Lost Spring — 20 MCQs | CBSE Class 12 English Core (Code 301)

Chapter Overview

A two-part essay on stolen childhoods. Part 1 follows Saheb-e-Alam, a Bangladeshi rag-picker boy in Seemapuri, Delhi. Part 2 visits Mukesh, a young boy in Firozabad's glass-bangle slums who dares to dream of being a motor mechanic. Anees Jung exposes how poverty, caste-bound work and exploitation rob poor children of their 'spring' — childhood itself.

Key Themes

The lost spring (childhood) of poor children
Caste-based hereditary occupations and the impossibility of escape
Two vicious circles: family poverty + sahukars/middlemen/police
Garbage as 'wonder' for children, 'bread' for adults
Mukesh's dream — a small but radical break

Key Concepts

Saheb

Bangladeshi rag-picker boy, lives in Seemapuri

Seemapuri

10,000 rag-pickers; ration cards but no permanent identity

Mukesh

Young boy from Firozabad bangle-making family

Firozabad

Centre of India's glass-bangle industry; 20,000 children work in furnaces

Vicious circles

Poverty + tradition; sahukars + middlemen + police

Mukesh's dream

To be a motor mechanic — break out of caste-bound bangle work

Sample MCQs

Q1. Who is Saheb-e-Alam?

A. A young rag-picker from Bangladesh living in Seemapuri, Delhi

B. A wealthy landlord employing bangle-makers in Firozabad

C. A school principal in eastern Uttar Pradesh

D. An old man who tells stories of pre-Partition Bengal

Saheb-e-Alam is a young boy from Dhaka whose family migrated to Seemapuri after their fields were swept away by storms.

Q2. What does Mukesh dream of becoming?

A. A doctor

B. A glass artist abroad

C. A motor mechanic

D. A film actor

Mukesh dreams of being a motor mechanic — unusual because in Firozabad bangle-making is hereditary.

LostSpring

Lost
Spring