English Ch - 2 Class 12th (Lost Spring Important Questions)

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Ch - 2 Lost Spring (Lost Spring Important Questions)

Short Answer Type Questions (3-4 Marks)

Ques.1: What is Sahib looking for in the garbage dumps ? Where is he and where has he come from ?

Ans - Sahib , a rag picker , is looking for gold in the garbage dumps . He is looking for something useful that can be sold . Sometimes he finds a rupee or ten rupee note. He lives in Seemapuri , a place on the periphery of Delhi . He longs to Dhaka in Bangladesh and has migrated to Delhi.

Ques.2: What is the meaning of Sahib's full name? Does he know it ? How does he conduct himself ? 

Ans- Sahib was a young boy of school going age . His full name was Sahib - e - Alam It means the Lord of the universe . He did not know it. If he knew it would hardly believe it . He wandered in the streets with a plastic bag on his shoulder with other rag pickers.

Ques.3: Where does the author find Sahib one winter morning ? What explanation does Sahib Offer ? 

Ans . One winter morning the author finds Sahib standing by the fenced gate of a neighborhood club. He is watching two young men , dressed in white , playing tennis . Sahib says that he likes the game , but it is a cry for the moon . So he is content to watch it standing behind the fence.

Ques.4: How has 'a dream come true ' for Sahib but what is out of his reach ? 

Ans- Sahib is wearing discarded tennis shoes . One of them has a hole . Sahib does not bother about the hole . For one who has walked barefoot , even shoes with a hole is a dream come true . But tennis , the game he is watching is out of his reach . 

Ques.5: Is Sahib happy working at the tea stall ? Explain?

Ans- Sahib is not happy working at the tea stall . No doubt he is paid 800 rupees and all his meals . But he has lost his freedom . The steel canister that he carries seems heavier than the plastic bag . It was because the plastic bag was his but the steel canister belonged to the owner of the tea stall . Sahib is no longer his master.

Ques.6: What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities ? 

Ans- People migrate from villages to cities for so many reasons for better education , well - paid jobs and exciting entertainment . Social reasons like the pressure of money lenders zamindar , the web of caste and unfair demands of mighty people are also some reasons for migrations.

Ques.7: What makes the city of Firozabad famous? 

Ans- The city of Firozabad is famous for bangles . It is the center of India's glass blowing industry where families have spent generations working around furnaces , welding glasses and making bangles.

Ques.8: Who is Mukesh ? What are his dreams ? Why does it look like "a mirage amidst the dust" ?

Ans . Mukesh is a son of poor bangle - maker of Firozabad . His poor father has failed to renovate his house or send his two sons to school . Mukesh insists on being his own master . His dream is to become a motor mechanic . He wants to drive a car . His dream looks like a mirage amidst the dust because they have no hope of help from anyone.

Ques.9: How in your opinion , can Mukesh realize his dream?

Ans. Mukesh insists on being his own master . He wants to be a motor mechanic . He wants to drive a car . All his family members are doing the work of bangle making generation after generation . He shouldn't give his dreams though it appears a mirage . He should learn driving , take a loan from a bank and was vehicle.

Ques.10: Give a thumb - nail sketch of the ' frail young woman in the chapter 'Lost Spring'.

Ans. She is the wife of Mukesh's elder brother . Her eyes are filled with the smoke of firewood . She adheres to customs and traditions . She veils her face before male elders . She gently withdraws behind the broken wall to do so. 

Ques.11: Why do the bangle makers not organize themselves into a co-operative ?

Ans . Most of the young bangle makers have fallen into the traps of the middlemen zamindars , police , and politicians . They are also afraid of the police . They know at the police will beat them and drag to jail for doing something illegal . There is to leader among them . They have no power to think and dare.

Ques.12: What are the two worlds in which the bangle makers are trapped ? 

Ans . According to the chapter , there are two distinct worlds . The one is of bangle makers who continue to live in poverty and destitution . They lead a miserable and pathetic life . The other world is the vicious circle of the sahukars , the middlemen , the policemen , and the politician.

  Long Answer Type Questions (5-6 marks)

Ques.1: Explain the character sketch of Sahib and Mukesh?

