Lost Spring
Noted
by P.B.
1. Who is the author of ‘Lost Spring’?
Answer: The author of ‘Lost Spring’ is
Anees Jung.
2.
What is ‘Lost Spring’ about?
Answer: The story, “Lost Spring” deals with the deplorable
condition of poor children who get forced to miss the simple joyful moments of
childhood because of their socio-economic conditions.
3. What is the original book from which this
prose(Lost Spring) piece is an excerpt?
Answer: The original book is “Lost
Spring, Stories of Stolen Childhood” from which ‘Lost Spring’ is an excerpt.
4.
Who is Saheb?
Answer: Saheb is a young ragpicker of
Seemapuri who was migrated from Dhaka, Bangladesh. He always scrounges for gold
in the garbage dumps.
5.
Whom does the author encounter every day in the street?
Answer: The author encounters Saheb
every day in the street.
6.
What does Saheb do every day?
Answer: Saheb scrounges for gold in the
garbage dumps everyday.
7.
Where is the original home of Saheb?
Answer: The original home of Saheb is
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
8.
Why have Saheb and his family migrated to Seemapuri?
Answer: Saheb and his family
migrated to Seemapuri because once there were many storms that swept away their
fields and homes.
9.
What does Saheb look for in the garbage dumps?
Answer: Saheb looks for gold in the
garbage dumps.
10. What is Saheb’s full name?
Answer: Saheb’s full name is
Saheb-e-Alam.
11.What is the meaning of Saheb’s
full name?
Answer: The meaning of Saheb’s full name
is lord of the universe.
12. Whom did Saheb observe standing
at the fenced gate of the neighbourhood club?
Answer: Saheb observed the two
young men dressed in white who were playing tennis, standing at the fenced gate
of the neighbourhood club.
13. What was Saheb wearing when he
was at the gate of the club?
Answer: Saheb was wearing tennis shoes
when he was at the gate of the club.
14. Where is seemapuri?
Answer: Seemapuri is on the periphery of
Delhi.
15. Who is Mukesh?
Answer: Mukesh is a young boy who
works in Firozabad, famous for its bangles. He wants to be a motor mechanic.
16. Where does Mukesh live?
Answer: Mukesh lives in Firozabad.
17. What is Mukesh’s dream?
Answer: Mukesh’s dream is to be a motor
mechanic.
18. Who is Savita ?
Answer: Savita is a young girl
who works of soldering pieces of glass.
19. Why is Mukesh proud to take
the author to his home?
Answer: Mukesh is proud to take the
author to his home because his home is being rebuilt.
20. Who is in charge of Mukesh’s
household?
Answer: Mukesh’s elder brother’s wife is
in charge of Mukesh’s household.
21. “Why do you do this?”, Who is the speaker? To whom is the question
addressed?
Answer: The speaker is the author of
‘Lost Spring’ or Annes Jung. The question is addressed to Saheb.
22. Where is Dhaka?
Answer: Dhaka is formerly
known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh.
23. Give another expression for
‘glibly’. Make a sentence with ‘glibly’.
Answer: Another expression for ‘glibly’
is slickly or with superficial plausibility.
Sentence:
When the speaker began to glibly present, I
decided to take a nap to avoid the boring lecture.
24. ‘But promises like mine abound
in every corner of his bleak world.’
(i) Why do the promises
abound in Saheb’s world?
Answer: The promises are abound
in Saheb’s world, because many people like the author just give as same as these
promises without do anything on regard.
(ii) Why is his world bleak?
Answer: His world is bleak
because most of the people like the author just give promises but do nothing
for the promises.
25. Who are described as
‘morning birds’? and Why?
Answer: The friends of Saheb are
described as ‘morning birds’. Because, they appear in the morning and disappear
at noon like the morning birds.
26. Who lived in Seemapuri?
Answer: More than ten thousand
(10,000) ragpickers lived in Seemapuri and their houses were in structures
of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running
water.
27. What does the ‘garbage’ mean
for the children of Seemapuri?
Answer: For the children, the
garbage means a wrapped in wonder as / because they can find a rupee, even a
ten-rupee note as well as sometimes a silver coin in the garbage.
28. What does the ‘garbage’ mean for the
elder of Seemapuri?
Answer: The ‘garbage’ means for
the elder of Seemapuri is a means of survival. It is their daily bread, a roof
over their heads, even if it is a leaking roof.
29. Give another word for
‘scrounging’?
Answer: Another word for ‘scrounging’ is
searching.
30. What does not bother Saheb
regarding the shoes he gets to wear at one time? And why?
Answer: Saheb does not bother
regarding the shoes with a hole he gets to wear at one time. Because, he usually
walks barefoot, so even shoes with a hole is a dream come true for him.
31. What is out of Saheb’ reach?
Answer: The game of tennis is out of
Saheb’ reach.
32. What is the ‘karam’ of Mukesh
father, according to his grandmother?
