XII-ENGLISH NOTES

LOST SPRING: MEMORIES OF STOLEN CHILDHOOD (FLAMINGO)

1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where
has he come from?

Saheb is looking for coins and rupee note in the garbage dumps. Sometimes he
finds a rupee, even a ten rupee note or a silve coin. There is always hope of
finding more. He is in Seemapuri. Saheb has come from Bangladesh. He came
with his mother in 1971. His house was set amidst the green fields of Dhaka.
Storms swept away their fields and homes. So they left it.

2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing
footwear?

The author comes across many shoeless rag-picker children in her

neighbourhood. According to her, one explanation of this habit of remaining
barefoot is that it is a tradition among the poor children of this country.
However, the author quickly mentions that calling it a tradition could be just a
means of justification of the utter destitution.

3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.

No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea-stall. He is paid 800 rupees and all
his meals but he has lost his freedom. His face has lost the carefree look. The
steel canister seems heavier than his plastic bag. He is no longer his own
master. He is as a servant at the tea-stall.

4. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

Firozabad is famous for its glass bangles. The place is the centre of India’s
glass-blowing industry. The city of Firozabad is famous for its bangles. Every
other family in Firozabad is engaged in the business of making bangles.
Firozabad is a centre of India’s glass blowing industry. Since generations the
families are working around furnaces, welding glass and making bangles for all
the women on the land. The bangles are symbolised as woman’s suhag.
There are bangle makers in the narrow streets of Firozabad in every house.
The heaps of the spirals of bangles can be seen on every place there in
Firozabad. All the members of the family can be seen welding and soldering the
glass bangles in the different colours of the rainbow.
5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
The bangle makers face many problems in the glass industry. They have to work
in the dingy cells without air and light , in the high temperature of the furnace
.The dust from polishing the bangles is injurious to eyes. They often lose their
eyesight before they become adults. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than
to the light outside.

6. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Mukesh belongs to a poor family of bangle-makers. But his attitude is very
different from his family. He wants to break the family tradition of bangle
making. He is daring and determined. He has hopes and dreams. He wants to be a
motor mechanic.

Understanding the Text

1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from
villages to cities?
There are many factors that cause migration of people from villages to cities.
Some villagers voluntarily move to the cities in search for jobs and better civic
and health facilities, etc. Others are forced to migrate when natural disasters like
flood, storm, drought, famine, etc. destroy their houses and properties. History
has records of large scale migrations caused by wars. Also, many villagers who
are better off than others manage to send their children to study in the cities.
In the lesson ‘Lost Spring’, Saheb and his family migrates to Seemapuri from
Dhaka after their houses were destroyed in the storms.

2. Would you agree that promises made to poor children are rarely kept?
Why do you think this happens in the incidents narrated in the text?
Yes, the promises made to poor children are rarely kept. Often, they are not taken
seriously or have been made on the pretext of retaining a child’s fancy for
something. This keeps the child hoping for a better possibility till he/she realises
the truth. It is difficult for people to shatter the children’s dreams; while it is also
painful to see these children thrive of false hopes given to them.
Once, while interacting with Saheb, the narrator ends up encouraging him to
study and jokingly talks about opening a school herself. At that time she fails to
realise that unknowingly she has sown a seed of hope in Saheb’s heart. She
becomes conscious of her mistake when, after a few days, Saheb approaches her,
enquiring about her school. Her hollow promise leaves her embarrassed.

3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of

Firozabad in poverty?
The unfavourable social and legal systems, the deceptive middlemen, and their
own sad destinies keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in
perpetual poverty.

Talking about the Text

1. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?
Mukesh was different from the others of his community. By daring to dream, he
has already taken the first step towards a big change. He wants to become a
motor mechanic and drive a car. He can realise this dream with determination and
hard work. There might be many obstacles on his way but a strong willpower will
help him move towards the way to success. The fact that he is willing to walk a
long distance in order to learn the vocation, underlines his firm resolve. The only
thing left for him to do is to make that first journey to that garage and request the
owner to take him in and guide and direct him on his journey as a mechanic.