Ans. Sahib was a little child rag picker of Seemapus i, a run-down and neglected area in the outskirt of Delhi. He is unaware of the meaning of his name Sahib-e Alam' i.e Lord of the Universe. He worked as a rag-picker. The Parents of these rag-pickers had migrated from Bangladesh in 1971 and settled in Seemapuri. Along with his friends, he wandered in the streets with a plastic bag on his shoulder. He was very simple and felt very happy if he found a silvet coin a heap of garbage. He was innocent also. He very easily believed that the autmor would build a school for him. He was poor and a hard worker. His family lived from head to mouth. They waged against poverty and hunger. They had no dreams except finding the means of survival. Sahib loved tennis but that dream was a cry for the moon. He wished to change his future because he decided to break away the shackles of rag picking. At last, he started working at a tea stall for 800 rupees but he lost his freedom.

Mukesh was a son of a poor bangle maker of Firozabad. He lived in an area of grin poverty along with his father grandparents, brother and sister-in-law. Mukesh was an ambitious and hard worker. He has desire to improve his lite. He wished to become a motor mechanic. He had the capacity take courage and break from the traditional family occupation. He had strong willpower to walk the garage.

Ques.2:  "Food is more important for survival than an identity." 

                                 OR 

"Survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking." 

                                  OR 

" Garbage to them is Gold." 

                                  OR 

"For the children (rag-pickers) garbage is wrapped in wonder, for the elders, it is a means of survival." Write an account of the life and activities of the rag- pickers settled in Seemapuri. 

                                  Or 

Give an account of the life and activities of the Bangladeshi squatters like Sahib-e Alam settled in Seemapuri.

Ans- Seemapuri is a place on the outskirt of Delhi. It is a Cluster of mud-houses with tin roofs. Seemapuri is occupied by 10,000 rag-picker who have come from Bangladesh in 1971. Sahib's family is one of them. All the rag-pickers live hand to mouth. It is not possible for them to make both ends meet. They have no permits but with ration cards, they are able to buy grain from depots. Women and children all have only rags on their bodies. The shanties are devoid of sewage. drainage or running water. These people have lived there for more than 30 years without an identity or permit. They have their names in voter lists. Survival in Seemapuri depends on income from rig-picking. Garbage to them is gold. But for the children it has a different meaning. They often find a silver coin in a heap of garbage. For them, food is more important for survival than an identity. The women put on tattered saries. They left their fields as they have no grain. They pitch their tents wherever they find food. Most of the bare rag-pickers roam in the streets early in the morning and finish their activities by noon. They seem to carry plastic bags on their shoulders. Deprived of education, proper food, and upbringing, these children are forced into labour early in life. The children grow up there and become a partner in survival. These rag-pickers live very poorly, miserable life. 

Ques.3: Explain the significance of the title 'Lost Spring'.

Ans. Title of a literacy composition is just like a sign-board of a shop. As the signboard shows its content so also the title should be apt and suggestive. According to this point of view, the chapter 'Lost Spring' has very good and unquestionable title. Spring season is of a season of color, joy, and happiness. After a tough winter the change in nature depicted-through blooming flowers, fresh green foliage are a welcome sight. Similarly, childhood is the spring of one's life. Everyone enjoys watching, playing and laughing childran as they are a happy sight. But when childhood is burdened with hardships and difficulties of life, their childhood appears to be a curse.

The story of Sahib-e-Alam and Mukesh depicts the hardships and difficulties of both children. They are forced to work to support themselves and their families. Sahib is a small rag-picker in Seemapur in the outskirt of Delhi. He has to wander here and there in search of garbage for survival. Mukesh is the son of a poor bang maker in Firozabad. They have to live a life of hardships and challenges. Both them are ambitious and want to improve their lot by working hard in their field. They are restricted by impediments like caste system, police, money- lenders, and politicians. Their spring of life has been lost under the burden of hard work. So the title is apt and suggestive.

Ques.4: Describe the poverty-stricken lanes of Firozabad. 

                                     Or

Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangle factory. 

Ans. Firozabad is a small shanty town known for its glass making industry. The bangle makers of Firozabad are born in poverty, live in poverty and die in poverty. or generations, these people have been engaged in this trade working around hot furnaces with high temperature, welding, and soldering glass to make bangles. The glass bangle industry has many health hazards. It usually employs small children. It is illegal to employ very young children in hazardous industries. The forces like middle-men, money lenders, police, and politicians, combine to entrap the poor workers. Firozabad town in U.P. is famous for glass bangles. Every family is engaged in this work. They had been doing this generation after generation. But nothing has changed over the years, Narrow lanes are choked with garbage, homes remain hovels with crumbling walls and wobbly doors and no windows. The bangle makers lead a poor and miserable life. They have neither courage nor money to start new trade or job, The dingy cells are without air and light. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. They lose their eyesight before they become adult Glass blowing, welding and soldering pieces of glass are all health hazards.