CBSE Class 12 English Lost Spring Worksheet

Extract Based Questions

1. Multiple Choice Questions based on an extract.

A. “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 the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry where families have spent generations working around furnaces, wielding 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; 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. Mukesh’s eyes beam as he volunteers to take me home, which he proudly says is being rebuilt.

Question. The simile ‘dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets’ indicates that his dream was
(a) a reality, yet seemed distant.
(b) lost in the sea of dust.
(c) illusory and indistinct.
(d) hanging in the dusty air.
Answer.C

Question. ‘I will learn to drive a car,’ he answers, looking straight into my eyes. This sentence highlightsMukesh was
1. determined   2. fearless   3. hopeful
4. valiant   5. ambitious   6. stern
(a) 1 and 5
(b) 2 and 4
(c) 2 and 5
(d) 3 and 6
Answer.A

Question. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE with reference to the extract?
(a) Children work in badly lit and poorly ventilated furnaces.
(b) The children are unaware that it is forbidden by law to work in the furnaces.
(c) Children toil in the furnaces for hours which affects their eyesight.
(d) Firozabad has emerged as a nascent producer of bangles in the country.
Answer.D

Question. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged inmaking bangles indicates that
(a) bangle making is the only industry that flourishes in Firozabad.
(b) the entire population of Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
(c) majority of the population in Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
(d) bangle making is the most loved occupation in Firozabad.
Answer.C

B. She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes. “Ek waqt ser bhar khana bhi nahin khaya.” she says, in a voice drained of joy. She has not enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime-that’s what she has reaped! Her husband, an old man with a flowing beard says, “I know nothing except bangles. All I have done is make a house for the family to live in.”
Hearing himonewonders if he has achieved what many have failed in their lifetime. He has a roof over his head!
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 the elders. Little has moved with time, it seems in Firozabad, years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

Question. ‘She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes.’ This implies that
(a) she is married but has lost the charm in her eyes.
(b) she is a married woman who has lost her grace and beauty.
(c) though she is married, her eyes are devoid of happiness.
(d) she is a married woman who has lost her eyesight.
Answer.C

Question. ‘He has a roof over his head!’ The tone of the author is
(a) pessimistic
(b) empathetic
(c) sympathetic
(d) optimistic
Answer.D

Question. Choose the term which best matches the statement ‘The young men echo the lament of their elders.’
(a) acceptance
(b) reflection
(c) reiteration
(d) doubtfulness
Answer.C

Question. ‘Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream’.This shows that
(a) the bangle makers are exhausted yet they are enterprising and have dreams.
(b) the drudgery of work has destroyed their willingness to improve their lot.
(c) the daily grind has stolen the dreams of the bangle makers and made them dull.
(d) the bangle makers have been working so hard that there’s no time to dream.
Answer.B
 

2. Stand Alone MCQs

Question. ‘But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world’. This suggests that
(a) there is no dearth of promises which remain unfulfilled.
(b) there is a scarcity of people promising things for betterment.
(c) people make a lot of promises which are often fulfilled.
(d) promises made, live up to the expectations of people.
Answer.A

Question. From this chapter, it is evident that the author has an attitude of
(a) sympathy
(b) apathy
(c) empathy
(d) bewilderment
Answer.A

Question. ‘That’s why they left, looking for gold in the big city.’ Here ‘gold’ indicates
(a) misfortune of circumstances.
(b) ample wealth.
(c) means of survival.
(d) a sign of luxury.
Answer.C

Question. Choose the statement that is NOT TRUE about ragpickers in Seemapuri.
(a) Children are equally involved in rag picking as their parents.
(b) The ragpickers settle down in a place permanently.
(c) Rag picking has accomplished itself as a skill and form of art.
(d) Ragpickers live in unsteady shanties on the outskirts of Delhi.
Answer.C

Q.1 On the basis of your reading of the story of saheb-e-Alam complete the following sentences with correct information:

1.The family of Saheb migrated from Dhaka looking for………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. One explanation given by the poor people for walking barefoot is that it is not because of the lack of money but because of…………………………………………………………………………………………….
3.Rag- picking in Seemapuri has acquired the proportion of a fine arts because…………………………………………………………………………….
4.For elders, garbage is a means of survival but for children it……………………………………………………………………………………………….
5.By changing the nature of his work , from rag-picking to work at a milk booth, Saheb feels he is no more…………….............................

Objective:

i) To test the main points in the story
ii) To use appropriate language & vocabulary as in guided writing.

Q.2. On the basis of the second part of the story ‘I want to drive a car’ re-arrange the jumbled words and phrases bellow correctly in the cause-effect table. One has been done for you as an example.

