The Lost Spring
Characters
Saheb-e-Alam: A rag picker
Mukesh: Son of a bangle maker
Introduction
The story, “Lost Spring” describes the pitiable condition of poor children who have been forced to miss the joy of childhood due to the socio-economic condition that prevails in this man-made world. These children are denied the opportunity of schooling and forced into labour early in life. Anees Jung gives voice to eliminate child labour by educating the children and to enforce the laws against child labour by the governments strictly. The call is to end child exploitation and let the children enjoy the days of the spring that bring joy under their feet.
Summary
I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.
The first part tells the writer’s impressions about the life of the poor rag pickers. The rag pickers have migrated from Dhaka and found a settlement in Seemapuri. Their fields and homes had been swept away by storms. They had come to the big city to find a living. They are poor. The writer watches Saheb every morning scrounging for “gold” in her neighbourhood. Garbage is a means of survival for the elders and for the children it is something wrapped in wonder. The children come across a coin or two from it. These people have desires and ambitions, but they do not know the way to achieve them. Therenare quite a few things that are unreachable to them, namely shoes, tennis and the like. Late Sahebnjoins a tea stall where he could earn 800 Rupees and all the meals. The job has taken away his freedom.
II – I want to drive a car.
The second part deals with the life of Mukesh, who belongs to the family of Bangle-makers. Firozabad is best known for its glass-blowing industry. Nearly 20,000 children are engaged in this business and the law that forbids child labour is not known here. The living condition and the working environment is a woeful tale. Life in dingy cells and working close to hot furnaces make these children blind when they step into the adulthood. Weighed down by the debt, they can neither think nor find a way to come of out of this trap. The politicians, middlemen, policemen and bureaucrats will all obstruct their way of progress. The women in the household consider it as their fate and just follow the tradition. Mukesh is different from the rest of the folk there. He dreams to become a motor mechanic. The garage is far away from his house but he shall walk.
Main points
l- Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.
- The writer encounters Saheb every morning scrounging for gold in the garbage.
- Saheb-e-Alam, a refugee from Dhaka, Bangladesh is a rag picker.
- Wants to go to school, but can’t – very poor.
- Lives in Seemapuri – a locality on the periphery of Delhi without any basic amenities.
- Most of the rag pickers live here.
- Food is more important for them than identity.
- Rag picking is different for children and adult.
- For adults – a mean of survival
- For children – wrapped in wonders
- Sahib gets a job in tea stall, earns Rs. 800/- and all his meal but still unhappy
- Loses his freedom and carefree look.
II – I want to drive a car.
- The writer comes across Mukesh in Firozabad.
- His family is engaged in making bangles but Mukesh insists on being his own master.
- He desires to become a motor mechanic.
- They work in dingy cells without air and light and furnaces with high temperatures.
- As a result, most of them become blind at a very young age.
- They don’t have money to do anything except carry on the business of making bangles.
- They can’t organize into a co-operative.
- They are afraid of being hauled up by the Police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something illegal.
- There is no leader among them.
- They talk of poverty, apathy, greed and injustice.
- So poor that they can’t even dream – to do anything means to dare- and daring is not part of their growing.
- The author is cheered when she senses a flash of it in Mukesh who wants to be a motor.