The Lost Spring
By Anees
Jung
About
the author
Anees Jung is an author, journalist and a columnist for
major newspapers in India and abroad. She was born in Hyderabad in 1944 in
an aristocratic family. Her father, Nawab Hosh Yar Jung, was a renowned scholar
and poet. He was the adviser to the last Nizam of Hyderabad princely state. Her
schooling and graduation were completed from her hometown. Later she went
abroad for higher studies. She did her Masters in Sociology and American
Studies from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US. She started her career in
literal writing with the Youth Times, a Times of India publication. Later she
served as its editor from 1976 to 1979. Prior to it, she worked as journalist.
Jung came into the limelight with the publication of Unveiling India in 1987.
Later she published several books dealing with social issues including abused
children and women’s problems. Jung is noted for her lively and vivid
descriptions, though she rarely gives its solutions.
Characters
Saheb-e-Alam: A rag picker
Mukesh: Son of a bangle maker
Introduction
The story, "Lost Spring" describes the
pitiable condition of poor children who have been forced to miss the joy of
childhood due to the socio-economic condition that prevails in this man-made
world. These children are denied the opportunity of schooling and forced into
labour early in life. Anees Jung gives voice to eliminate child labour by
educating the children and to enforce the laws against child labour by the governments
strictly. The call is to end child exploitation and let the children enjoy the
days of the spring that bring joy under their feet.
Summary
I - Sometimes
I find a rupee in the garbage.
The first part tells the writer's
impressions about the life of the poor rag pickers. The rag pickers have
migrated from Dhaka and found a settlement in Seemapuri. Their fields and homes
had been swept away by storms. They had come to the big city to find a living.
They are poor. The writer watches Saheb every morning scrounging for
"gold" in her neighbourhood. Garbage is a means of survival for the
elders and for the children it is something wrapped in wonder. The children
come across a coin or two from it. These people have desires and ambitions, but
they do not know the way to achieve them. There are quite a few things that are
unreachable to them, namely shoes, tennis and the like. Later Saheb joins a tea
stall where he could earn 800 Rupees and all the meals. The job has taken away
his freedom.
II - I
want to drive a car.
The second part deals with the life of
Mukesh, who belongs to the family of Bangle-makers. Firozabad is best known for
its glass-blowing industry. Nearly 20,000 children are engaged in this business
and the law that forbids child labour is not known here. The living condition
and the working environment is a woeful tale. Life in dingy cells and working
close to hot furnaces make these children blind when they step into the
adulthood. Weighed down by the debt, they can neither think nor find a way to
come of out of this trap. The politicians, middlemen, policemen and bureaucrats
will all obstruct their way of progress. The women in the household consider it
as their fate and just follow the tradition. Mukesh is different from the rest
of the folk there. He dreams to become a motor mechanic. The garage is far away
from his house but he shall walk.
Main
points
I - Sometimes
I find a rupee in the garbage.
1.
The writer encounters Saheb every morning scrounging for gold in the
garbage.
2. Saheb-e-Alam, a refugee from Dhaka, Bangladesh
is a ragpicker.
3. Wants to go to school, but can’t – very
poor.
4. Lives in Seemapuri – a locality on the
periphery of Delhi without any basic amenities.
5. Most of the rag pickers live here.
6. Food is more important for them than
identity.
7. Rag picking is different for children and
adult.
8. For adults – a mean of survival
9. For children – wrapped in wonders
10. Sahib gets a job in tea stall, earns Rs.
800/- and all his meal but still unhappy
11. Loses his freedom and carefree look.
II - I
want to drive a car.
1. The writer comes across Mukesh in Firozabad.
2. His family is engaged in making bangles but
Mukesh insists on being his own master.
3. He desires to become a motor mechanic.
4. They work in dingy cells without air and
light and furnaces with high temperatures.
5. As a result, most of them become blind at a
very young age.
6. They don’t have money to do anything except
carry on the business of making bangles.
7. They can’t organize into a co-operative.
8. They are afraid of being hauled up by the
Police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something illegal.
9. There is no leader among them.
10. They talk of poverty, apathy, greed and
injustice.
11. So poor that they can’t even dream – to do
anything means to dare – and daring is not part of their growing.
12. The author is cheered when she senses a
flash of it in Mukesh who wants to be a motor mechanic.
Important Short / Long Answer Type Questions
Q1. What does the title ‘Lost Spring’
convey?
Ans. The title ‘Lost Spring’ conveys and
picturizes that childhood is like the spring. As everything blooms in this
season, in the same way the childhood should bloom but through the poverty of
Saheb and Mukesh, we come to know about their stolen childhood. It is being
destroyed and dumped in the web of poverty, dirt and dust.
Q2. What does Anees Jung want to reveal
in her story ‘Lost Spring’?
Ans. Anees Jung has portrayed two stories in
‘Lost Spring’ and both depict the grinding poverty, pitiable condition of life
and the other traditions that condemn the children to a life of exploitation.
For the rag-pickers of Seemapuri, garbage is gold and means of survival. The bangle-makers
of Firozabad live in dingy cells and stinking lanes. Even after much toil, they
do not get full meal.
Part I - Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.
Q1. What
is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come
from?
Ans. Saheb is scrounging
for anything in the garbage dump that he can sell and make money. This is the
only means of survival. He sometimes manages to find a rupee or even ten rupees.
He now lives with his family in Seemapuri, a slum on the outskirts of Delhi.
His family has migrated from Bangladesh in search of a better life.
Q2. What makes the authoress embarrassed
at having made a promise that was not meant?