(work in groups of four)

a) Loosing brightness of eyes
b) Lack of education
c) Years of mind-numbing toil
d) Firozabad is a famous city
e) Humans and animals living together
f) Poverty
g) Perpetuation of poverty
h) Working in high temperature &flickering light
i) Policemen hand in gloves with exploiters
j) Inability to dream and take indicatives
k) Poor workers can’t organize against exploitation
l) Bangle industries

Q.3 Complete the following suitably.

Objective:

To test analytical ability and appreciation of values as incorporated in the text. (a mind-mapping activity)

Q4.Working in pairs match the words /phrases in column a with their meanings in column b writing the correct number of words/phrases for each given meaning. One has been done as an example.
A                                                        B
1. Mind –numbing                    Weak and wavering ( )
2.looking for                             Living together ( )
3.perpetuation                          Absolutely poor ( )
4 .desolation                            Expressing grief passionately (11)
5. Squatters                             Never ending ( )
6. Survival                               Lack of interest ( )
7. Wobbly                                 In search of ( )
8.co-existing                            Loneliness ( )
9. Impoverished                        Existence ( )
10. Apathy                               Illegal settlers ( )
11. Lament                              Deprived of feelings ( )

Objective: i) enrichment of vocabulary.
ii) to familiarize with the key words helpful in expression of ideas contained in the text 

Important Questions NCERT Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 2 Lost Spring

Question. Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India?
Answer. Saheb’s parents left Dhaka because repeated floods swept away their fields and homes leaving them on the verge of starvation. This led to their migration to India, where they hoped to find better living conditions and livelihood opportunities.

Question. Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? Why/Why not?
Answer. No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea- stall. Although he is paid 800 rupees and is given all his meals, it bothers him that he is no longer his own master. His face has lost the carefree look. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he used to carry so lightly over his shoulder. The bag was his, the canister belongs to the man who owns the tea-shop.

Question. What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ convey?
Answer. The title ‘Lost Spring’ conveys that the grinding poverty and the traditions which condemn poor children to a life of exploitation, cause them to lose their childhood, which is really the spring time of their life. The slum children have to start earning their living and taking care of their family at a very young age. As a result, they do not get to enjoy a normal childhood.

Question. What is Mukesh’s attitude towards the family business of making bangles?
Answer. Mukesh’s attitude towards the family business of making bangles is that of reluctance. He wants to break free from the family tradition and dares to rebel. Mukesh dreams of becoming a motor mechanic for which he is willing to walk the long distance from his home to the garage every day.

Question. Most of us do not raise our voice against injustice in our society and tend to remain mute spectators. Anees Jung in her article, “Lost spring” vividly highlights the miserable life of street children and bangle makers of Firozabad. She wants us to act. Which qualities does she want the children to develop?
Answer. Anees Jung, in ‘Lost Spring’ vividly highlights the miserable life of street children and bangle makers of Firozabad. Through children, like Saheb, Savita and Mukesh, she delves deep into the poverty and tradition, which forces a life of exploitation on these three and many others like them.
It is sad that they are caught in the vicious circle of poverty and exploitation generations after generations. It is not easy to escape it because there is the stigma of caste in which they are born. Moreover, the sahukars, the middlemen, policemen, keepers of law, bureaucrats, etc. make their lives more difficult for them than it already is.
Anees Jung wants us to act, raise our voice against the injustice prevailing in our society. The underprivileged often find themselves helpless and at the mercy of their exploiters. Thus, Anees Jung wants the children to develop compassion for the oppressed and the will and courage to work for social and economic changes in the society.

Question. Describe the circumstances which keep the workers in the bangle industry in poverty.
Answer. Difficulties faced by the bangle makers of Firozabad are many. They live in a state of perpetual poverty, in ready-to-crumble houses, crowded with a number of families. Besides remaining uneducated for the rest of their lives, they have to work extremely hard for long hours in the glass furnaces in high temperature. Since they work in the dark and dingy cells, many lose their eyesight at a young age. Their difficulties are not limited to just health problems. They are set at a much deeper level. The bangle makers are burdened by the stigma of the caste in which they are born. An adult bangle maker knows nothing except how to make bangles. So, that is all that he can teach his young ones and this continues for generations. The bangle makers cannot escape the vicious circle of exploitation by middlemen, money lenders, police and bureaucrats. They cannot even organise themselves into a cooperative due to the fear that it might be treated as being illegal. This is why there are no leaders who would raise their problems. The bangle makers continue to face apathy and injustice all their lives.

