2.

LOST SPRING - ANEES JUNG

EXTRACTS:
Q1) “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 for 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 fenced 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 me 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.
(i)What reasons does Saheb give for children like him indulging in
scrounging?
Solution: Saheb explains that children like him scrounge through garbage
because there is a chance of finding something valuable, like money. The
excitement and hope of discovering more valuable items keep them engaged
in this activity.
(ii) “When you can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage, you don’t stop
scrounging.” The expression ‘don’t stop scrounging’ in the context, denotes
(A) hope (B) experimentation (C) impossibility (D) illusion
Solution: (A) Hope (Explanation: In this context, 'don't stop scrounging'
reflects the persistent hope and possibility of finding more valuable items in
the garbage, which motivates Saheb and others to keep searching.)
(iii)Explain the expression: ‘For the children it is wrapped in wonder.’
Solution: The expression 'For the children it is wrapped in wonder' means that
children see garbage with a sense of curiosity and excitement, imagining it as
a treasure trove with potential surprises. Unlike adults who view it as a mere
means of survival, children find fascination and possibility in it.
(iv)Why does Saheb stand and watch the two men playing tennis?
Solution: Saheb stands and watches the two men playing tennis because he
enjoys the game and likes to observe it. He finds pleasure in watching the
game despite not being able to participate. He also occasionally goes inside
when no one is around to use the swing.
(v) The gatekeeper, in allowing Saheb to use the swing shows:
(A) empathy (B) greed (C) cynicism (D) indifference
Solution: (A) empathy (Explanation: The gatekeeper shows empathy by
allowing Saheb to use the swing. Despite Saheb's socio-economic status, the
gatekeeper's gesture reflects understanding and compassion towards the
child's situation.
(vi)Saheb explained that someone had given the shoes to him because
________________.
Solution: Saheb mentioned that someone had given him the tennis shoes as a
way to explain their presence. It indicates that the shoes were not something
he could afford on his own but were a gift from someone, which explains why
they looked out of place with his discoloured shirt and shorts.
Q2) Short Answer Type Questions ( 40-50 WORDS):
i)What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ convey?
Ans: Spring is associated with childhood. Like spring, a child blooms in
childhood. However, abject poverty and thoughtless traditions result in the
loss of child-like innocence and much needed education. Millions of children
like Saheb and Mukesh lose the spring in their lives because they are
compelled to do hazardous work to provide a living for their family and
themselves. Thus, the title brings out the dejected life of the child labourers
and their deprivation of the blessings of childhood.
ii) “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 author, Anees Jung very distinctly sees the two worlds of the bangle-
makers and the makers of the society. On one side exists the poverty-stricken
families burdened by the stigma of caste, illiteracy, pall and gloom, while on
the other side, there is the sahukars, middlemen, policemen, keepers of law
and the bureaucrats, who ensure that these poor people continue to be
entangled in the vicious circle of poverty. Both these worlds are in stark
contrast to each other.
iii) " It is his karam, his destiny. " What is Mukesh's family's attitude
towards their situations?
Ans. " It is his karam, his destiny, " says Mukesh's grandmother. She wants to
say that they are a family of bangle makers. No one in the family can ever
break the God - given lineage. They know only one job and it is the art of
making bangles. She has watched her own husband going blind with the dust
from the polishing of bangles. Even then, she can't afford to have anything
else in mind except the making of bangles. She can't think like Mukesh who
dreams of becoming a motor mechanic.
iv) What is the contrast between the colour of the bangles and the condition
of the place where these bangles are made?
Ans: The dusty streets of Firozabad, the bangle-making district, are
overflowing with garbage and the stink is overwhelming. The hovels where the
bangle-makers dwell have walls that are crumbling down, with unstable doors
and no windows. The conditions are so terrible that families of humans and
animals live together. The drabness and lack of colour in the lives of these
people contrast starkly with the colour of the bangles which lie everywhere
“sunny gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink, purple, every colour born out of
the seven colours of the rainbow”. The unhappiness and tedium in the lives of
the bangle-makers contrasts the joy and merriment that their bangles will
bring to the women who will buy and wear them.
V) Identify an instance of hope or resilience in ‘Lost Spring’ and analyze
how it reflects one of the story's themes.
Ans: An instance of hope or resilience – Saheb’s continued search in the
garbage, driven by the occasional discovery of a rupee or a ten-rupee note,
symbolizes his hope and resilience against the overwhelming odds of his
harsh life. This reflects the theme of enduring hope amidst poverty and
destitution - the human spirit’s capacity to dream and hope, even in the
terribly dire circumstances -- suggesting that the desire for a better life can
exist independent of one's current state of poverty.
Q3) Long Answer Type Questions (120-150 Words)
Give a brief account of life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam
settled in Seemapuri.
Ans. The story ‘Lost Spring’ revolves around the pathetic lives of the poor
children who live in the slums and work in unhygienic conditions. Seemapuri
is a slum area on the periphery of Delhi with a settlement of more than 10,000
rag pickers. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh
back in 1971. They live in the structures of mud with roofs of tin or tarpaulin,
devoid of sewage systems, drainage or running water. One may think that the
life of people living on the periphery of the national capital must be very easy-
going, rich and good but it is all opposite. They have no identity or permits
except ration cards as food is more important to them than any identity.
Children grow up only to become the supporters of their parents in survival.
To them, garbage means gold. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads.
It is a gift for them because whenever they find some silver coin in a heap of
garbage, they hope to survive on it for some days. It was a tedious task as they
used to leave their houses barefoot early in the morning with a bag on their
shoulders. They did not have chappals, so they were not in a habit to wear
them. Because their fields and homes were swept away in the flood in
Bangladesh, so they came to the big city with a hope but even here they led a
miserable life.