Lost Spring (Stories of Stolen

Childhood)

By: Anees Jung

Lesson No. 2 _Mod. 2 of 2_Flamingo Class XII English Core

Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood

Introduction

This chapter is divided into two parts.

The first part describes the plight of the poor rag pickers of Seemapuri.

The Second part describes the miserable conditions of the bangle-makers

of Firozabad.

First hand experience with poverty and traditions prevailing in some parts

of India.

The Title: Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood

The story, “Lost Spring” describes the pitiable condition of poor children

Characters

Mukesh- belongs to a family of bangle-makers. Dreams of breaking away

from tradition and becoming a motor mechanic.

The Narrator-Anees Jung is a social worker

I Want to Drive a Car

The story begins with an interaction with Mukesh

Mukesh insists on being a Motor Mechanic

So Anees (Author) asks him if he knows anything about cars

Mukesh replies no but he wants to learn to drive a car

the author feels that his dream is like a Mirage

The interaction engages readers

question arises in the minds of readers

‘why she finds the dream of Mukesh as a Mirage?’

Why the Dream is a Mirage?

Why the author felt so is because:

every second family engaged in the business of bangle making

Firozabad - the centre of India's glass blowing industry

generations after generations have been involved in this business

the children are involved in the bangle making industry

it is illegal for children to work in a glass furnaces with high temperatures

in dingy cells without air and light

In such conditions Mukesh’s dream to be a motor mechanic is mirage for author.

if the Law is in Force

The Author touches the issue of law

if the law is enforced almost 20000 children would be out of the hot

furnaces

where they work day and night often losing the brightness of their eyes

Author’s Visit to Mukesh’s House

Mukesh volunteers to take the author home as his house is being rebuilt

walk down stinking lanes choked with garbage

houses are small and dirty constructions with wobbly doors with no windows

families of humans and animals coexist in a primitive state

they enter a half built Shack

one part of which is attached with dead grass

Here the author depicts a woman’s plight in a bangle makers’ family

a frail young woman is cooking the evening meal for the whole family

she is the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother

not much older in years but she has a respect of a bahu

she veils her face when Mukesh’s father enters

Hard work of Mukesh’s Father

The Author Contemplates over the hard work of Mukesh’s Father

Mukesh’s father has toiled hard all his life

first as a tailor and then as a bangle maker

still unable to renovate his house or send his two sons to school

managed to teach them art of bangle making

Mukesh’s grandmother has seen her husband go blind with the dust from polishing the glass bangles

Grandmother believes in destiny

says ‘can a god given lineage ever be broken’

Young Boys and Girls in Firozabad

In dark hutments sit boys and girls

their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside

often end up losing their eyesight

a young girl Savita in a drab pink dress sitting beside an elderly women

The girl’s hands move like a machine

The author wonders if she understands the sanctity of the bangles for Indian women

the sad irony will suddenly down upon her

the old lady has not enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime

one wonders if Mukesh’s father has achieved what many have failed to achieve

he has a roof over on his head.

the cry of not having money can be heard in every household of Firozabad

Two Distinct Worlds in Firozabad

nothing has changed over the years

years of hardship have killed all hopes and dreams

the author asks a group of young men to organize themselves in a Cooperative

Learns the horrific truth

if they get organized they are taken to jail and are beaten up

there is no leader among them

the author finds two distinct worlds in Firozabad

one is the exploited family caught in a vertex of poverty and the stigma of the caste in which they were born

the other is a vicious circle of the Sahukars, the middlemen, the politicians, the lawmakers, the policeman and bureaucrats

Mukesh is Filled with Hope

the author is filled with joy when she finds that Mukesh thinks differently

the boy is filled with hope

his dreams of being a Motor Mechanic is still alive in his eyes

he is willing to dare

Anees asks Mukesh if he also dreams of flying a plane

Mukesh replies in the negative

he is content to dream of cars as few planes fly over Firozabad.

Difficult Words/Phrases

looms like a mirage - seems that it will be true in the future but actually it will not be so

amidst – in the middle of

glass-blowing industry - industry related to making glass

furnaces - a closed room or container where heat is produced

welding - the process of joining metal or glass pieces by heating them

Dingy – dark, dim

Slog – work hard

Beam – shine brightly

Stinking – bad smell

Choked – blocked

Hovels – slums

Crumbling – falling down

Wobbly – unsteady

Coexisting - present at the same time and place

Primeval – prehistoric

Shack – a roughly built hut

Thatched – covered with dry grass

Sizzling - make a hissing sound when frying or cooking

Difficult Words/Phrases

Platters – large plates

Chopped – cut finely

Frail – thin, weak

God-given lineage - here, a profession carried on through the generations of a family – glass bangle making

Drab – faded, colourless

Soldering – joining

Tongs - an instrument with two moveable arms joined at one end

Sanctity - the state of being sacred or holy

Auspiciousness – good omen

Draped – covered

Ser – a unit of measuring quantity

Reaped – received as a benefit

Vicious – cruel

Hauled up – dragged, taken away

Spiral – here, a never-ending continuous process

Apathy – lack of concern

Stigma – dishonor

Bureaucrats – government officials

Hurtling down – moving around

Think as you read

What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?

What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of

Firozabad in poverty?

Notice the Expressions

looking for: try to locate or discover

Slog their daylight hour: struggle persistently during the day time

Roof over his head: a place to live

perpetual state of poverty: endless impoverishment

dark hutments: encampment of huts devoid of any light

imposed the baggage on the child: force the profession on the child

Thank You