LOST SPRING
Q1 Multiple Choice Questions based on an extract.
A “I will learn to drive a car,” he answers, looking straight into my eyes. His
dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets that fill his town
Firozabad, famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged
in making bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry where
families have spent generations working around furnaces, wielding glass,
making bangles for all the women in the land it seems.
Mukesh’s family is among them. None of them know that it is illegal for
children like him to work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy
cells without air and light; that the law, if enforced, could get him and all those
20,000 children out of the hot furnaces where they slog their daylight hours,
often losing the brightness of their eyes. Mukesh’s eyes beam as he
volunteers to take me home, which he proudly says is being rebuilt.
i The simile ‘dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets’ indicates that his
dream was
a) a reality, yet seemed distant.
b) lost in the sea of dust.
c) illusory and indistinct.
d) hanging in the dusty air.
ii ‘I will learn to drive a car,’ he answers, looking straight into my eyes. This
sentence highlights Mukesh was
1. determined
2. fearless
3. hopeful
4. valiant
5. ambitious
6. stern
a) 1&5
b) 2&4
c) 2&5
d) 3&6
iii Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE with reference to the extract?
a) Children work in badly lit and poorly ventilated furnaces.
b) The children are unaware that it is forbidden by law to work in the
furnaces.
c) Children toil in the furnaces for hours which affects their eyesight.
d) Firozabad has emerged as a nascent producer of bangles in the
country.
iv Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles indicates that
a) bangle making is the only industry that flourishes in Firozabad.
b) the entire population of Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
c) majority of the population in Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
d) bangle making is the most loved occupation in Firozabad.
B She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes. “Ek waqt ser bhar
khana bhi nahin khaya.” she says, in a voice drained of joy. She has not
enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime-that’s what she has reaped!
Her husband, an old man with a flowing beard says, “I know nothing except
bangles. All I have done is make a house for the family to live in.”
Hearing him one wonders if he has achieved what many have failed in their
lifetime. He has a roof over his head!
The cry of not having money to do anything except carry on the business of
making bangles, not even enough to eat, rings in every home. The young men
echo the lament of the elders. Little has moved with time, it seems in
Firozabad, years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to
dream.
i ‘She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes.’ This implies that
a) she is married but has lost the charm in her eyes.
b) she is a married woman who has lost her grace and beauty.
c) though she is married, her eyes are devoid of happiness.
d) she is a married woman who has lost her eyesight.
ii ‘He has a roof over his head!’ The tone of the author is
a) pessimistic.
b) empathetic.
c) sympathetic.
d) optimistic.
iii Choose the term which best matches the statement ‘The young men echo the
lament of their elders.’
a) acceptance
b) reflection
c) reiteration
d) doubtfulness
iv ‘Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream’.
This shows that
a) the bangle makers are exhausted yet they are enterprising and have dreams.
b) the drudgery of work has destroyed their willingness to improve their lot.
c) the daily grind has stolen the dreams of the bangle makers and made them dull.
d) the bangle makers have been working so hard that there’s no time to dream.
Q2 Stand Alone MCQs
i ‘But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world’. This
suggests that
a) there is no dearth of promises which remain unfulfilled.
b) there is a scarcity of people promising things for betterment.
c) people make a lot of promises which are often fulfilled.
d) promises made, live up to the expectations of people.
ii From this chapter, it is evident that the author has an attitude of
a) sympathy.
b) apathy.
c) empathy.
d) bewilderment.
iii ‘That’s why they left, looking for gold in the big city.’ Here ‘gold’ indicates
a) misfortune of circumstances.
b) ample wealth.
c) means of survival.
d) a sign of luxury.
iv Choose the statement that is NOT TRUE about ragpickers in Seemapuri.
a) Children are equally involved in rag picking as their parents.
b) The ragpickers settle down in a place permanently.
c) Rag picking has accomplished itself as a skill and form of art.
d) Ragpickers live in unsteady shanties on the outskirts of Delhi.
Q10 Answer in 30-40 words
i Why do you think Mukesh is content to dream of cars and doesn’t dream of flying a
plane?
ii Do you believe that ‘God-given lineage can be broken’? Support your position with a
rationale.
iii How do you think the author’s life might have been impacted after her interactions with
the children and their families mentioned in ‘Lost Spring’?
Q3 Answer in 120-150 words
i How does the story, ‘Lost Spring’ highlight the apathy of society and those in power
to end the vicious cycle of poverty?
Support your answer with textual evidence.
ii Certain traditions and lineage, condemn thousands of children to a life of abject
poverty and choke their aspirations.
Do you agree? Explain.
How can we change this? Suggest some ways to tackle this issue.
