STOLEN CHILDHOOD

STOLEN CHILDHOOD

Think as you read

1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?

A. Saheb is looking for something of value that he might find in the garbage dump. It could be a toy, coin, shoes that he may use or something which he could sell. He lives in Seemapuri in Delhi and his family migrated from Dhaka in Bangladesh long time back in search of food and survival.

2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?

A. The author says that they do not wear footwear because it is a tradition in their families to remain barefoot. It is actually an excuse to hide their poverty and embarrassment.

3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.

A. Though he earns 800 rupees working at the tea stall, Saheb feels saddened that he has lost the freedom that he enjoyed as a rag picker. He is no longer his own master.

4. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

A. Firozabad is famous for glass blowing industry and all items made of glass, like bangles.

5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

A. People who work in the glass bangle industry lose their eyesight. They work in grim dingy cells near hot furnaces. They spend more time inside these factories than in the sun outside. The glass dust also harms their eyesight.

6. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?

A. 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.

Understanding the text

Q1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?

A. People migrate from villages to cities in search of a better life. They want to earn money so that they can lead a good life and rear their children in a better way. As cities have more opportunities for work, this makes them migrate from the villages to these big cities.

Q2. Would you agree that promises made to poor children are rarely kept? Why do you think this happens in the incidents narrated in the text?

A. Yes, I agree that the promises made to poor children are rarely fulfilled. In the story the writer jokingly offers the rag picker boy to join a school that she would open. In fact, she does not intend to open a school. She speaks mindlessly but the boy takes it to be true and later asks her if the school has opened. There are many such hollow promises in the boy’s life because the person who makes the promise never intends to fulfil it.

Q3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?

A. The writer tells us that the bangle – makers of Firozabad are poverty – stricken. They are burdened by the fact of the particular caste in which they are born – bangle – makers. They have to continue the traditional profession. Further, the society has formed a harsh circle around them. The money – lenders, middlemen, policemen, law – keepers, officers and politicians altogether form a barrier around them and tie them in the grip of poverty. They cannot escape from it.

Q4. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?

A. Mukesh dared to dream and wanted to become a motor mechanic. He wanted to drive cars too. He took the initial step by aspiring to do something different from the family business. I think that Mukesh can realize his dream with determination and hard work.

Q5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

A. The poor bangle makers in Firozabad work in dangerous conditions. The furnaces have very high temperatures and no ventilation. Hence, they are prone to ailments like lung cancer. While polishing the bangles, the dust harms their eyes and many lose their vision. They remain in dark for long hours and so are unable to see during the daytime.

Q6. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

A. Forcing a child to work is a crime. This is so in order to prevent exploitation of children. If forced to work, Children cannot enjoy their childhood. They cannot get proper education. Also, when they are forced into hazardous works, they get ailments at a young age. This destroys their future. Their parents overlook all these facts as they need money. So, the government has to become proactive and take measures to check child labour and enforce the law strictly.

EXTRA QUESTIONS

Lost Spring Chapter Wise Important Questions Class 12 English

Short Answer Type Questions (3 Marks, 30-40 words)

Question.1. To which country did Saheb’s parents originally belong? Why did they come to
India? (Compartment 2014)
or
Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India? (Compartment 2014)
or
Why had the ragpickers come to live in Seemapuri? (Foreign 2014)
Answer. Saheb’s parents belonged to Dhaka in Bangladesh, where they lived amidst green fields. They and the other ragpickers left their homes many years ago and migrated to India in search of a livelihood, as their homes and fields were destroyed in storms.

Question.3. In what sense is garbage gold to the ragpickers? (Compartment 2014)
or
Garbage to them is gold; why does the author say so about the ragpickers? (Delhi 2008)
Answer. Garbage is gold to the ragpickers of Seemapuri because it provides them items which can be sold for cash, which can buy them food and is a means of survival. Moreover, it is gold also because the ragpickers can find stray coins and currency notes in it. They might even find discarded things which they could use themselves.

Question.5. Whom does Anees Jung blame for the sorry plight of the bangle makers?
(Compartment 2014)

Or

 Why could the bangle makers not organise themselves into a cooperative? (All India 2012)
Answer. Anees Jung blames the middlemen, the policemen, the lawmakers, the bureaucrats and the politicians for the sorry plight of the bangle makers. These people conspire against and exploit the poor bangle makers. They pay them meagre wages, do not let them form co-operatives, and compel their children to join the same trade at an early age.

Question.7. In spite of despair and disease pervading the lives of the slum children, they are not
devoid of hope. How far do you agree? (Delhi 2013)
Answer. In spite of growing up amidst despair and disease, children who live in the slum have the desire to achieve something big in life, like Mukesh. This shows that they are not devoid of hope. Saheb, a ragpicker, is eager to go to a school and learn. Mukesh, who works in dark, dingy cells making bangles, dreams of becoming a motor mechanic, which is very much against his family tradition.

Question.8. Who is Mukesh? What is his dream? (Delhi 2012)
Answer. Mukesh is a child labourer who Works in a glass bangle making factory that is situated in Firozabad. Though Mukesh belongs to a poor family which is engaged in bangle making, he dreams of becoming a motor mechanic when he grows up.

Long Answer Type Questions (6 Marks, 120-150 words)

Question.1. Give a brief account of life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in
Seemapuri. (Delhi 2011)
Answer. The author’s acquaintance with Saheb and other barefoot ragpickers introduced her to Seemapuri. It is a slum area located on the periphery of Delhi. The residents of Seemapuri consist of people who left Bangladesh in the 1971 War and are basically refugees. Saheb’s family is among them. The area does not have facilities of sewage, drainage or running water. About 10000 ragpickers live here. Their only means of livelihood is ragpicking, and they treat rags as valuable as gold. These ragpickers have lived here for more than thirty years without any identity.

Question.2.’Lost Spring’ explains the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn thousands of
people to a life of abject poverty. Do you agree? Why/Why not? (All India 2011)
Answer. ‘Lost Spring’ is a good narration of grinding poverty and traditions to which thousands of people have succumbed. The story revolves around the pitiable condition of poor children who have been forced to live in slums and work hard in dirty conditions. The story is divided into two parts. The first part tells the writer’s impression about the life of poor ragpickers who have migrated from Bangladesh, but now have settled in the Seemapuri area of Delhi.
The second part narrates the miserable life of the bangle makers in the town of Firozabad. The stark reality of these families is that in spite of back-breaking hard work that they put in, they cannot have two square meals a day. Besides, they are victims of exploitation by those above them and also suffer the consequences of blind belief in traditions.

Question.3. The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone happy
but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate. (Delhi 2010)
Answer. Firozabad is the hub of India’s glass-blowing industry where families have spent generations making bangles to adorn married women. The stark reality of these families is that in spite of the back breaking hard work that they put in, they cannot have two square meals a day.
They work in deplorable conditions and many lose their eyesight early. To top it all, they live in unhygienic conditions where there is a lack of basic amenities too.
The sad reality is that the workers cannot organise themselves into a cooperative. They are devoid of all enthusiasm and do not dare to dream of anything better. The fear of the police and lack of leadership among themselves have confined them to a vicious circle of poverty, indifference and greed. Thus, while they bring happiness to everyone’s life, their own life is steeped in poverty and squalor.