AHSEC| CLASS 12| ENGLISH| CHAPTER - 2| LOST SPRING| SOLVED QUESTIONS FOR 5 MARK EACH| H.S. 2ND YEAR

LOST SPRING

Solved questions for 5 mark each:

(A) LONG ANSWER

1. Describe Seemapuri.

Ans: Seemapuri is located on the outskirts of Delhi which was a forest till 1971 when it was illegally occupied by migrants from Bangladesh. Over 10,000 of them now live in mud huts with tin and tarpaulin roofs, devoid of sewage, drainage, running water and other amenities of civilized life. They are all rag-pickers and they have been living here for more than thirty years without any identity, without permits, but with ration cards that register their names in the voter list and enable them to buy food grains. Food is more for survival than identity for them. And surviving in Seemapuri means rag-picking.

2. Explain the phrase, "Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi, yet miles away from it, figuratively..."

Ans: Seemapuri is home to over 10,000 migrants from Bangladesh. Here they live in mud huts with tin or tarpaulin roofs. There is no sewage, no drainage and no running water. These migrants have been living here since 1971 with no identity and no permits, but with ration cards that register their names in the voter list and that enable them to buy food grains. All these people depend on rag picking for their livelihood. The author has beautifully captured the location and atmosphere of the place from his observation that though the place is on the periphery of Seemapuri, Delhi, it is figuratively miles away from the big metropolis. It not only lacks the civic amenities of a great metropolis, but also lacks its atmosphere. It remained a forest, though no longer empty, as it was before the immigrants from Bangladesh settled.

3. Why have the people of Firozabad lost their initiative and ability to dream?

Ans: Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making glass bangles. But these people who make bangles for all the women of the country always live in a state of poverty. The house-to-house business of bangle making, the cry of not having money to do anything other than not even having enough to eat, rings in every household. Young males echo the laments of their elders. In Firozabad, little has changed with the times. Years of brain drudgery have made the people of Firozabad lose their initiative and ability to dream.

4. What stops youths from organizing themselves into a co-operative society?

Ans: Most of the families in Firozabad spent generations making glass bangles for all the women of the country without any improvement in their status. They are still in a state of perpetual poverty. They do not have enough money to do anything other than continuing with their traditional business. They cannot even organize themselves as a cooperative, as they are caught in the vicious circle of middlemen. Even if they organize, they are the ones who get dragged by the police, beaten up and jailed for doing something illegal. There is no leader among them, they are all caught in a spiral that moves from poverty to greed and injustice.

5. Author Anees Jung says, “Food is more important for survival than identity for ragpickers”. Explain.

Ans: Anees Jung's acquaintance with barefoot rag-pickers led her to Seemapuri, where they lived in mud huts with tin and tarpaulin roofs. All of them were migrants from Bangladesh who had settled illegally in Seemapuri. There were more than 10,000 rag pickers who were living there since 1971. Though the place was in the periphery of Delhi, it was without sewage, drainage and running water. There they had been living without identity and without permits for more than three decades, but with ration cards that enabled them to register their names on the voter list and buy food grains. Food was more important to him than identity. He left his country in search of food. Wherever they found food, they pitched their tents which became their homes. Children grew up in them and became partners in existence. Surviving in Seemapuri meant rag-picking. For them the garbage became their source of livelihood and roofs over their heads, even if it dripped. Seeing the tough struggle of these rag pickers, the author realized the importance of food for survival.

6. Show that "shoes with holes are also a dream come true" for kids like Saheb?

Ans: The author of the lesson "Last Spring" has observed that most of the poor children in India walk barefoot. The rag pickers she meets every morning are also barefoot. Some people try to say that it is not the lack of money in India but the tradition of being barefoot. The author feels that this is only an excuse to overcome a perpetual state of poverty. Because the author knows how these barefoot children dream of wearing shoes. The example of a priest's child who always prayed for a pair of shoes at the temple shows that this is not a tradition. Once the author asked the rag picker why he did not wear slippers and he said that it was because his mother did not bring slippers for him. Finally, one day the author saw Saheb wearing tennis shoes, which looked strange against his faded shirt and clothes. He told the author that someone had given it to him. But it was not difficult to guess that they had been thrown away by the rich boy because there was a hole in one of them. But it didn't make any difference to Saheb. For someone who always walked barefoot, even shoes with holes in them were a dream come true.

