The Lost Spring, Grade 12 English Core (CBSE)

 

THE LOST SPRING, CBSE GRADE 12, ENGLISH (CORE)

SHORT ANSWERS AND LONG ANSWERS

PREPARED BY CHANDRAN M.K

mkchandran.blogspot.com

PART -1

1. Who was Sahib e Alam?

Ans: Saheb- e- Alam was a rag picker.  He was from Dhaka, Bangladesh. He had his own house and farm field at Dhaka. But because of natural calamity he lost everything. He and his family did refuge in Seemapuri , outskirt of Delhi seeking their fortune.
2. What was Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps?
Ans. Saheb was looking for gold in the garbage dumps.  He knew that it was difficult to get gold, but he could get some petty  coins or some other valuables.

3. Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India?

Ans: Saheb’s parents migrated to India from Dhaka. They lived happily amidst the green fields of Dhaka, They had farm fields and cattle. But their house and farm fields were destroyed in a strong storm. This forced them to migrate to India, where they settled in the slums of Seemapuri, the suburban of Delhi.

 

4. What job did Saheb take up? Was he happy?

Ans: Saheb took up the job of a helper in a tea stall. In the tea stall he had to do several odd jobs, including getting milk from the milk booth, washing cans and plates, etc. He was not happy in that job though he got Rs 800/-per month and full meals., He thought that he had lost his freedom. He was no longer his own master. When he was a rag picker, he was his own master, he need not to obey anyone. Whenever he wanted he could stop the work and be free. Steel canister that he carried was heavier  than the plastic bag he used for rag picking.

5. Anees Jung gave a false promise to Saheb e Alam. What was that?

Ans: Anees Jung, the narrator of the story gave a false promise to Sahib- e- Alam. One day she asked Alam why he was not going to school. The boy replied that there was no school nearby. He had no money to go to the far away schools. The narrator, then told him that she was going to open a school at Seemapuri. She also asked him whether he would like to join in that school. The boy readily agreed. But it was a false promise she made. She didn't open any school.

 

6. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
Ans. She explains that it is a tradition in India to be a "barefoot". It is not lack of money. But here the poor boys are in a state of severe poverty. She also tells the story of a poor boy who prays for a pair of shoes.

 

7. What is the meaning of "Saheb e Alam"? Does he know it?

 Ans. “Saheb-e-Alam” means "The Lord of the Universe". He does not know it. If he knows it, he will not believe it. The Lord of the Universe is roaming along the streets with other rag-pickers is a heavy contrast with his name and his job

 

8. What did the children think about the garbage? What was their parents' version?
Ans. The children thought that garbage was wrapped up wonder because they could get sometimes a coin or some valuable things from it. It gave them hope to scrounge more and more thinking that they could get better coins and valuables.  But to their parents, the garbage is a source of meal ticket and a means of their survival.

 

9. What was Saheb's opinion about playing tennis?

Ans. One day the author saw Saheb by the fenced gate of a tennis court. He was watching the tennis players who dressed in white. He said that he liked the game. He would not be allowed to enter the tennis court. If no one was there, the security-man would allow him to use the swing which was inside the tennis court.

 

Q8. Sahib's one dream became true? What was that dream? How did it become true?

Ans. Sahib longed to have a pair of tennis shoes. He knew that he couldn't get them in his life. A rich boy discarded a pair of tennis shoes as one of them had a small hole. Sahib didn't bother about the small hole. He put on them happily because it was better than walking barefoot. In such a way his dream became true.

 

LONG ANSWER

 

1. Give a brief account of life and activities of the rag pickers who settled in Seemapuri.

Ans. Most of the rag pickers at Seemapuri are from Bengladesh. Seemapuri is a slum area located on the periphery of Delhi. There are more than 10,000 rag pickers. The main source of their meal ticket is rag picking.

The poor rag pickers live at Seemapuri without any facilities. They lack running water supply, drainage system, sewage and even food stuff. Their only means of livelihood is rag picking. The young boys think that garbage is wrapped up wonder. It is gold to them.

But the elders think that garbage is the only source of their livelihood.

The rag pickers live there without any identity. But they have ration cards because they have to vote to the politicians. 

 Identity is secondary. But casting vote is primary. The young rag pickers will reach the garbage as morning birds, but they will disappear at noon.

 

                                                          PART - 2

 

1. Who is Mukesh? What is his dream?

Ans. Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle-maker at Firozabad.  His dream is to be a motor mechanic. He insists on being his own master. He wants to drive a car. He doesn't want to be a bangle maker.

All the families at Firozabad are engaged in making bangles. Bangle industry is a sick industry. Its workers do not get enough money to have even for their meals. His poor father has failed to renovate his house or send his two sons to school..

 

2. How was Mukesh’s attitude different from that of his family?
Ans. Mukesh’s family thought that a bangle makers' sons should be a bangle maker. It was their hereditary job. Moreover the God given lineage can never be broken. Mukesh was taught the art of bangle making by his father. But he didn't want to be a bangle maker instead he wanted to be a motor mechanic.

 

3. The bangle makers of Firozabad was in a vicious circle: Explain.

Ans. The bangle makers of Firozabad were in a web of poverty. There were certain factors that made them in a vicious circle. They include bureaucrats, policemen, the keepers of law, the middlemen, politicians and moneylenders. They wanted the bangle makers should be bangle makers. They would not allow a bangle makers to change their trade.

4. Why could the bangle makers not form a cooperative?

 Ans. The bangle makers could not form themselves into a cooperative because they were in a vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen, policemen, bureaucrats and politicians. If they tried to organize themselves, no doubt ; they would be charged false cases  by the police and put them into jail

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5. Can Mukesh realize his dream?
Ans. I think so. He has to resist on being his own master as a motor mechanic. He can fulfill his dream by taking a job as an apprentice in a garage of repairing cars. The proposed garage is far way from his home. So he needs money for his conveyance.  He should cultivate patience, hard work , strong will power and determination to achieve the goal.

6. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

Ans: The bangle industry is a sick and hazardous industry. The workers become blind because of the heat from the furnace. They won't  use proper eye glasses when they are welding the molten glass. If they work in this way for many years, sitting in the dingy cell near the furnace definitely they will go blind. The furnaces are in their small dingy rooms and they lack proper ventilation. They always inhale the fumes and smokes which will lead them to be a patient of lung cancer.

 

LONG ANSWER

 

1. Nobody knows the pitiable condition of bangle makers. Discuss

 

Ans: The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and they keep everyone happy but they live and die in the dirty slum. The people who work in the bangle industry do not know any other work except making bangles.  Firozabad is the hub of India’s glass-blowing industry where all families invest their efforts for making bangles. Bangles are having an important place in Indian marriages, without which marriages will not be solemnized during those days.

The bangle makers are forced to live in a pitiable conditions. They are struggling hard to get two square meals a day. As they do work sitting near the glass blowing furnace, most of them lose their eyesight. They cannot form a cooperative because the upper class bureaucrats with the help of police and politicians will not allow it. They will fabricate illegal cases against them and put them under bars. The fear of the police and lack of leadership among themselves have confined them to a web of poverty. A proper legal aid should be provided to them as well as a sound social system have to be developed.

 

 

 

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