LOST SPRING

by Anees Jung
Spring is the Season of optimism and hope. Spring is the metaphor of the childhood stage
in a person's life. From birth till late childhood, life for every child is almost the beginning
of a bright and shiny future. Childhood is featured by innocence, physical stamina and
vitality, atremendous urge for the outdoors, and atremendous appetite for fun and play.
Activities have no limits. It is also the stage for gaining skills and knowledge, learning, and
going to school.
The lost spring by Anees Jung is an expression of the national shame of children condemned
to poverty and alife of exploitation.The two protagonists of the chapter, Saheb-e-Alam,
and Mukesh lose their childhood in carrying the burden of poverty and illiteracy. In their
bleak stories of exploitation, the author finds glimpses of resilience and fortitude.

I)SOMETIMES IFIND A RUPEE IN THE GARBAGE

Saheb and his family have left their homes and green fields in Dhaka to settle in Seenmapuri.
They had left Dhaka because of storms and floods. They feel it is better to be without
identity than to go hungry.
Seemapuri is geographically close to Delhi, but its traditions, standard of life and people
are far away from Delhi. Seemapuri was a deserted area when the Bangladeshis arrived
here three decades ago. They were forced to come here due to the natural disasters in
Bangladesh. They loved Seemapuri because they could survive here. They had food and
shelter here.
The author's description of the life of the rag pickers in Seemapuri is touching. 10,000 people
have come as squatters, staying in structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid
of sewage, drainage, or running water. Squatters are persons who unlawfully occupy an
uninhabited building or unused land. They have stayed there without any identity but the
food is more important than identity. Their fields in Dhaka could not give them food
whereas being rag pickers, they don't go hungry. In Seemapuri survival means rag picking.
The elders have made their profession for fixed wages whereas for the children rag
picking is a game of treasure-hunting, They work through the garbage with the hope that
one day they would get a gold coin or a rupee note from the garbage heap
Through the years rag picking has acquired the proportions of fine art. Like any other art
form, rag picking possesses certain talents and rules. One needs guidance and inborn talents
to be a successful rag picker. He should know where to find garbage, what to take, what to
ignore,what time is best for it, and so on. In Seemapurievery child is skilled in this art form.
Saheb-e-Alam doesn't know the meaning of his name - lord of the universe-which he is not.
He was a rag picker. He and his fellow rag pickers are barefooted and the reason one of
them gives is his mother does not bring his shoes down from the shelf. Theauthor has met
many barefooted children roaming around. The reason is that it is not a lack of money but
a tradition to stay barefoot. According to Anees Jung, it is just an excuse to explain their
state of poverty.

66
Education has brought timely changes in many people's lifestyles like the priest from Udipi
and his son. Aman from Udipionce told the author his own story when he was a boy and
his

father apriest in the temple. As ayoung boy, he would go to school past this old temple
and stop briefly to pray for a pair of shoes. Thirty years later when the author visited his
town and the temple,she saw a lot of modern instances in the town and the lifestyle of the
people. The priese's son now goes to school, wearing shoes and socks and carrying aschool
bag. The author means to indicate the timely changes education brings to people and how
the illiterate rag pickers remain unchanged, carrying the rotten traditions. The rag pickers
have no way out of poverty since they have no chance to go to school and be educated.
Saheb is now employed in a tea shop with a fixed wage of 800 rupees and all meals. He is
not happy as he has lost his freedom as he is bound to the owner of the tea stall who is his
master. He is no longer his own master.
The title 'Lost Spring' is justified in the first part as Saheb-e-Alam's childhood - his
springtime is lost first in picking rags and then in working for a master.
II) IWANT TO DRIVE A CAR
Lost Spring, is a sad commentary on the political system of our country too that condemns
thousands of people to a life of abject poverty. For instance:
Mukesh (another Protagonist) born at Firozabad (bangle maker) works under inhuman
conditionsdark room, hot furnaces -caught in a web of poverty-vicious circle of
sahukars, policemen, politicians, bureaucrats, and moneylenders-resigned to fate
unaware of child labour act- stifled initiation and hope-lose eyesight before becoming
adults.
The life of bangle makers of Firozabad is full of obstacles that forces them to lead a life of
poverty and deprivation
Bangle makers born in poverty, live in poverty, die in poverty- the vicious web of
poverty
For generations, people have been engaged in this trade.
Work in inhuman conditions.
Although they work hard but the profit is meagre.
Their hovels have crumbling walls, wobbly doors, and no windows.
They are co-existing with animals under the same roof
Socialcustoms, traditions, the stigma of caste, and people in authority combine so
that they remain poor and uneducated
Moneylenders, middlemen, politicians, and policemen are all against them.
Unable to organize themselves into a co-operative due to lack of a leader.
They have lost the ability to dream.
Bleak future

67
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