Lost Spring CBSE Class 12 : In this post, we have discussed an important story “Lost Spring” of CBSE 12th English Book “Flamingo” which is an important chapter of cbse class 12 board examination. Here we discuss about the summary, character, theme, key points & important word meanings of this story.
About the Lost Spring Class 12 Author
Anees Jung was born in Rourkela. She spent her childhood and adolescence in Hyderabad. She received her education in Hyderabad and in the United States of America. Her parents were both writers.
Anees Jung began her career as a writer in India. She as been an editor and columnist for major newspapers in India and abroad, and several Books have been authored by Anees Jung.
The following is an excerpt from her book titled Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood. Here she analyses the grinding poverty and traditions which condemn these children to a life of exploitation.
Lost Spring Class 12 – Theme
The primary theme in “The Lost Spring” by Anees Jung revolves around poverty, its pervasive impact on individuals and communities, and the loss of childhood innocence and dreams in the face of socio-economic hardships. The narrative explores the struggles of the potter community in Seemapuri, emphasizing the need for societal awareness and change to break the cycle of poverty. Additionally, the story delves into the disparity between the rich and poor, highlighting the consequences of social neglect on marginalized groups. Overall, the theme underscores the importance of addressing economic inequalities and working towards a more inclusive and just society.
Lost Spring Class 12 Characters
- NARRATOR- ANEES JUNG, THE AUTHOR.
- SAVITA- A YOUNG GIRL AND A BANGLE MAKER
- SAHEB-E- ALAM-A RAG- PICKER IN SEEMAPURI
- MUKESH’S SISTER-IN- LAW & HIS BROTHER
- MUKESH – A BOY WHO WANTS TO BREAK THE JINX OF BANGLE MAKING
- MUKESH’S GRANDMOTHER & GRANDFATHER FATHER
- A MAN FROM UDIPI, THE PRIEST AND HIS SON
Lost Spring Class 12 Summary
“The Lost Spring” by Anees Jung is a poignant story about the struggles and hardships faced by the inhabitants of a marginalized community, the potter community in Seemapuri. The narrative highlights the loss of childhood innocence and dreams due to poverty and societal neglect. It explores the lives of these people who create beauty through their craft but are unable to escape the cycle of poverty. The story underscores the importance of addressing social issues to ensure a better future for such communities.
Lost Spring Class 12 Question Answers Pdf : Key Points
1) “SOMETIMES I FIND A RUPPEE IN A GARBAGE”
(Author’s meeting with Saheb, a ragpicker)
- meets Saheb, a ragpicker, who scrounges for gold in the garbage dumps
- Saheb belongs to a refugee family from Bangladesh
- author advises him to go to school
- Saheb tells him that there is no school in his neighbourhood.
- author gives him a hope by promising to open a school in his neighbourhood
- feels embarrassed at having made a promise that she cannot keep Irony in Saheb’s name and existence
- Saheb’s full name is ‘Saheb-e-Alam’ which means ‘lord of the universe’ but he is a ragpicker; hence the irony
- ironical that he roams the streets with other ragpickers
- all ragpickers are barefoot
- lead a poor and miserable life
- author observes that being barefoot has been a tradition in the poverty-stricken India
- author expresses wonder at this excuse
(AUTHOR’S OBSERVATION ON THE PAST AND THEPRESENT)
- remembers a priest’s barefoot son from a town named Udipi thirty years ago
- longed for a pair of shoes
- thirty years later, the author observes a conspicuous change
- present day priest’s son is dressed in grey uniform and wears socks and shoes
- but many still like other ragpickers remain shoeless
- Ragpickers’ dwelling – Seemapuri
- most refugees migrated from Bangladesh in 1971
- dwell in Seemapuri a place on the periphery of Delhi
- their dwelling-a structure of mud with roofs of tin and devoid of sewage, drainage or running water tarpaulin
- lived here without an identity but with ration cards that enable them to buy grain
- food more important than identity
- happy to live here where they get grain than in their own country where they get no grain
- ragpicking for their survival
- garbage to them is gold
- a chance rupee or a coin in garbage sustains their hope and they keep scrounging in the hope of finding more Saheb’s yearning
- yearns to play tennis, to wear shoes
- but the game is out of his reach Saheb as an employee
- gets a job in a tea-stall, earns Rs. earns 800/-per month
- meets the author while fetching milk in a steel canister for his employer
- his face loses the carefree look
- steel canister appears heavier than the plastic bag
- appears burdened and unhappy
- no longer a master of his own self
- an employee with no freedom
2)’I WANT TO DRIVE A CAR’
(MUKESH’S DESIRE)
- a child labourer in a glass factory in Firozabad
- wishes to become a motor mechanic
- desires to learn to drive a car
- Mukesh and his family engaged in making bang
- his family unaware that child labour is illegal Harzardous conditions in glass furnaces
- high temperatures