2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

The impoverished workers in the glass bangles industry toil in potentially
hazardous working conditions while welding. The furnaces they work in have
extremely high temperature and lack proper ventilation. Persistently working in
low light conditions, without any protective eye gear, leaves them blind. Even
burns and cuts are quite common. The workers are quite prone to ailments such
as lung cancer.

3. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

Child labour should be eliminated because it takes away from the child his
childhood and the prospect of elementary education. Moreover, since the child
labourers are cheap, and consequently engaged in hazardous and dangerous
employment, they are often vulnerable to mental and physical illness. In order to
curb this problem, it is important to make education easily accessible. Apart from
that, the parents must be made aware of the consequences of working in harmful
environments. It is also important to make the public aware of the fact that child
labour is a criminal offence and is punishable under law. The government must
ensure stricter child labour laws and that the offenders are punished.
4. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

Ans- Working in the glass bangle industry is full of numerous health hazards.
The children work in the glass furnaces with high temperature. They work in
the dingy cells here there is no light and no air. This spoils their health, eye-
sight and other parts of the body. The bangle makers weld pieces of coloured
glass into circles of bangles. They polish them and the dust of polishing along
with the high temperature flames result in loosing their eye-sight before they
become adult. They live and work in stinking lanes and thereby their health
goes on deteriorating.
The bangle makers with their families work for the whole day and fail to have
enough food to eat. They could hardly succeed in putting on proper clothes and
a roof over their head. They remain in the perpetual state of grinding poverty.
The glass bangle industry of Firozabad is one of its kind which illegally
employs the child labour. About 20,000 are employed in this hazardous work
and do not have an access to education. A vicious circle of sahukars,
middlemen, policemen, keepers of law, bureaucrats and politicians are
responsible for their sorry state of affairs and they cannot start a co-operative.
Most of them hardly reap their one time full meal in their full life time.

