NCERT Solutions For Class 12 Chapter 2 Lost spring Question Answer
Very short answer type questions (mark : 1 each)
1. Where does Mukesh stay ? (H.S. 2017)
Ans :- Mukesh stays with his family in a half – built shack (জুপুৰিঘৰ) in a dirty over crowded bangle makers’ colony in Firozabad.
2. What is out of Saheb’s reach ?
Ans :- Saheb likes playing tennis. He is fond of it. But, though he likes this game much yet playing this game was out of his reach.
3. What does the ‘garbage’ mean for the elders of Seemapuri ? (H.S. 2017)
Ans :- Generally garbage means a heap of dirty things but, here, for the elders of Seemapuri garbage mean the means (উপায় ) of Survival to them. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads.
4. What is Saheb’s full name ?
Ans :- The full name of Saheb is Saheb – e – Alarm.
5. What is the ironical name of Saheb ?
Ans :- The ironical name of Saheb is ‘Lord of the Universe’.
6. What is ‘Lost Spring’ about ?
Ans :- ‘Lost Spring’ is about the plight (অৱস্থা)of poverty stricken children of India.
Questions bearing 2 marks each
Q.1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage (আবৰ্জনা ) dumps ? Where is he and where has he come from ? (H.S. 2014,2016)
Ans :- Saheb is looking for coins and rupee note in the garbage dumps. Sometimes he finds a rupee, even a ten rupee note or a silver coin.
He is in the neighbourhood (চুবুৰি) of the author. Saheb has come from Bangladesh. He came with his mother in 1971. His house was set amidst (মাজভাগত) the green field of Dhaka. Storm (ধুমুহা) swept away their fields and home. So, they left the country.
2. Is Saheb happy working at the tea – stall ? Why (H.S. 2012, 2014)
Or
Is Saheb happy working at the tea – stall ? Why or why not ?(Delhi board 2012)
Ans :- No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea-stall. Even though, he now gets a fixed income of 800 rupees along with all his meals,( এসাঁজ ) he has lost his freedom and his carefree days. He is no longer his own master and is bound and burdened by steel canister (Steel বা tin -পাতেৰে নিৰ্মিত small box) he now has to carry.
3. Do you think Saheb was happy to work at the tea stall ? Answer giving reason. (H.S. 2000)
Ans :- Since Saheb works in a tea – stall, he is he is bound to his master and feels burdened.(মূৰ পাতি লোৱা গধুৰ হেঁচা ) The steel canister, he carries is very heavy as compared to his light plastic bags. The bag was his own and the canister belongs to his master whose orders he now has to follow. So, he is no longer his own master. In conclusion it can be said that Saheb was not happy to work at the tea – stall.
4. What explanation does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear ? (জোতা ) (H.S. 2015)
Ans :- The author comes across many shoeless rag-picker (জীৰ্ণ বস্ত্ৰ সংগ্ৰাহক) children in her neighbourhood. According to her, one explanation to this habit of remaining barefoot is that it is the tradition among the poor children. Though some people try to ascribe (আৰোপ কৰা ) it to tradition (পৰম্পৰা ) perhaps (সম্ভৱতঃ) only as an excuse to explain away the perpetual (চিৰন্তন ) state of poverty. (দৰিদ্ৰতা )
5. What Describes the irony (বক্ৰোক্তি):-in Saheb’s name . (H.S. Delhi board 2016)
Or
What is ironical about the name ‘Saheb-e-Alam’? (Guwahati board H.S. 2016)
Or
What is the irony inherited in Saheb’s full name ? (Guwahati Board H.S. 2013, 2016)
Ans :- Saheb’s full name is Saheb-e-Alam which means ‘Lord of the Universe’. But ironically Saheb is a poverty-stricken rag-picker who scrounges the garbage dumps to earn his livelihood. (জীবিকা)His name is in complete contrast (বৈষম্য) to his miserable existence
6. To which country did Saheb’s parents belongs to ? Why did they come to India ?
Ans :- Saheb’s parents originally belonged to Dhaka in Bangladesh. His home, which was set amidst (মাজভাগত) the green field of Dhaka. He had been swept away due to the storm ( ধুমুহা )and that was when his parents had left their native place and come to the big city in search of Livelihood. (জীবিকা)
7. What makes the city of Firozabad famous ? (Delhi Board H.S. 2018)
Or
What is Firozabad famous for and how ? (H.S. 2015)
Ans :- The city of Firozabad is famous for its bangles. (খাৰু :- হাতত পিন্ধা এবিধ অলঙ্কাৰ) Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles. It is the center of India’s glass-blowing industry where most families have been engaged for generations (যুগযুগধৰি ) in making welding glass, bangles for the women in the land
8. Who is Mukesh ? What is his dream ? ( Delhi Board H.S. 2012 ). Why does it look like ‘a mirage amidst the dust’ ?
Ans :- Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle maker of Firozabad where every other family is engaged in making bangles. His poor father has failed to renovate ( নতুনকৈ সজা) his house or send his two sons to school. Mukesh insists on being his own master. His dream is to be a motor mechanic. He wants to drive a car. Giving the conditions of existence, his dream looks like ‘a mirage amidst the dust’.
9. How is Mukesh different from the other bangle maker of Firozabad ? ( Delhi Board H.S. 2014)
Or
How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different form that of his family?