- dingy cell without air and light
- poorly ventilated
- children often lose the brightness of their eyes
(LIVING CONDITIONS OF BANGLE-MAKERS IN FIROZABAD)
- stinking lanes choked with garbage
- houses with crumbling walls, wobbly doors, and without windows
- both humans and animals live together in these houses animals
- Author’s visit to Mukesh’s house
- Mukesh’s house, a half-built shack thatched with dead grass, and a wobbly iron door
- firewood stove, aluminium utensils are used
- Mukesh, his father, his grandmother, his elder brother and wife of his elder brother lived in the house
(WIFE OF MUKESH’S ELDER BROTHER)
- a frail young woman
- cooking evening meal for the whole family
- her eyes filled with smoke
- commands respect as a bahu
- incharge of the household
- observes the custom of covering her face with a veil in front of male elders
- Mukesh’s father
- poor bangle maker
- worked as a tailor, then a bangle maker
- failed to renovate his house
- could not give education to his two sons
- only taught them the art of bangle making Mukesh’s grandmother’s philosophy of life
- believes in theory of Karama or destiny
- her husband has become blind with the dust of glass bangles
- his blindness the result of his Karama or destiny
- believes that the art of bangle making is a God-given lineage
(BIRTH IN THE CASTE OF BANGLE-MAKERS: THEIR KARAMA)
- poverty-stricken
- children join their elders’ profession of bangle making
- weld piece of glass into bangles
- their eyes more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside
- they often lose their eyesight before they become adults
- Savita – a young girl
- sits along with an elderly woman and solders pieces of glass
- makes bangles but unaware of the sanctity of bangles
- unaware that bangles symbolise Indian woman’s suhaag (husband’s long life)
- will realise when she becomes a bride
- like other women, wear bangles but lose eyesight
- lead a poor life
- become old with bangles on wrists
(LACK OF INITIATIVE AND COURAGE)
- burdened with poverty
- children lack courage
- dare not dream
- Mukesh- an exception
- desires to be a motor mechanic
- does not dream of flying an aeroplane, content to dream of cars
- few aeroplanes fly over Firozabad
Moral of Lost Spring Class 12
The central moral lesson in “The Lost Spring” by Anees Jung revolves around the impact of poverty and societal neglect on the dreams and aspirations of individuals, particularly the marginalized potter community in Seemapuri. The narrative urges readers to reflect on the consequences of economic disparity and the need for social reforms to break the cycle of poverty. It underscores the importance of addressing issues of inequality and providing equal opportunities for all, ensuring that every individual has the chance to realize their full potential despite their background or circumstances.
Lost Spring Class 12 Word Meanings
Story 1 – ‘Sometimes I find a Rupee in the garbage’
- Abound – exist in large numbers
- Acquaintance – contact
- Amidst – in the middle of
- barefoot – wearing nothing in the feet
- Bleak – empty
- Desolation – the state of being empty
- Discarded – thrown away
- Embarrassed – feeling ashamed
- Excuse – a reason to justify a fault
- Glibly – speaking or spoken in a confident way, but without careful thought or honesty
- He would have a hard time believing it- it would be difficult for him to believe that his name meant ‘the Lord of the Universe’
- Hollow – meaningless
- Lighting up – show joy and happiness
- Metaphorically – symbolically
- Mutters – to speak in a low voice
- Panting – taking short and quick breathes
- Periphery- outer area
- Permits – legal documents
- Perpetual state of poverty – never ending condition of being poor
- Scrounging – searching for
- Shuffles – slides them over each other
- Squatters – a person who unlawfully occupies an uninhabited building or unused land.
- Tarpaulin- heavy-duty waterproof cloth
- Tattered-torn
- Transit homes – a temporary home
- Wilderness- a wasteland
Story 2 – “I want to drive a car”
- Amidst – in the middle of
- Apathy – lack of concern
- Auspiciousness – good omen
- Baggage-burden
- Bangs – hits
- Beam-shine brightly
- Bureaucrats – government officials
- Choked-blocked
- Coexisting – present at the same time and place
- Crumbling – falling down
- Dawn on her – she will realize
- Daylight hours – hours of the day when there is sunlight
- Dingy-dark, dim
- Distinct – separate
- Drab – faded, colourless
- Draped-covered
- Echo-repeat
- Furnaces – a closed room or container where heat is produced
- Glass-blowing industry – industry related to making glass
- God-given lineage here, a profession carried on through the generations of a family glass bangle making
- Greed-intense and selfish desire for something
- Hauled up-dragged, taken away
- Hovels – slums
- Hurtling down – moving around
- Imposed-forced upon
- Impoverished – very poor
Conclusion of Lost Spring Cbse Class 12
From this post you understood how, lost spring class 12 important questions and answers come in cbse class 12 examination….it will help you to answer the important questions of lost spring of cbse class 12 english book.