5.Which two distinct worlds of the bangle makers does the authoress see?
Ans- The writer sees two distinct worlds in Firozabad. The first one belongs to
the family of bangle makers. They are caught in the web of poverty with a
stigma of caste they are born in. The other is a vicious circle of the sahukars,
the middlemen, the policemen, politicians and the keepers of the law. They
ensure that the exploitation of the bangle makers go unabated. So they never
allow them to organise a cooperative.
6. ‘The elderly woman has still bangles in her wrists, but no light in her
eyes.’ Why?
Ans-The elderly woman laments very much on her ‘karam’, i.e destiny. She
says that during her lifetime she has not had a single meal. Instead of hard toil,
they loom into perpetual state of poverty. Her cheerless eyes are the ready
example and recognition of it. The bangle symbolised the ‘suhag.’ The homes
of the bangle makers cry for money.
7. Why don’t the younger ones of the bangle makers do anything else?
Ans- The years of mind numbing and hard toil kills the desire of making new
attempts to improve their condition and the ability to dream. In Firozabad doing
any other work needs dare, strong will and the determination of the bangle
makers to do anything else. The same is very much absent on the part of the
younger ones.
8. Elucidate the statement: ‘‘Food is more important for survival than an
identity.’’
Ans- Anees Jung encounters a rag-picking boy named Saheb daily in her
neighbourhood. He is engaged in rag-picking and tells that he is scrounging for
gold in the garbage dumps. He points out that, they can find a silver coin, a
rupee, a ten rupee note or more. More than 10,000 rag pickers roam in te village
and the city roads.
In her visit to the settlement colony of Seemapuri, the writer finds them living
in the structures of mud with roofs of tin and terapaulin. They are devoid of
sewage drainage or running water. More than 10,000 rag-pickers have occupied
illegal places to live and they have been living for the last 30 years or so. They
have been living without permits. Only they have ration cards for grains
purchase and to cast the votes. They have no identity so, food is more
important for their survival. At the end of the day, they go to bed without an
aching stomach. They pitch their tents wherever they find food. Thus, they
become their transit homes. Children grow up in them and become partners in
survival and survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. For them garbage is
their gold, food and everything for children. It is wrapped in wonder but for the
elders, it is a means of survival.
9. How is Mukesh ready to break the god-given-lineage of his family?
Ans- Mukesh seems to be a strong, determined boy belonging to the family of
bangle makers. He has got dare and courage to move away from his traditional
work. Since the family is engaged in the god-given-lineage but he is prone to
his occupation. He is well aware about the inconveniences, health hazards and
the role of man people who conspire to keep them engaged in the bangle
industry.
When Mukesh takes the writer to his home, she finds them living in stinking
lanes choked with garbage. She is much perturbed to see their miserable
conditions. Mukesh realises that his parents have nothing except a roof to cover
 their heads under it. They can’t provide them even the basic necessities of life.
So they are unable to boom like spring. He frankly tells the writer that he will
become a motor mechanic. He will learn to drive a car and he will not hesitate
to walk to the far off garage. He has no desire to live and become the victim of
poverty. In the true sense he dreams of the cars that rattle down in the dingy
streets of Firozabad. He remarks ‘To do anything else means having some dare
and the same is flashing on his face.’ Thus the dream of Mukesh does not seem
to be looming like a mirage. He will cherish it very soon.
10. Compare and contrast the lives of the families of Seemapuri and
Firozabad?
Ans-The houses in Seemapuri of the rag-pickers and the houses of the bangle
makers of Firozabad are either of mud with tin and tarpaulin roofs. They are with
broken walls, no windows, wobbly doors and animals and humans co-existing.
The streets at both places are foul smelling and fully unhygienic. The poverty
stricken families of Firozabad are compelled to undergo such miseries under the
conspiracy of caucus of responsible officers in connivance with the middlemen
and the sahukars. Together they impose this illegal baggage of doing hazardous
work on the shoulders of the children which they can’t put down.
On one hand, there are the families of the migrants, on the other, generations old
bangle maker families; both are being grounded under poverty and customs
continuously. Though these families at both the places are living in hellish
situations, yet they are shown struggling for survival. Food is more important
than their identity or doing anything else. In one case the rag-picker barefoot
boys are shown to be completely carefree and they are their own masters. While
in the case of children like Mukesh of the bangle makers, are shown dreaming to
become their own masters.
The nature rose (storm) against the families of the rag-pickers once, and vicious
circle of middlemen who trapped the fathers and forefathers of the bangle makers
are still at work against them. The grinding poverty and the traditions at both the
places ‘condemn their’ children to a life of continuous exploitation.
11. The life of bangle makers of Firozabad was full of obstacles, which
forced them to lead a life of poverty and deprivation. Discuss with reference
to ‘lost spring’.
Ans-The authoress presents a very pathetic picture of bangle makers of
Firozabad since they are born in poverty, live in poverty and even die in poverty.
They lead a life of trouble, torture, tension, deprivation and poverty and for
generations together they have been engaged in this trade. They work in dark an
 dingy cells sitting before high temperature which often makes them blind before
they become adults. They labour very hard at a very little profit.

They live in a small and dingy houses which are called ‘hovels’/ They have
crumbling walls, wobbly door and without windows. All the members of the
family live in the same house so they are overcrowded with humans and animals.
They have their own social customs and traditions. The old man in the house has
the authority to do everything. They remain uneducated and poor. They cannot
adopt another profession due to interference of the middlemen, money lenders,
politicians and the policemen. Due to lack of tangible and bold leader, they are
unable to organise themselves into a cooperative. So they remain poor
throughout life and lose the ability to dream. They can talk but do not act to
improve their lot.

