RADIANT SCHOOL-SHARJAH

ENGLISH WORKSHEET
GRADE: 12 CHAPTER: THE LOST SPRING

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

1.Who is Mukesh? What is his dream?
2. Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? Why/ why not?
3. Why could the bangle-makers not organize themselves into a co-operative?
4. Mention any two hazards of working in the glass bangle industry.
5. What does the writer mean when she says `Saheb is no long his own master'?
6. Why did Saheb become a ragpicker? What did he look for in the garbage
dumps?
7. What are the problems faced by the bangle maker?
8. What was Mukesh's dream? In your opinion did he achieve his dream?
9. Seemapuri is on the periphery of Delhi and yet miles away from it. Why does
the author say so ?
10. Do you think Saheb was happy to work at the tea stall? Give reasons
11. On possible for Mukesh to realize his dream? Justify your answer
12. What does the title, 'Lost Spring' convey?
13. What story did a man from Udipi once tell the author, Anees Jung?
14. Where did Saheb come from? What made him and his family leave their native
place?
15. Garbage to them is gold, why does the author say so about the rag pickers?

ANSWERS
Answer.1
Mukesh is the son of one poor bangle-maker from Firozabad. At Firozabad, almost
everyone is engaged in making bangles and the same is passed down to the next
generation. His father couldn’t renovate their house nor educate his two sons.
Mukesh insists on being his own master. His dream is to be a motor mechanic. He
wants to drive a car.

Answer.2
Saheb is not really happy working at the tea-stall because working for a master
meant sacrificing his freedom and his “carefree look”. Even though the job at the
tea-stall pays him 800 rupees and all his meals, he seems less contented than
before. The weight of his master’s steel canister seems heavier than his rag-picking
plastic bag.

Answer.3
The bangle makers could not organise themselves into a cooperative because they
were trapped in the vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen, policemen, up
bureaucrats and politicians. If they tried to organise themselves, they would be
beaten by up the police and put in jail.

Answer.4
Glass blowing, welding and soldering pieces of glass are all health hazards. Even
the dust from polishing the glass of bangles adversely affects the eyes and even
adults go blind. Thus, the surroundings, prevailing conditions and the type of job
involved-all prove risky to the health of the workers.

Answer.5
Saheb gets some job at a tea stall. There the owner pays him Rs. 800/- and all his
meals. The narrator now finds him with a tin canister on his way to the
milkbooth. But he has lost his carefree look. The canister seems heavier than the
plastic bag he would carry so lightly on his shoulder. This was his own bag but
the canister belongs to his master. Thus Saheb was no longer his own master.

Answer.6
Their poverty and pitiable conditions of life forced him to become a ragpicker in
Seemapuri, a suburban colony of East Delhi. He is always looking for gold in
garbage dumps. For the children like him garbage is wrapped in wonder and for the
elders it is a means of survival.

Answer.7
The problem faced by the bangle makers are that they have to work in glass
furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light. The workers
lose sight at an early age due to bad posture and long working hours.
Unfortunately, there is no one to listen to them.

Answer.8
Mukesh’s dream is to become a motor-mechanic. It is no doubt difficult for
Mukesh to achieve his dream, as he is torn between his desires and his family
tradition, which he cannot escape. Besides, he has to face a number of obstacles in
the form of sahukars, middlemen, bureaucrats, law makers, politicians etc.
However, his will to work hard, and his strong determination could make him
achieve his dream.

Answer.9
By the statement "Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away
from it, metaphorically" Author meant that although Seemapuri existed at the
periphery of a well - developed city, Delhi was indeed very underdeveloped. Delhi,
being the capital of the country offered all the basic necessities and privileges to its
residents whereas, Seemapuri lacked in providing the basic necessities to its
residents. It was a settlement of rag pickers. Those who live here are squatters who
came from Bangladesh back in 1971. Seemapuri was occupied by 10,000 rag
pickers who lived in structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of
sewage, drainage or running water.

Answer.10
No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea-stall. He is no longer his own master.
His face has lost the carefree look. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic
bag he would carry with ease earlier. He is even away from his dream and doesn't
go to school which he wanted to do.

Answer.11
Mukesh can realize his dream by not losing hope and by working committedly
towards his dream. His dream of becoming a motor mechanic and driving a car is
completely different from his family's present scenario and therefore, he is bound
to face some hurdles. Mukesh should stay strong in face of such difficulties.
Mukesh also shows his willingness to walk a long distance to learn the work from
a garage, which shows that he is passionate about achieving his dream.

Answer.12
The title ‘Lost Spring’ conveys and pictorises 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. They have a strong desire to come out of this poor situation and work hard
for this. Let us make a strong determination to realize our dreams.

Answer.13
Once the writer meets a man from Udipi. About the shoes, he tells that as a young
boy, he would daily go to school past an old temple. In his way he would stay
there for sometime to pray to the goddess for a pair of shoes. His father was a
priest at the temple. Finally, he got a pair of shoes and became contented.

Answer.14
Saheb's home was set amidst green fields of Dhaka. his mother told him that many
storms had swept Away their fields and homes. for this reason his parents were
forced to leave Dhaka and migrate to India. looking for gold in the big city where
they now live.

Answer.15
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.

~Mohd Hamza Ansari