7. Firozabad has moved a bit with the times, says Anees Jung. So, what is his comment?

Ans: Firozabad is the center of glass bangle making industry of India. Every other family in this town is into bangle making. These families have spent generations working in furnaces, welding glass and making bangles for all the women of the country. Most of the families are so poor that they cannot even send their sons and daughters to school. So, they teach them what they know about the art of bangle making. Yet these families do not have enough money to do anything other than run their traditional occupations. Even they do not have enough to eat. The author therefore comments that little has changed in his life with the passage of time. Years of mind-numbing drudgery have sapped his initiative and ability to dream. Even they cannot organize themselves as cooperatives as they are trapped in the vicious circle of middlemen. As in the past these families of bangle makers still believe that being burdened with the stigma of the caste in which they are born, they are bound to suffer. Times haven't really changed for these bangle makers from Firozabad.

8. 'I wonder if this is merely an excuse to ward off a permanent state of poverty'. explain.

Ans: In "The Lost Spring," Anse Jung dealt with the barefoot garbage collectors she met every morning. When the author asked her why she did not wear 'chappal', she gave different reasons behind it. One said his mom wouldn't get them off the shelf. One of the boys was wearing shoes that didn't match. The author has seen many children walking barefoot. It is said that it is not the lack of money but the tradition of living barefoot but according to the author it is not so. The author feels that this explanation is only an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty. She knows how these barefoot children dream of wearing slippers. Children who are too poor to buy shoes or chappals walk around barefoot. They want to wear shoes and are even ready to wear abandoned shoes. Saheb, whom the author met every morning, was barefoot, but at last he found a pair of shoes, one of which had a hole in it. But Saheb was happy to have them, as if his dream of a pair of shoes had come true. So the author meant to say that walking barefoot is not a tradition but due to extreme poverty they could not afford a pair of shoes.

9. 'Saheb is no longer his master.' Why is it like this?

Ans: Saheb was a poor rag picker whose job it was to search the garbage heaps for money. He did this because his family was poor and he had nothing else to do. But at last, Saheb got a job at a tea shop. He used to get 800 rupees per month with full food. Now he did not clean the garbage heaps. He could expect to get a regular salary and feed himself. But he was no longer his master as he had to serve the owner of the tea shop. He had lost his independence and carefree look. First, they were their masters. The plastic bag he used to pick up the garbage was lighter than the tea stall owner's cone. So Saheb is no longer his master.

10. How does the young girl bring out the innocence of Savita?

Ans: In the text "Lost Spring" Anees deals with the lives of bangle makers mired in rust, poverty, and starvation. Savita, a young girl also belongs to the caste of poor bangle makers. She helps in making the beautiful bangles that adorn the wrists of the happily married woman. She sits with her grandmother, soldering pieces of glass. While making bangles, his hands move mechanically like tongs of a machine. According to Anees Jung, Savita is innocent as far as the sanctity of the bangles is concerned. He will suddenly realize this when he gets married. After becoming a bride, she will realize the auspiciousness of bangles in a woman's life. As far as the sanctity of bangles is concerned, its innocence has been well brought out by Anees Jung.

11. 'They talk endlessly in a spiral...' Explain.

Ans: In the line "They talk endlessly in a spiral", Aeneas Jung deals with the permanent state of poverty of the bangle makers as well as the exploitation they face at the hands of the rich. Every second idle in Firozabad is busy making bangles. Not even enough to eat rings from house to house, crying of having no money to do anything other than carrying on the business of bangle making. When Annes Jung asked them to organize themselves into a cooperative, they narrated their situation in a spiral to Anne Jung. Being trapped in the vicious circle of middlemen, they could not organize themselves as cooperatives. According to them even if they do organize, they are the ones who get dragged by the police, beaten up and jailed for doing something illegal. They were all caught in a spiral that moved from poverty to indifference to greed and injustice.

12. 'Some airplanes fly over Firozabad? What is the significance of the quoted line as far as Mukesh and his dream are concerned?

Ans: Mukesh, the son of a poor bangle maker, wants to become a motor mechanic. For this he has to cross many hurdles due to caste stigma. It was nothing less than a rebellion that he would be a motor mechanic. He does not want to fly an airplane because he knows it is beyond his reach. He is realistic as far as his dreams are concerned. He knows the garage is far away and has no vehicle, but he is determined to become an apprentice to the garage owner. Actually, Mukesh does not want to pursue his ancestral business. They have the courage to be different. In fact, Mukesh is not fatalistic as far as his dreams are concerned.

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