12.Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

Children are the future of any country and like all citizens they should also get all
rightsand education, but some children due to poverty are forced to work in bangle
making factory, tobacco industry, manufacturing units, carpet-weaving factories,
match stick manufacturing units, fire work factories, etc. It should be eliminated by
strictly implementing the child labour act. Public awareness should be done through
print, audio, and visual media, compulsory education and free primary education
should be provided by government agencies. Only than the child labour can be
eliminated up to some extent.
13. What prompted the author to remark that promises like the one she made
abound in every corner of Saheb’s bleak world?

Ans. The author had promised to open a school in which Saheb could study but had
no intention of doing so. She says that hollow promises like hers guaranteeing a
better life were made to the deprived section of the society all the time but were
never fulfilled

14. Through the years rag picking has acquired the ‘proportion of a fine art’ in
Seemapuri. Justify the statement.
Ans.. The means of survival of migrants of Bangladesh in Seemapuri is rag picking.
Garbage to them is gold. Like a fine art that has no end in appealing the sense of
beauty the rag picker’s scrounging the garbage is a never ending process which
provides them their daily bread day after day.
OR
Like any other art form, rag picking possesses certain talents and rules. One needs
guidance and inborn talents to be a successful rag picker. He should know where to
find garbage, what to take, what to ignore, what time is best for it and so on. In
Seemapuri every child is taught the essential art of rag picking.

15. What are the two worlds that the author talks about?

Ans. The first one was that of the families of the bangle makers, caught in a web of
poverty and burdened by the stigma of the caste to which they belonged. The second
one was that of a vicious circle of sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the
keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians.

16. How is Mukesh different from Saheb?

Ans. Saheb sacrificed his freedom when he took job at the tea stall but Mukesh
insisted on being his own master. Though Saheb wanted to study but he was not
ready to make effort to get educated, rather he accepted his fate. On the other hand
Mukesh was determined to become motor mechanic and was ready to make every
possible effort to accomplish his dreams.

17. ‘Lost Spring’, is a sad commentary on the political system of our country
that condemns thousands of people to a life of abject poverty. Comment.

Saheb, optimistic and enthusiastic—prospect of finding gold in garbage—likes

going to school but no opportunity—freedom and joy of childhood to burdens of job
at tea-stall.
Mukesh, born at Firozabad (bangle maker)—works under inhuman condition—dark
room, hot furnaces—caught in web of poverty—vicious circle of sahukars,
policemen, politicians, bureaucrats and moneylenders—resigned to fate—unaware
of child labour act—stifled initiation and hope—lose eyesight before becoming
adults.
18. How is the line ‘few airplanes fly over Firozabad’ symbolically significant?

 The author finds a spark of motivation in Mukesh who is quite determined

about realizing his dream of becoming a motor mechanic
  He is ready to walk to a garage far from his home
 The author asks if he ever dreams of flying a plane- the question embarrasses
him and Mukesh replies in the negative
 He is satisfied with the more tangible and attainable dream related to the fast
moving cars that he saw on the streets each day
 Airplanes symbolize something distant, just like a far-fetched dream –people
of Firozabad were not exposed to grand dreams like that.

19. The life of bangle makers of Firozabad was full of obstacles which forced
them to lead a life of poverty and deprivation. Discuss with reference to Lost
Spring

Value Points:
• Bangle makers born in poverty, live in poverty, die in poverty.
• For generations people have been engaged in this trade.
• Work in inhuman conditions.
• Although they work hard but the profit is meagre.
• Their hovels have crumbling walls, wobbly doors and no windows.
• They are overcrowded with humans and animals.
• Social customs, traditions, stigma of caste and people in authority combine so that
they remain poor and uneducated
• Money lenders, middlemen, politicians and policemen are all against them.
• Unable to organize themselves into a co-operative due to lack of a leader.
• They have lost the ability to dream.
• They can only talk but not act to improve their lot