Answer: According to Mukesh’s
grandmother, the ‘karam’ of Mukesh father is making bangles as they are born in
the caste of bangle makers as god-given lineage.
33. Give an English equivalent of
‘Karam’.
Answer: An English equivalent of ‘Karam’is
duty.
B. Short Answer Questions: (2 mark each)
1. What is Saheb’s explanation as
to why he scrounged for gold in the heaps of garbage dumps?
Answer: Saheb’s explanation is that he has nothing
else to do. So, he scrounges for gold in the heaps of garbage dumps. Saheb left
his original home long ago for the storms which swept away their fields and
homes. (38)
2. What is the author’s reply to
Saheb’s explanation?
Answer: The author suggests to go
to school for the Saheb’s explanation. The author replies glibly as realising
immediately how hollow the advice must sound is. (25 words)
3. Why does the advice sound
hollow?
Answer:
The advice sound hollows because of the Saheb’s situation and social status. He
has neither home nor his much money to study or for education. Also, there is
no school in his neighbourhood. (33 words)
4. What is the irony inherent in
Saheb’s full name?
Or:
What is ironical about the full name of Saheb ?
Or:
What is ironical about the name ‘Saheb-e-Alam’?
Answer: Saheb’s full name is
“Saheb-e-Alam. The irony inherent is that he does not know what it means. If he
knew its meaning as lord of the universe then he would have a hard time
believing it for his living status. (40 words)
5. Why isn’t Saheb wearing
‘chappals’?
Answer: On regarding Saheb’s not
wearing ‘chappals’, one of his friends explains that his mother does not bring
them down from the shelf. Another one adds that even if she does he will throw
them off. The third boy expresses that he want shoes. It is not lack of money
but a tradition to stay barefoot, is one explanation. The author wonders if
this is only an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty. (75 words)
6. Why are most rag picking
children barefoot?
Answer: Travelling across the
country, the author has seen most rag picking children walking barefoot in
cities and on village roads. It is not lack of money but a tradition to stay
barefoot, is one explanation. The author wonders if this is only an excuse to
explain away a perpetual state of poverty. (52 words)
7.What is the probable reason
behind such an explanation?
Answer:
The probable reason is not lack of money but a tradition to stay barefoot, is
behind such an explanation. The author also mentions that this is only an excuse
to explain away a perpetual state of poverty. (37 words)
8. Where does Saheb work after
giving up rag picking?
Answer: Saheb works in a tea stall
down the road after giving up rag picking. He is paid eight hundred (800)
rupees and all his meals. (25 words)
9. How did Saheb get the shoes he is wearing?
Answer: Saheb got the shoes from
some rich boy which he is wearing. They perhaps refused to wear the discarded
shoes because of a hole in one of them. (28 words)
10. Does Saheb like his job? Why or
Why not?
Or:
Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? Why.
Answer: Saheb does not like or
happy at working his job at the tea stall.
His face has lost the carefree look. Because, Saheb is no longer his own
master. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag for him and his
situation. (43 words)
11. What did the man from Udipi
pray for at the temple as a young boy?
Answer: The man from Udipi, as a
young boy, he went to a school past an old temple where his father was a
priest. He stopped briefly at the temple and prayed for a pair of shoes. (36
words)
12. What is the change seen now
in the temple and the town Udipi?
Answer: Now, the temple and the
town of Udipi are drowned in an air of desolation. In the backyard, the new
priest lives and there are red and white plastic chairs available now. Also,
the young boys now wear socks and shoes. (41 words)
13. Who are the inmates of
Seemapuri?
Answer: The inmates of Seemapuri
are more than 10,000 ragpickers. They have lived here for more than thirty
years without an identity. They have no 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 for them. (53 words)
` 14.
Why don’t children like Saheb ever give up hope?
Answer: Children like Saheb do not
ever give up hope because they sometimes find a rupee, even a ten-rupee note in
the garbage dumps. Also, they can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage. As for
the children, garbage or garbage dumps is wrapped in wonder. (47 words)
15. How does one survive in
seemapuri?
Answer: One 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 wrapped in wonder
expecting a rupee or a ten-rupee note even a silver coin. (60 words)
16. What are the two different
worlds in Firozabad?
Or:
What are the two worlds that the author distincts?
Answer: The author distincts two
different worlds in Firozabad, these are — one of the family, caught in a web
of poverty, burdened by the stigma of caste in which they are born and the
other is a vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen,
the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians. (54 words)
17. Why is Mukesh’s dream
mirage?
Answer: Mukesh’s dream looms like
a mirage because every other family in Firozabad is engaged only in making
bangles. The families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding
glasses, making bangles and doing nothing the other works. So, Mukesh’s dream
looks mirage that it is not possible from this generation and his family. (52
words)
18. What is the significance of bangles in a
society?