Ans. On encountering with Saheb, the writer asks
him to go to school. Immediately at the second thought, she realizes that the
advice must sound very hollow. On the other hand, Saheb replies that there is
no school in his neighbourhood. And he will go if the authorities make one. The
writer asks half-jokingly if she starts a school, “will he go?” Saheb goes on
asking her “Is your school ready?” She feels embarrassed at having made a
promise that was not meant.
Q3. Does the rag picking mean the same thing for parents and
children? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. No, rag picking is not the same for
parents and children. For children it is wrapped in wonders where as for
parents it is the means of survival.
Q4. Why was not Saheb happy on getting a job?
Ans. Saheb was not happy on getting a job in
tea stall for a salary of Rs.800/- per month as he lost his freedom. He had to
carry the stall owner’s steel canister in place of his bag. He had lost his freedom
and carefree look. He was now no longer his own master.
Q5. What
could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to
cities?
Ans. Most people, who have
migrated from villages to cities, have done so because of the promise of a
better life. Some of them have not been able to earn any money from farming
because of the unpredictable vagaries of the weather. They have had no jobs and
no way of earning a livelihood. Cities provide a ray of hope as they are a
means of escaping from abject poverty and offer hope of some employment. These
people feel that though they may have to live in the most abysmal conditions in
the city, they will get at least some food to eat.
Part II - I want to drive a car.
Q. What
was Mukesh’s dream?
Ans. Mukesh belongs to the family of bangle
makers. He tells the writer to become a motor mechanic. He will learn to drive
a car and does not hesitate to go to the far off garage. He has no desire to live and become the
victim of poverty.
Q2. Why don’t the bangle makers of Firozabad organize
themselves?
Ans. The bangle makers are trapped in the
vicious circle of middlemen and police. If they organize a co-operative, they
will be hauled up, beaten and dragged to jail by the police for doing something
illegal. There is no leader to help them out from their misery. They are the
victims of greed and injustice.
Q3.
How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his
family?
Ans. Mukesh wants to be a
motor mechanic and drive a car. He wants to break away from the generations-old
family tradition of bangle making. His family is not as optimistic as he is,
but he is determined and exhibits a spark of courage and hope and dares to
dream, even though it means walking miles to get to the garage.
Q4. Why does the author say that the
bangle-makers are caught in a vicious web?
Ans. The family of bangle makers were caught
in the vicious web of poverty. They are forced to practise their ancestral
profession. They remain ill fed and ill clad throughout life. They have no
money to switch over their profession. Their hard work is mind numbling. The
police does not allow them to form co-operatives.
Q5. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh
realise his dream?
Ans. Mukesh belongs to the family of bangle-
makers who prepare colourful bangles like that of rainbow. But his attitude to
this situation is different from others. He is a daring boy and he announces,
“I will be a motor mechanic, I will leam to drive a car. Though the garage is a
long way from his home yet he insists I will go to the garage and learn.”
The determination and strong will of becoming a
motor mechanic and learning to drive a car, seems to be as firm as a rock in
Mukesh. That is why he says he will walk to the garage which is a long way from
his home. Though his dream appears to be vague, unclear and like a mirage yet
he has a different ambition to fulfil. He can materialize his dream once he
walks.
Q6. What
forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in
poverty?
Ans. The bangle makers
firmly believe that having been born in the caste and community of bangle
makers, they cannot escape their fate and must remain where they are. They
believe that bangle making is the only skill they possess and that they must
pass on the legacy to their children. Bangle making is not a lucrative source
of income but they have no alternative and hence remain entrenched in the same.
They have fallen into the vicious clutches of middlemen who had trapped their
fathers and their forefathers. They are afraid to form cooperatives to
safeguard themselves because they feel that they will be beaten up by the
police and jailed for doing something illegal. Steeped in despair and apathy,
they no longer have the will to aspire and better their lot. Some of the
industrialists conspire in unison with the sahukars, the middlemen, the
policemen and the politicians and then go on exploiting them. They see very
little hope of escaping from their impoverished life of misery and privation.
Q7. Mention the hazards of working in
the glass bangles industry. / Describe the difficulties the bangle makers of
Firozabad have to face in their lives.
Ans. The glass blowing industry of Firozabad
employs local families and these families have spent generations working around
furnaces, welding glass and making bangles of different colours. Working around
the high temperature furnaces is very injurious to our growing bodies. The dark
dingy cells without light and air worsen the working conditions of the
children. The dazzling and sparking of welding light and the high temperature
render the situation hellish. About 20,000 children slog their day light hours
and often lose the brightness of their eyes before they become adults.
The bangle-makers lead their life in utter
miseries and grinding poverty. They could never prosper working in this
industry. They hardly get a belly full of meal in their lifetime. Thus they are
not only underfed but also prone to ailments. The dingy cells and stinking
smell of garbage choke their bodies. There are flames of flickering oil lamps,
the blinding polishing and the welding work put a deep impact on their bodies.
Those who work in bangle industries, lose their eyesight before they become
adult.
Q8. Why should child labour be
eliminated and how?
Ans. The child labour employed in any form is
an offence. It is banned under law. Yet it goes on unabated at the industrial
towns like Firozabad, Shivakasi, Mirzapur and so on.
The child labour is hazardous in nature. It
inflicts physical and mental harm to the boys. The work in the glass bangle
industry often ends up them losing their eyesight before they become adults.
The mind-numbling toil of bangle-making kills all their initiatives, drive and
ability to dream in life. They are even deprived of the school education and
proper growth.
According to the writer about 20,000 children
are working in the glass bangle industry of Firozabad. Some of the
industrialists conspire in unison with the sahukars, the middlemen, the
policemen and the politicians and then go on stealing their childhood for some
extra coins. The .only possible solution lies with the government and the
society to punish the wrongdoers very strictly and keep a careful watch and
vigil over them.