20. The bangle-makers of Ferozabad make beautiful bangles and make

everyone happy but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate
Value points
— utter poverty generation after generation
—–believe they are destined to work in bangle factories
—-make beautiful bangles but live in dark
—–bright furnaces to do welding
—-they lose their eyesight
—-victims of vicious circle of middlemen
—law enforcing authorities prey upon them
— bleak future

21. Give a brief account of the life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-
Alam settled in Seemapuri.
Value points:
– poor rag pickers / unschooled / barefoot / sometimes taking up odd jobs like
working at tea stalls
– garbage to them is gold, it is their daily bread
– migrants (squatters) from Bangladesh, came to Delhi in 1973
– their fields and homes swept away in storms
– live in structures of mud with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage,
drainage or running water
– have lived for more than 30 years without identity, without permits but with ration
cards
– no intention of going back to their own country
– wherever they find food, they pitch their tents

22.‘Lost Spring’ explains the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn
thousands of people to a life of abject poverty. Do you agree? Why / Why not?
Yes – duly supported by examples from text
– both caught in the vicious cycle of poverty, apathy, affected by the greed ofothers,
injustice
– lost childhood – spring of life
Mukesh’s story – bangle making industry
– caught in the web of middlemen, politicians, policemen, the keepers of law,
bureaucrats
– lose all spirit and ability to dream
Saheb-a-Alam’s story
– rag picker, scrounging for gold, walking bare foot, got job, not happy because
no freedom, lost childhood
– any other relevant point

23. Explain the significance of title ‘Lost Spring’.

Ans: In this lesson, the author Anees Jung examines and analyses the grinding
poverty and tradition that condemn children to a life of exploitation.
Saheb as a ragpicker whose parents have left behind a life of abject poverty in
Bangladesh. His family, like the many other families of rag pickers lives in
Seemapuri. They live in miserable condition. The writer is pained to see Saheb,
whose name means the ruler of the Earth, lose the spark of childhood. She then
proceeds to tell about Mukesh who does want to be his own master. Hailing from
Firozabad, the centre of India’s bangle making and glass blowing industry, he has
always worked in the glass making factory. His family does not know that it is
illegal for children to work in such close to furnaces with such high temperatures.
They are exposed to various health hazards like losing their eyesight as they work in
dark and dingy cells. The family of bangle maker of Firozabad are so burdened that
they have lost their ability to dream. The writer’s observation is that these poor
hopeless people are but pawn in the games that are played by Sahukars, middlemen,
the policemen, the bureaucrats and the politicians.
The title is meaningful as they lost their spring (childhood). The writer has
beautifully essayed the story of stolen childhood with a view to sensitizing us to the
plight of these poor unfortunate children.

24. Why should there be a hard time for Saheb to believe the meaning of his name?

Saheb's full name is Saheb-E-Alam which means the Lord of the Universe. Being a
poor rag picker, Saheb cannot believe that the Lord of the Universe is supposed to
be like him and therefore he will struggle to believe the meaning of his name.

25. How does the author reason the barefoot tradition of the rag pickers?

The rag pickers of Seemapuri are traditionally barefooted. The author is doubtful
about the origin and reasons behind this tradition of the rag pickers. She believes
that it is an excuse to explain their poverty. But on the other side she sees the
possibilities of the traces of an ancient tradition preserved by the poor rag pickers

26. Karam and God-given lineage amply tell the sad picture of the stigma of religion
that rules the poor people of India? Explain.

India is still primitive in many spheres of life even in our time. A big majority of
Indians in the villages still believe the division of labor system that began centuries
ago. When one is not doing any better in life due to the unwillingness to adopt
another profession, they accept it as God's plan and do the same work as if it is a
God given lineage.