Question. Give a brief account of the life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri.
Answer. In ‘Lost Spring’ Anees Jung observes that the life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam depends wholly on garbage. For them it is no less than gold, in fact, it is their daily bread. The poor ragpickers are often barefoot, which she thinks is “an excuse to explain a perpetual state of poverty”. Although, Saheb-e-Alam wants an education, he and other ragpickers are unschooled. (Later, Saheb too takes up a job at a tea stall.) They are migrants (squatters) from Bangladesh, who came to Delhi in 1973. Presently, they live in structures of mud with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water. They pitch their tents wherever they find food. They have lived in Seemapuri for more than thirty years without identity and without permits. However, they carry their ration cards. No matter how much hardship they face, the ragpickers of Seemapuri have no intention of going back to their own country.

Question. “It is his Karam, his destiny,” What is Mukesh’s family’s attitude towards their situation?
Answer. Mukesh’s family’s attitude towards their situation is that of mute acceptance. They view bangle making as their destiny. They do not dream of any other option because there is no will, to take the initiative, left in them.

Questions on the Extracts from the Lesson

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
My acquaintance with the barefoot ragpickers leads me to 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 it is 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.

(a) Why was Seemapuri miles away from Delhi metaphorically?
(A) It is on outskirts of Delhi.
(B) Disparity betwe_en the amenities available.
(C) In terms of distance.
(D) As only ragpickers live there.
Answer : B

(b) Why does the author call Seemapuri a wilderness?
(A) It is uninhabited.
(B) Inhabited by squatters.
(C) Inhabited but not developed.
(D) People live here without identity.
Answer : C

(c) Which statement most aptly describes the pathetic condition of Seemapuri?
(A) it is devoid of sewage
(B) No system of drainage
(C) No provision for running water
(D) All of the above
Answer : D

(d) The ration cards help the squatters living in Seemapuri by:
(A) giving them an identity.
(B) giving them a permit for rag picking.
(C) getting their name off the voters’ lists.
(D) enabling them to buy grain.
Answer : D

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
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 ask them why they left their beautiful land of green fields and rivers. Wherever they find food, they pitch their tents that become transit homes. 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. But for a child it is even more.

(a) The phrase ‘transit homes’ refers to the dwellings that are
(A) unhygienic
(B) inadequate
(C) fragile
(D) temporary
Answer : D

(b) Identify the figure of speech used in the sentence “Garbage to them is gold”.
(A) hyperbole
(B) simile
(C) synecdoche
(D) personification
Answer : A

(c) Choose the term which best matches the statement ‘Food is more important for survival than an identity.”?
(A) immorality
(B) necessity
(C) obligation
(D) ambition
Answer : B

(d) What does ‘acquired the proportions of a fine art’ mean?
(A) Rag-picking has regained its lost status.
(B) A segment of ragpickers are skilled in fine arts.
(C) Rag-picking has attained the position of a skill.
(D) Only a few people are experts in rag-picking.
Answer : C

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“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 its 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.

(a) The narrator’s promise reveals that the attitude of society towards the impoverished people is one of:
(A) carelessness
(B) callousness
(C) embarassment
(D) selfishness
Answer : C

(b) The literary device used in the meaning of Saheb’s name is:
(A) Oxymoron
(B) Paradox
(C) Irony
(D) Symbolism
Answer : B

(c) The narrator refers to his world as ‘bleak’ because?
(A) it is devoid of hope
(B) it is not comfortable
(C) it is dull and barren
(D) it is dirty
Answer : A

(d) The word ‘abound’ in the above extract means the same as:
(A) develop
(B) thrive
(C) languish
(D) retreat
Answer : C

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes. “Ek waqt ser bhar khana bhi nahin khaya.” she says, in a voice drained of joy. She has not enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime-that’s what she has reaped! Her husband, an old man with a flowing beard says, “I know nothing except bangles. All I have done is make a house for the family to live in.” Hearing him one wonders if he has achieved what many have failed in their lifetime. He has a roof over
his head!
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 the elders. Little has moved with time, it seems in Firozabad, years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

(a) ‘She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes.’ This implies that
(A) she is married but has lost the charm in her eyes.
(B) she is a married woman who has lost her grace and beauty.
(C) though she is married, her eyes are devoid of happiness.
(D) she is a married woman who has lost her eyesight.
Answer : C

(b) ‘He has a roof over his head!’ The tone of the author is
(A) pessimistic
(B) empathetic
(C) sympathetic
(D) optimistic
Answer : D

(c) Choose the term which best matches the statement ‘The young men echo the lament of their elders.’
(A) acceptance
(B) reflection
(C) reiteration
(D) doubtfulness
Answer : C

(d) ‘Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream’. This shows that
(A) the bangle makers are exhausted yet they are enterprising and have dreams
(B) the drudgery of work has destroyed their willingness to improve their lot.
(C) the daily grind has stolen the dreams of the bangle makers and made them dull.
(D) the bangle makers have been working so hard that there’s no time to dream.
Answer : B

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Why not organise yourselves into a cooperative?” I ask a group of young men who have fallen into the vicious circle of middlemen who trapped their fathers and forefathers. “Even if we get organised, 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 could 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.

