does garbage mean to the elderly people ?
Ans. Garbage has different meaning for the children and their parents. For elderly people or the parents, it is a means of survival.
Q.30. Where is Saheb going with a steel canister in his hand ?
Ans. Saheb is going to the milk booth with a steel canister in his hand.
Q.31. What does Mukesh want to become in life ?
Ans. Mukesh wants to be his own master, so he wants to become a motor – mechanic in his life.
Q.32. What is customary for a daughter – in – law in India ?
Ans. It is customary for a daughter – in – law in India to veil her face before male elders.
Q.33. Why do bangle – makers usually lose their eyesight ?
Ans. Bangle – makers work in dark hutments next to the lines of flames of flickering oil lamps. Their eyes get more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. That is why they often lose their eyesight.
Q.34. What does a bangle signify ?
Ans. It signifies an Indian woman’s Suhaag, auspiciousness in marriage. Every married Indian woman feels proud in rolling on the bangles on her wrists.
Q.35. When will Savita know the sanctity of the bangles ?
Ans. Savita will know the sanctity of the bangles when her head is draped with a red – veil, her hands. dyed red with henna and red bangles rolled on to her wrists.
Q.36. How is Firozabad unchanged ?
Ans. The poor people in Firozabad don’t have enough to eat. So they are bound to carry on the business of making bangles. Even young people fall in this vicious circle and they remain where they are. Thus, with the passage of time nothing has changed in Firozabad.
Q.37. Why does the author compare Saheb and his friends to the morning birds ?
Ans. The author compares Saheb and his friends to the morning birds because they go serounging garbage in the morning and return to their places at the noon like the morning birds which disappear at noon.
Q.38. Why do the bangle makers not organise themselves into a co – operative ?
Ans. The bangle – makers don’t organise themselves into a cooperative because if they do so, they will be hauled up by the police, beaten, and dragged to jail for doing something illegal, they say. And there is no lender among them who can think differently.
Q.39. 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.
Q.40. 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 its their tradition to wander barefoot and they didn’t like to wear also. They excused that their mother didn’t give them from the shelf.
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Q.41. 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.
Q.42. 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.
Q.43. Why did Saheb join the job at milk booth ? What was he paid for his service ?
Ans. Saheb joined the milk booth / tea stall because of poverty. There he was paid ₹ 800 rupees and all his meals but he had to work harder and boundedly there because he was no longer his own master.
Q.44. Who was Mukesh ? Where did he belong and what was his ambition ?
Ans. Mukesh was a young boy belonging to the bangle – making family from Firozabad. His ambition was different from his family as he wanted to become a motor mechanic.
Q.45. Why did Mukesh volunteer to take the narrator home ? Who were there in the home ?
Ans. Mukesh volunteered to take the narrator to his home because his house was being rebuilt and he wanted to show it to her. In the home, there were many members as Mukesh’s elder brother, his ( brother’s ) wife, Mukesh’s father, grandmother and few animals.
Q.46. “lt is his Karam, his destiny. ” Who said this and why ?
Ans. “It is his Karama, his destiny.” Mukesh’s grandmother said this because she has watched her own husband go blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. She said that a God given lineage can never be broken.
Q.47. 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.
Q.48. 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. They face the middlemen, police and other selfish peoples.
Q.49. Describe the irony in Sahib’s name ?
Ans. Saheb is a poor ragpicker who lives in Seemapuri. His full name is ‘Saheb – e – Alam ‘, 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.
Q.50. Why have the ragpickers come to live in Seemapuri ?
Ans. Once Saheb’s parents lived in Bangladesh, amidst the green fields of Dhaka. There were many storms that swept away their fields and homes. That’s why they migrated to Delhi and settled down in Seemapuri looking for an occupation.
Q.51. What did garbage mean to the children of Seemapuri and to their parents ?
Ans. Garbage means ‘gold’ to the poor ragpickera because some of it can be sold for cash. thus becoming a means of survival for the children of Seemapuri and for their parents. It is providing them their daily bread and a roof over their heads.
Q.52. What kind of gold did the people of Seemapuri look in the garbage ?
Ans. The people of Seemapuri look for items in the garbage which can be traded for money, meaning’ gold’ ,as it helps them earn their daily bread and have a roof over their heads. For a child, garbage may mean something wrapped in wonder, whereas for the elders it is a means of survival.
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Q.53. Describe Mukesh as an ambitious person.
Ans. Mukesh is an ambitious person because he wants to become a motor – mechanic by breaking free from the vicious web of generations of families being involved in bangle – making. He has the courage to dream of becoming a motor mechanic, thus breaking free from destiny.
Q.54. What is Mukesh’s dream ? Do you think he will be able to fulfil his dream ? Why ? Why not ?
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. However, because he is caught up in the vicious cycle created by others, he will not be able to realise his dream and will remain a bangle – maker.
Q.55. It is his Karam, his Destiny. “Explain.’
Ans. Mukesh’s grandmother believes in destiny. She believes that they cannot escape from the 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.
Q.56. Why could the bangle – makers not organise themselves into a cooperative ?
Ans. The bangle – makers could not organise themselves into a cooperative because they were trapped in the vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen, policemen, bureaucrats and politicians, who exploited them. If they tried to organise themselves, they would be beaten by the police and put in jail.
Q.57. In apite of despair and disease pervading the liveg of the slum children, they are not devoid of hope :How far do you agree ?
Ans. In spite of growing up amidat despair and disease, children who live in slums have the desire to achieve something big in life. This shows that they are not devoid of hope. Saheb, a ragpicker, is eager to go to a school and learn. Mukesh, who worke in dark, dingy cells making bangles , dreams of becoming a motor – mechanic against his family tradition.
Q.58. Whom does Anees Jung blame for the sorry plight of the bangle – makers ?
Ans. Anees Jung blames the vicious circle of the sahukars (moneylenders), middlemen, policemen, bureaucrats and politicians for the sorry plight of the bangle – makers. They don’t allow the bangle- makers to organise themselves into a cooperative.
Q.59. What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ convey ?
Ans. Spring is associated with childhood. Just as spring is the season when flowers bloom similarly, childhood is the period when an individual blooms and grows. Anees Jung here presents the horrific truth about the life of children in India who are victims of child labour and are not allowed to grow and bloom freely. Their childhood or springtime is lost.’
Q.60. Which industry was a boon and also bane for the people of Firozabad ? How ?
Ans. The bangle – making industry was a boon and also bane for the people of Firozabad. It was a boon because it gave them a livelihood so that they could survive. However, it was a bane because they were forced to work in their industry for generations, as their children had to also work in bangle – making to make ends meet, as the earnings were meagre. Additionally, their eyes and general health were ruined due to. continuously working close to the furnaces used for making bangles.
Q.61. “Listening to them, I see two distinct worlds … ” In the context of Mukesh, the bangle maker’s son, which two worlds is Anees Jung referring to ?”
Ans. The two worlds that the author refers to are those represented by Mukesh’s parents and Mukesh respectively. Mukesh has the courage to dream big in spite of all adversity, whereas the other bangle – makers of Firozabad have resigned to their fate, and have suppressed all their hopes and desires. Mukesh refuses to follow the ‘God – given lineage’ of bangle – making and wants to be a motor mechanic when he grows up.
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