27. Which are the two hurdles that Mukesh has to break away for a better existence?

Mukesh has realized that being a bangle maker will not alleviate his poverty and
therefore he wishes to become a motor mechanic to be successful in his life. But
doing any job other than bangle making is out of question in his society. He has to
first convince his family and society of the need of undertaking another profession.
If the society lets him choose his way, Mukesh has to face an inconvincible group of
middlemen, politicians and their watchdogs, the police of Firozabad, who are
altogether the sole beneficiaries.

28. Explain: Daring is not part of his growing up.

Mukesh’s society does not dare to question the social evils that they suffer under the
middlemen and politicians and policemen. Most people here believe that they are
asked by god to carry on this unprofitable profession of bangle making while some
people blame their destiny for their wretchedness. So no one is allowed to think
differently and the question of how to overcome the curse of the middlemen usually
doesn’t arise among them because if any one dared to rise against them, they are
suppressed.

29. What do you mean by 'stigma of religion?'

Religion has the power to make anyone anything. Once one got trapped by any
religion, he is no more ruled by reason; superstitions start ruling them. He finds
reason for any senseless act of him in the mirage created by the religion. This
illusion is called stigma of religion.

30. What is the vicious circle for the people of Firozabad? Why is it called so?

People of Firozabad live in an illusionary world. Bangle makers over generations,

they believe that it is a god-given work that they are doing and feel proud of being
bangle makers. In fact this superstition is a trap for them. They are in an inescapable
whirlpool, surrounded by beliefs and traditions. They do not understand that the rich
people and the politicians want them believe such beliefs.

31. Everyone wishes to live a lavish life in a big city. Big cities provide big
dreams kin one’s eyes. These attract everything especially from villages or
small towns.

After reading the text LOST SPRING you must have been to point out the
possible reasons behind migration from a place to other. Write a paragraph in
about 100 words for a social magazine highlighting the issue ‘The reasons for
the migration of people from villages to cities.’
Ans: Due to urbanization, education, employment, safety and other basic amenities
more and more people are migrating from villages to the cities. In the lesson at
hand, people have fled from Bangladesh because their fields and houses were swept
away by the storm. There they could not get even enough food to fill their belly. The
settlement of Seemapuri is a fine example of this kind. In addition to this one can
see that the pressure on the land has increased due to population and mechanized
farming. So the requirement of labour is very acute. Consequently, people flee
towards the cities for work. In earlier days means of education and transportation,
etc. were very few. Only a few could get education. Agriculture was their main
profession. With extensive and renovated education, the youth run from post to
pillar in search of job. They do not want to stay in unhealthy and unhygienic rural
surroundings.
Not to speak of this, all sorts of village crafts have been replaced with the machines.
The market is full of competition, quality and cheap goods. The villagers fail to
compete with the new system of heavy industrialization. So the people migrate from
villages to cities to attain a city-like presence for themselves.

32. You have been stunned with the condition of children in the country. The
government, on one hand, feels proud to enact the anti-child labour act. While
on the other hand, the childhood is being ruined under the net/trap of child
labour. Write your views on ‘Elimination of Child Labour’ in about 100 words.

Elimination of Child Labour

The child labour employed in a nay form of the hazardous work is an offence. It is
banned under law. Yet it goes on unabated, the industrial towns like Firozabad,
Shivakasi, Mirzapur and so on.
The child labour is hazardous in nature. It inflicts physical and mental harm to the
boys. The work in the glass bangle industry often ends up them losing their eyesight
before they become adults. The mind-numbing toil is bangle-making kills all their
initiative, drive and ability to dream in life. They are even deprived of the school
education and proper growth.
According to Anees Jung about 20,000 children are working in the glass bangle
industry of Firozabad. Some of the industrialists conspire in unison with the
Sahukars, the middlemen, the policeman and the politicians and then go on stealing
their childhood for some extra coins. The only possible solution lies with the
government and the society to punish the wrong-doers very strictly; and keep a
careful watch and vigil over them.