(a) The bangle makers could not organise themselves into a cooperative because:
(A) it would be legal.
(B) of lack of leadership.
(C) they would be helped by the police.
(D) they could not see things differently.
Answer : B

(b) Their inability symbolises their:
(A) poverty
(B) injustice
(C) disagreement
(D) helplessness
Answer : D

(c) ‘They talk endlessly in a spiral’ means that their talk:
(A) is meaningless
(B) is senseless
(C) yields no result
(D) is abstract
Answer : C

(d) The police’s attitude towards the bangle makers is one of:
(A) indifference
(B) subjugation
(C) partiality
(D) apathy
Answer : B

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“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 the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry where families have spent generations working around furnaces, wielding 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; 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. Mukesh’s eyes beam as he volunteers to take me home, which he proudly says is being rebuilt.

(a) The simile ‘dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets’ indicates that his dream was
(A) a reality, yet seemed distant.
(B) lost in the sea of dust.
(C) illusory and indistinct.
(D) hanging in the dusty air.
Answer : C

(b) ‘I will learn to drive a car,’ he answers, looking straight into my eyes. This sentence highlights Mukesh was
1. determined 2. fearless 3. hopeful 4. valiant 5. ambitious 6. stern
(A) 1 & 5
(B) 2 & 4
(C) 2 & 5
(D) 3 & 6
Answer : A

(c) Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE with reference to the extract?
(A) Children work in badly lit and poorly ventilated furnaces.
(B) The children are unaware that it is forbidden by law to work in the furnaces.
(C) Children toil in the furnaces for hours which affects their eyesight.
(D) Firozabad has emerged as a nascent producer of bangles in the country
Answer : D

(d) Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles indicates that
(A) bangle making is the only industry that flourishes in Firozabad.
(B) the entire population of Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
(C) majority of the population in Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
(D) bangle making is the most loved occupation in Firozabad.
Answer : C

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
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.

(a) The two distinct worlds referred to are those of:
(A) caste and family
(B) poverty and middlemen
(C) bureaucrats and politicians
(D) sahukars and policemen
Answer : B

(b) ‘Caste’ is called a ‘ stigma’ because of:
(A) its discriminatory nature
(B) the barriers it creates
(C) it results in oppression
(D) all of the above
Answer : D

(c) ‘Daring is not part of his growing up’ implies:
(A) not willing to take up challenges
(B) to seek adventure
(C) unwilling to accomodate
(D) unable to reach an agreement
Answer : A

(d) The word ‘distinct’ means the same as:
(A) similar
(B) specific
(C) connected
(D) obscure
Answer : B

Stand-Alone Multiple Choice Questions

Question. Saheb’s discarded and worn out tennis shoes are
(A) an indication to procure different ones
(B) a dream come true
(C) a sign of his poverty
(D) an insult to the sport itself
Answer : B

Question. Mukesh did not want to fly a plane. This reveals that he is:
(A) scared
(B) embarrassed
(C) practical
(D) regretful
Answer : C

Question. Choose the statement that is NOT TRUE in reference to Mukesh:
(A) he had dared to dream
(B) he wanted to be his own master
(C) he dreamt of flying a plane
(D) he wanted to be a motor mechanic
Answer : C

Question. Choose the statement that is NOT TRUE with reference to Saheb.
(A) He was a ragpicker.
(B) He had dared to dream.
(C) He did not like working in the tea stall.
(D) He belongs to Dhaka.
Answer : B

Question. The title ‘Lost Spring’ signifies loss of:
(A) Growth
(B) Childhood
(C) Innocence
(D) Pleasure
Answer : B

Question. Choose the statement that is NOT TRUE with reference to Mukesh:
(A) He insists on being his own master.
(B) He belongs to a family of bangle makers.
(C) He wants to learn to drive a car.
(D) He dreams of flying a plane.
Answer : D