Answer: The bangles mean the
sanctity in a society. It symbolises an Indian woman’s suhaag,
auspiciousness in marriage. It changes a girl to become a bride. It is
significance with a bride that draped with a red veil, hands dyed red with
henna, and red bangles rolled onto her wrists. (49 words)
19. Why doesn’t Mukesh of ever dream of flying
a plane?
Answer: Mukesh does not ever dream
of flying a plane because it is his out of reach. He belongs to a bangle making
family. So, his family cannot afford the money for the dream of flying a plane.
Also, few airplanes fly over Firozabad. (43 words)
20. What kinds of bangles are made in
Firozabad?
Answer: Different kinds of bangles
are made in Firozabad. Among these, spirals of bangles of sunny gold, paddy
green, royal blue, pink, purple, every colour born out of the seven colours of
the rainbow are made in Firozabad. (36 words)
21. Why does Mukesh’s grandmother believe that
a ‘god- given lineage’ can never be broken?
Answer: Mukesh’s grandmother
believes that a ‘god- given lineage’ can never be broken because they born in
the caste of bangle makers. They have seen nothing but bangles in the house, in
the yard, in every other house, every other yard, every street in Firozabad in
their life. (48 words)
22. Why do the children in
Firozabad often lose their eyesight even before they become adults?
Answer: The children in Firozabad
work in the dark hutments with flames of flickering oil lamps and welding
pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted
to the dark than to the light outside. So/That is why; they often lose their
eyesight before they become adults. (50 words)
23. ‘Go to school’, I say glibly, realizing
immediately how hollow the advice must sound.’
Why was the
advice ‘hollow’?
Answer:
The advice sound hollows because of the Saheb’s situation and social status. He
has neither home nor his much money to study or for education. Also, there is
no school in his neighbourhood.(33 words)
24. What is the promise made by Anees jung to
Saheb?
Answer:
Annes Jung promised Saheb that she would build or start a school for Saheb and
the other rag pickers. She asked Saheb if she would start a school then he
would come or not. (33 words)
25. ‘If he knew its meaning –lord of the
universe-he would have a hard time believing it…’
What was
difficult for Saheb to believe? Why?
Answer: Saheb was difficult to
believe the meaning of his name as lord of the universe. Because, his status
was unaware of what his name represented. As he roamed the streets with his
friends, an army of barefoot boys who appeared like the morning birds and
disappeared at noon that were totally mismatched with his name. (55 words)
26. Why do the young inhabitants of Firozabad
end up losing their eye-sight?
Answer:
The young inhabitants of Firozabad work in the dark hutments with flames of
flickering oil lamps and welding pieces of coloured glass into circles of
bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside.
So, they end up losing their eyesight before they become adults. (50 words)
27. What is the life-time achievement of the
old man with flowing beard?
Answer: The old man with a flowing
beard mentions that he knows nothing except bangles. His life-time achievement
is that makes a house for his family to live in. Finally, he has a roof over
his head in his life. (39 words)
28. What has killed ‘all initiative and
ability to dream’ in Firozabad ?
Answer: Vicious circle of the sahukars,
the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the
politicians have killed ‘all initiative and ability to dream’ in Firozabad. They break the dreams, hopes, initiative talents,
abilities and the other facilities of the ragpickers. (43 words)
29. What rings’ in every home in Firozabad?
Answer: The cry of not having
money to do anything except carry on the business of making bangles and not
even enough to eat that rings in every home in Firozabad. The young men echo
the lament of their elders but can do nothing against by making group or
complain. (49 words)
30.What do the rag pickers of
Seemapuri conside garbage to be ?
Answer: The ragpickers of
Seemapuri consider garbage to be 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 something
more expecting a rupee or a ten rupee even a silver coin. (46 words)
31. What makes the city of
Firozabad famous?
Or: What is Firozabad famous for
and why?
Answer: 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. (24 words)
32.What does Saheb look for in the
garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
Answer: Saheb looks for gold in
the garbage dumps.
He
is a ragpicker of Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi. He comes from
Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1971. (28 words)
33.What explanation does the
author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
Answer: For the children not wearing footwear, the
author explains that it is not a tradition to stay barefoot. Instead, it is
only an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty and lack of money. (37
words)
34.Describe Mukesh’s family.
Answer: The members of Mukesh’s
family are Mukesh, his brother and his wife, his father and grandmother. Mukesh’s
family is born in the caste of bangle makers and they have seen nothing but
bangles. His family is engaged with the bangle making for generation after
generation. But, Mukesh wants to become a motor mechanic. (53 words)
35. Why is Mukesh realistic about
his dreams?
Answer: Mukesh’s
family is born in the caste of bangle makers and they have seen nothing but
bangles generation after generation. But, Mukesh wants to become a motor
mechanic and change the chain to something more. So, Mukesh realistics about
his dream as a motor mechanic and decides to go to garage and required
training. (54 words)
5 marks questions