33. Indiscriminate migration to big cities has resulted into the growth of slums
like mushrooms. Moreover, people are seen living in inhuman conditions here.
You may take reference from the test ‘The Lost Spring’ about two poor boys
Saheb and Mukesh. Write a paragraph kin 100 words about this problem
suggesting steps to deal with it.

Ans. Growth of Slums

The threat of population explosion has become the greatest menace for India. Every
four seconds a new baby is born in India. If the present trend continues, we can
visualize its serious consequences. There is not an inch of vacant space in all the
towns and cities of India. The price of land has become sky-high. A person
belonging to middle income group cannot even dream to buy a small piece of
land in some hygienic place. Therefore, slums have sprung up around all the
towns and cities. Slums are dirty dwellings. They are no better than hell. The people
live in dark and dingy dwellings. Their small houses lack air, light and sanitation.
There is a shortage of fresh drinking water and electricity. They remain ill fed, ill
clad and ill sheltered. They earn their dry bread through corrupt, criminal and vulgar
activities. Their filthy surroundings cause them to fall victims of fatal diseases. They
dell drugs and intoxicants,. Drinking and gambling are their favourite pastimes.
34 In this case the elder, is an impoverished bangle-maker. Despite long years
of hard labour, first as a tailor, then a bangle-maker, he has failed to renovate
a house, end his two sons to school. All he has managed to do is teach them
what he knows: ‘the art of making bangles’.
These lines show the apathy prevailing in some strata of society. These groups
have been known by their profession. Their ‘profession’ is their ‘caste’. Is it
fine to force someone to be a p art of his ancestral profession? Or some specific
reasons or thoughts are responsible for it. Write an article to be published in
your school magazine on the issue- ‘Profession cannot be termed as legacy.’
Sign yourself as Amrita/Amrit. (100 words)
Ans. Profession v/s Legacy
Indian society has many facets. There is caste system prevalent, as one of the
major evils in the society. Not only this, in some parts of the country, the profession
of some people has turned out to be their caste. They are indulged in the same
profession from generation to generation. They treat it like the God-given lineage
that is unbreakable. Some as in the case of bangle-makers at Firozabad, new
generation is said to believe to have born in the caste bangle makers. This ancestral
profession, despite many health-hazards, runs in their blood. To do anything else
would mean to dare. The youngsters have to treat it like their ‘Karam’ or destiny.
They lived a life of sacked employees. Profession has imposed as a legacy on them.
Whether it brings full facilities to live or not, nothing else can be tried even. This is
unfair and not done. Now the younger generation has the spark to do anything else.
A doctor’s son should not necessarily be a doctor. One can opt for profession
according to one’s choice. This is the only way to break the vicious circle of the
abject poverty.
35 None of them know that it is illegal for children like him to work in glass
furnaces with high temperatures in dingy cell without air and light …..?
These words from ‘Lost Spring ‘ throw light on the grinding poverty that
forces many children in India to lead a life of exploitation whereby they have to
slog in sub-human conditions. Driven by a concern for such children who lose
their childhood and who go through an unjust, treatment, write an article in
about 100 words on ‘Child Labour in India.’
ANS: Child labour in any form, if both legal and social offence . it is banned under
law in India yet, more than 10 million children are employed in hazardous and
dangerous trades and industries. At their tender age, they are made to work 10 to 15
hours a day instead of them studying and playing . These children are made to work
in sub-human condition and are often exploited. They are underpaid, ill-fed and
even beaten at the slightest fault. One is moved with pity to see their grim and
famished faces. For example, in Mirzapur carpet industry, thousands of children are
engaged in carpet weaving. In dark hutments, sit boys and girls, weaving carpets.
Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light. They work at the risk of
even losing their eye sight. Strict measures need to be adopted to execute the
constitutional ban on child labour in both letter and spirit if we don’t want the future
of India to be doomed. It is the birth right to every child to live his/her childhood.
We can’t allow this beautiful stage to simply pass by the little faces, leaving them
shrinking away…