Question. The bangle makers have lost the ability to dream because:
(A) of years of mind-numbing toil.
(B) they are unable to organise themselves into a cooperative.
(C) they are harassed by the police.
(D) they are caught in a web of poverty.
Answer : A

Question. When Saheb asked the author if his school was ready she was:
(A) embarrassed
(B) confused
(C) anxious
(D) humiliated
Answer : A

Question. The author is cheered because she senses a flash of ................ in Mukesh.
(A) daring
(B) joy
(C) adventure
(D) recklessness
Answer : A

Question. ‘But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world’. What ‘promise’ does the writer refer to?
(A) To free Saheb from child labour
(B) To start a school
(C) To give him a pair of shoes
(D) to make an attempt to restore his lost childhood
Answer : B

Question. What is the author’s explanation for the children staying barefoot in the ‘Lost Spring’?
(A) Lack of money
(B) A tradition
(C) They do not own a pair of shoes
(D) They do not want to wear shoes
Answer : B

Question. ‘But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world’. This suggests that
(A) there is no dearth of promises which remain unfulfilled.
(B) there is a scarcity of people promising things for betterment.
(C) people make a lot of promises which are often fulfilled.
(D) promises made, live up to the expectations of people.
Answer : A

Question. From this chapter, it is evident that the author has an attitude of
(A) sympathy
(B) apathy
(C) empathy
(D) bewilderment
Answer : A

Question. ‘That’s why they left, looking for gold in the big city.’ Here ‘gold’ indicates
(A) misfortune of circumstances
(B) ample wealth
(C) means of survival
(D) a sign of luxury
Answer : C

Question. Choose the statement that is NOT TRUE about ragpickers in Seemapuri.
(A) Children are equally involved in rag picking as their parents.
(B) The ragpickers settle down in a place permanently.
(C) Rag picking has accomplished itself as a skill and form of art.
(D) Ragpickers live in unsteady shanties on the outskirts of Delhi.
Answer : B

More Important Questions For CBSE Class 12 English Lost Spring Worksheet........

Question. In what sense is garbage gold to the ragpickers?

Answer : Garbage is like gold to the ragpickers in the sense that it is a means of sustenance for them. Garbage gives them their daily bread and provides

a roof over their heads.

Question. What did garbage mean to the children of Seemapuri and to their parents?

Answer : The writer says that garbage is gold for the ragpickers because for children, garbage is wrapped in wonder. They expect to get some coins, notes or valuables in it. If fate permits, sometimes, they find a rupee or even a ten-rupee note. For adults, garbage is a means of livelihood.

Question. Give a brief account of the life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri.

Answer : In ‘Lost Spring’ Anees Jung observes that the life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam depends wholly on garbage. For them it is no less

than gold, in fact, it is their daily bread. The poor ragpickers are often barefoot, which she thinks is “an excuse to explain a perpetual state of poverty”.

Although, Saheb-e-Alam wants an education, he and other ragpickers are unschooled. (Later, Saheb too takes up a job at a tea stall.) They are migrants

(squatters) from Bangladesh, who came to Delhi in 1973. Presently, they live in structures of mud with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage,

drainage or running water. They pitch their tents wherever they find food. They have lived in Seemapuri for more than thirty years without identity and without permits. However, they carry their ration cards. No matter how much hardship they face, the ragpickers of Seemapuri have no intention of going back to their own country.

Question. Garbage to them is gold. How do ragpickers of Seemapuri survive?

Answer : The Ragpickers of Seemapuri emigrated to Delhi from Bangladesh, in 1971 in the hopes of a bright and promising future. However, their situation in the city is not as comfortable as they expected. The ragpickers of Seemapuri live in structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin.

It lacks proper sewage and drainage system and running water. All these years, they have lived without an identity and they are still living like that. In spite of no proper identity and permits, they are surviving. They all have ration cards, which puts them on voters’ list. This enables them to buy grain. Survival is all that matters to them.

This is why they pitch their tents wherever there is food. Garbage and ragpicking are means of survival for the people in Seemapuri, it earns them

their daily bread and puts a roof over their head.

Sometimes, while scrounging, the garbage, finding money, whether one rupee or ten, it the highlight of their day, especially for the children; it gives them hope. Therefore, the writer is right when she says, “garbage to them is gold.”

Question. What does the writer mean when she says, ‘Saheb is no longer his own master’?

Answer : The writer meant that when Saheb was a ragpicker he was a carefree boy, who would work and still have time for himself. But from the time he started working at the tea stall, he lost his freedom as he had to work under a master and follow his instructions. He was no longer free to do as he pleased. Thus, he was no longer his own Momraest eAr.t