The Lost Spring

About the Author

Anees Jung is an Indian female author, journalist and columnist(kaw-luhm-uhst) who writes for
major newspapers in India and abroad. She was born to an aristocratic family in Hyderabad. Her
father was a renowned scholar and poet, and her mother and brother are also well-known Urdu
poets.

Jung hit the headlines with the publication of ‘Unveiling India in 1987’, which is primarily a travel
diary that focuses on interviews with women. She went on write many subsequent books on the
same topic, and talked to women about their everyday lives, and wrote books like ‘Night of the
New Moon: Encounters with Muslim women in India’ (1993) and Seven Sisters (1994). Her book
‘Breaking the Silence (1997) includes conversations on women’s lives from around the world.

Appropriateness of the title

As we all know, spring is the season associated with optimism and hope. It can be taken as a
metaphor for the childhood stage of life. Right from the time we’re born until late childhood, every
child hopes for new beginnings and a bright future. The phase of childhood is all about innocence,
energy, and tremendous attraction towards outdoors activities along with fun and play. And
playtime does not have any limits. It is also a time of getting more skill and knowledge and going
to school.

The ‘Lost Spring’ written by Anees Jung talks about the national shame of children being forced
to live a life of poverty and exploitation. The main two protagonists of the chapter, Saheb-e-Alam
and Mukesh don’t live their childhood as they have to carry the burden of poverty and illiteracy.

Introduction to the Lost Spring Summary

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. These
children are not given the opportunity of schooling and are compelled to start working early in life.
The author Anees Jung strives hard to eliminate child labour through her book. She propagates
the education of children and enforcement of strict laws against child labour by the government.
The message is to put an end to child exploitation and let all children enjoy their days of the spring
and joy.

Characters of the Lost Spring Summary

• Saheb-e-Alam: A rag picker
• Mukesh: Son of a bangle maker
The Lost Spring Summary

I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.

The first part talks about the writer’s impressions about the life of the unfortunate rag pickers. The
rag pickers migrate from Dhaka and find a settlement in Seemapuri. They end up losing their fields
and homes due to storms. They then come to the big city to find a living, but are poor. The author
then watches Saheb, the rag picker, every morning who is always scrounging for “gold” in her
neighbourhood. Garbage is actually the means of survival for the elders and it is something
wrapped in wonder for the children. Sometimes, the children find a coin or two from it. Even these
kids have desires and ambitions, but they have no clue about how to achieve them. There are many
things that are unreachable to them, for instance, shoes, tennis and similar stuff. Later on, Saheb
starts working at a tea stall where he earns 800 Rupees and also gets to eat all the meals. But the
job takes away his freedom.

II – I want to drive a car.

The second part is about the life of Mukesh, who comes from the family of bangle-makers.
Firozabad is quite popular for its glass-blowing industry. A staggering 20,000 children are a part
of this business and any law that forbids child labour is brutally ignored here. Also, the working
environment and the living conditions are pathetic. Children live in dingy cells and work around
hot furnaces that make them blind when they enter adulthood. Since they are weighed down by
debt, they cannot think or find any way to escape this trap. The politicians, policemen, middlemen
and bureaucrats obstruct their way of progress. Most women in such families think that this is their
fate and just follow the tradition. But Mukesh is very different from the rest of the folks there. He
has dreams of becoming a motor mechanic. The garage is quite far from his house but he shall
walk.

Gist of the Lessons

Sometimes I find a rupee in garbage

• The author here is analyzing the poor conditions and traditions that push children to live a life of
exploitation. They are also denied education and face hardships quite early in their lives.
• The writer comes across Saheb – a rag picker whose parents have left Dhaka and their life of
poverty to earn a living in Delhi.
• Just like many other families, even his family lives in Seemapuri. They don’t own any other
identification other than a ration card.
• These children can’t afford to go to school but get excited when they find a coin or even a ten
rupee note while rummaging in the garbage.
• This is their only way of earning.
• The writer feels awful to see Saheb, a rag picker whose name also means the ruler of earth. But
the poor child has lost his childhood and roams barefooted with his friends.
• Right from morning to afternoon, the author comes across him in a tea stall. Saheb becomes sad
as he realizes that he is no longer the master of his own destiny and the loss of identity weighs
heavily on his tender shoulders.
I want to drive a car

• The author sheds light on another victim of child labour, Mukesh who dreams of becoming a motor
mechanic.
• But the child has always worked in the glass making industry.
• They get exposed to many health hazards such as losing their eyesight as they work in appalling
conditions, in dark and dingy cells.
• Mukesh’s father is blind and even his father and grandfather were blind.
• So, the bangle makers of Firozabad are so burdened that they have stopped dreaming unlike
Mukesh who wants to drive a car.
So, this was all about the Lost Spring Summary of Class 12 English. It is extremely crucial to
understand the hidden meanings of the writer’s story to score well in this topic.

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. comes across Mukesh in Firozabad.

Gist of the lesson:

Sometimes I find a rupee in garbage

• The author examines and analyses the impoverished conditions and traditions that condemn
children to a life of exploitation these children are denied an education and forced into hardships
early in their lives.
• The writer encounters Saheb – a rag picker whose parents have left behind the life of poverty in
Dhaka to earn a living in Delhi.
• His family like many other families of rag pickers lives in Seemapuri. They do not have other
identification other than a ration card.
• The children do not go to school and they are excited at the prospect of finding a coin or even a
ten rupee note for rummaging in the garbage.
• It is the only way of earning.
• The writer is pained to see Saheb, a rag picker whose name means the ruler of earth, Lose the
spark of childhood and roams barefooted with his friends.
• From morning to noon the author encounters him in a tea stall and is paid Rs. 800 He sadly
realizes that he is no longer his own master and this loss of identity weighs heavily on his tender
shoulders.

I want to drive a car

• The author then tells about another victim, Mukesh who wants to be a motor mechanic.
• He has always worked in the glass making industry.
• They are exposed to various health hazards like losing their eyesight as they work in abysmal
conditions, in dark and dingy cells.
• Mukesh’s father is blind as were his father and grandfather before him.
• So burdened are the bangle makers of Firozabad that they have lost their ability to dream unlike
Mukesh who dreams of driving a car.