Ans :- Mukesh is quite (সম্পূৰ্ণকৈ ) different from other bangle makers of Firozabad because he has to take initiative (পদক্ষেপ ) and break from the traditional family occupation. He has strong will power also. He insists on being his own master by becoming a motor mechanic
10. What is the significance (গুৰুত্ব ) of bangles in an Indian society ? (H.S. 2017)
Ans :- Bangles are traditionally a part of the ‘Solah Shringar’ of Indian brides. (ন-বোৱাৰী ) In Indian society bangles symbolize a married woman’s ‘Suhag’, auspiciousness (মংগল কাৰক)in marriage. It is customary (অভ্যাসমূলক ) for an Indian bride to wear red bangles.
11. Why does Mukesh’s grandmother believe that a ‘God-given lineage’ can never be broken ?
Ans:-Mukesh’s grandmother saw her own husband go blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. She believed it was his ‘karam’, his destiny. ( ভাগ্য ) Born in the caste of bangle-makers they could never break ‘God-given lineage’. (বংশ-পৰিচয়) They could never think of other livelihood beyond bangle making.
12. Why can’t the bangle makers of Firozabad organize themselves into a cooperative ?
Ans :- The bangle makers do not organize themselves into a cooperative due to the fear of police. They fear that they will be beaten and dragged into jail for something illegal. The lack of a leader mars their lives. The elders are too tired to guide them and so, they are trapped in a spiral (সৰ্পিল) of poverty.
13. Where did the author see Saheb one morning ? What was he doing there ?
And :- One winter morning, the author saw Saheb standing by the fence gate of the neighbourhood club, watching young men playing tennis. He would go inside when no one is around. The gatekeeper allowed him to use the swing.(ঝুলনা )But the game which he was watching so intently ( আগ্ৰহেৰে ) was beyond his reach.
14. What does the author say that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web ?
Or
What forces conspired to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans :- The bangle makers in Firozabad are exploited at the hand of the Sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the makers, the bureaucrats and the politicians. Thus, they remain steeped in poverty. They can not from cooperatives for their betterment. Moreover, their children are also compelled to join the same trade at an early age. Thus, they remain in the vicious web.
Long answer type questions
Q.1. The bangle – maker of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make every one happy but they live and die in squalor.(দৰিদ্ৰতা) Elaborate. ( Delhi board H.S. 2010)
Or
Describe the difficulties the bangle – makers is Firozabad have to face in their lives . ( Delhi Board H.S. 2012, 2015)
Ans :- Through the story of the bangle – makers Firozabad, the author expresses her concern over their exploitation (শোষণ ) in that hazardous (বিপদজনক) job of bangle making. Extreme poverty, hard work and dismal (দুখময়) working conditions result in the loss of the childhood of children who are in this profession. The working conditions of all bangle makers are pathetic ( কৰুণাপূৰ্ণ ) and miserable. They work in high temperature, badly light and poorly ventilated glass furnaces ( জুইশাল) due to which child workers especially are at risk of losing their eye sight at an early age and get prone (প্ৰৱণ) to other health hazards. There is no development or progress in their lives with the passage of time. They have no choice but to work in these inhuman (অমানুষিক ) condition. They are condemned to live and die in squalor, subjected to a life of poverty and perpetual exploitation.
2.Describe the miserable plight (অৱস্থা) of the people of Firozabad . (H.S. 2014, 2015,2017)
Ans :- Firozabad is famous for its glass bangles. People working in the glass bangle industry are exposed to extreme temperature. They work in dingy (অনুজ্জল) cells which have no light and oxygen. Despite hard working, they had never enough to eat or to send their sons and daughters to school. In every dark hut of the town children with their parents sit flickering oil lamps welding coloured glasses into bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. That is why, many children lose their eye sight even before they get adulthood. The cry of not having money to do anything else except sticking to their traditional bangle making and not having enough to eat meal in every home. They are so caught in the vicious circle of middlemen that they can not even think of originating cooperatives. They are thus forced into a spiral which moves from poverty to apathy, (উদাসীনতা ) to greed and to injustice.
3. What are the hazards of working in a glass bangle factory ?
Or
Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangle factory.
Ans :- The bangle making profession is hazardous one. The workers have to work in a furnaces which have extremely high temperature. The cells are dingy and lack proper ventilation.
Children engaged in the industry have to slog (কঠোৰ পৰিশ্ৰম কৰা) the daylight hours and lose their eyesight even before they get adulthood. They undergo mind numbing (অচেতনত্মক) tool which kills their initiative and ability to dream.
4. What changes do you find in Saheb’s life when he stops rag picking and starts working at a tea – stall ?
And :- When Saheb stops rag picking and starts working at a tea – stall, a lot of changed come about (ঘটা) in his life. When he was a rag picker, he led a carefree life. He was not answerable to anybody . He was always is a quest (অনুসন্ধান ) of heap , wrapped in wonder as many time a rupee or ten was found in it. The plastic bag he carried in his shoulder while rag picking, was his own property. He was happy as a rag picker.
On the contrary, (আনহাতে)when he started working at a tea – stall, his life was restrained. He was paid 800 rupees and was given all his meal, but he was always his master’s back and call. He had no freedom, so he lost his carefree look and had to bear the burden of responsibility imposed by his master. He could no longer do anything as he pleaded.
5. Give a brief account of life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri .
And :- Seemapuri is slum (বস্তি) area located on the periphery (বহিৰ্ভাগ) of Delhi. Most of the residence of Seemapuri consist of people who are refugees from Bangladesh. Saheb’s family is among them. The area consists of mud structures, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin. (A water proof canvas. (তেৰপল) It does not have facilities of sewage, drainage of running water. About 10000 rag pickers live there.
Their only means of livelihood is finding saleable items from rubbish. Thus, for them, the rubbish is as valuable as gold because their survival depends on these. These are rag pickers have been living here for more than thirty years without any identity. They do have permits but have ration cards, with these they can get their names on the voter’s list and also buy grains for themselves at as subsidized rate.