Lost Spring Textbook Questions and Answers

Lost Spring

Textbook Questions and Answers
Understanding the text

Question 1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?
गाँवों से शहरों की ओर पलायन करने के क्या कुछ कारण हो सकते हैं ?
Answer: A few reasons for this are as follow :
(i) People hope for a better livelihood in cities.
(ii) When drought or flood or any other calamity destroys their crops, then they migrate to cities for survival.

(iii) Farm labourers in villages do not get proper wages. So they migrate to cities to work in factories.
(iv) Many people migrate to cities to arrange good education for their children.
(v) Unemployed people migrate to cities because they hope to get a number of jobs there.
(vi) Last but not the least, is the luxury, glamour and comfort of the city life which attracts them to cities.

इसके कुछ कारण इस प्रकार हैं :
(i) लोग शहरों में अधिक अच्छे जीविकोपार्जन की आशा रखते हैं ।
(ii) जब सूखे या बाढ़ या अन्य किसी आपदा से उनकी फसल बर्बाद हो जाती है तो उनके लिए गुजारा करना कठिन हो जाता है । तब वे जीविका चलाने के लिए शहरों को पलायन कर जाते हैं ।
(iii) गाँवों में खेतिहर मजदूरों को अच्छी मजदूरी नहीं मिलती है । इसलिए वे कारखानों में काम करने के लिए
शहरों को पलायन कर जाते हैं ।
(iv) बहुत से लोग उनके बच्चों को अच्छी शिक्षा मिल पाये, इस हेतु शहरों को पलायन कर जाते हैं ।
(v) बेरोजगार लोग इसलिए शहरों को पलायन कर जाते हैं क्योंकि वहाँ उन्हें बहुत सी नौकरियाँ मिलने की आशा होती हैं।
(vi) अन्तिम लेकिन सर्वाधिक महत्त्वपूर्ण बात यह है कि शहरी जीवन की विलासिता, चाक-चमक और आराम लोगों को शहरों की ओर आकर्षित करता है ।

Question 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 ?
क्या आप सहमत होंगे कि गरीब बच्चों से किये वायदे शायद ही कभी पूरे किए जाते हैं? इस पाठ की घटनाओं में ऐसा होता है – इस पर आपके क्या विचार हैं ?
Answer:
It is very easy to make a promise but it is equally difficult to keep it. Our government boasts of taking measures to eliminate child labour. But one can see children working, everywhere – in factories, houses, tea-stalls etc. Education to all is another promise still waiting to be kept.

Anees Jung too instinctively made a promise to a poor boy. The boy hoped for a better future. But then he came to know that this was just another promise made to the poor. To sum up, we can say that promises made to poor children are never kept.

वायदा करना बहुत आसान है परन्तु उसे पूरा करना उतना ही कठिन है । हमारी सरकार बालश्रम उन्मूलन के कदम उठाने की डींग हाँकती है । परन्तु बच्चे हर जगह काम करते मिल जायेंगे- कारखानों में, घरों में, चाय की दुकानों पर । सर्व शिक्षा एक और वायदा है जो अभी पूरा होने की बाट जोह रहा है ।

अनीस जंग ने भी स्वाभाविक तरीके से एक गरीब लड़के से वायदा कर दिया । लड़के में एक अच्छे भविष्य की आशा जगी। लेकिन बाद में उसे पता लगा कि वह तो बस गरीब लोगों से किया जाने वाला एक अन्य वायदा था। संक्षेप में, हम कह सकते हैं कि गरीब बच्चों से किए गए वायदे कभी पूरे नहीं किये जाते हैं।

Question 3.
What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
फिरोजाबाद के चूड़ी उद्योग में लगे श्रमिकों को गरीब बनाये रखने का कुचक्र कौन सी शक्तियाँ करती रहती
Answer:
Most of the poor people in Firozabad are engaged in bangle making. It is very difficult for them to think of doing anything else. The moneylenders, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians have created the vicious circle from which it is very difficult for the workers in the bangle industry to get out.

They do not let them think beyond making bangles. If someone ever dares think otherwise, he will be hauled up by the police. He will be beaten and dragged to jail for doing something illegal. The vicious circle of poverty and injustice never allows them to take any courageous step.

फिरोजाबाद में अधिकांश गरीब लोग चूड़ी बनाने के काम में लगे हैं । किसी अन्य काम को करने की सोचना उनके लिए बहुत मुश्किल है । साहूकारों, मध्यस्थों, पुलिसवालों, कानून के रखवालों, नौकरशाहों और राजनेताओं ने एक ऐसा कुचक्र बना दिया है जिसमें से चूड़ी उद्योग में लगे मजदूरों का निकलना अत्यन्त कठिन है ।

वे उन्हें चूड़ी बनाने के अलावा कुछ भी नहीं सोचने देते हैं अगर कभी कोई कुछ अलग सोचने की हिम्मत करता है तो उसे पुलिस पकड़ लेगी। कुछ गैर कानूनी करने के लिए उसे पीटा जायेगा और जेल में डाल दिया जायेगा। गरीबी और अन्याय का कुचक्र उन्हें किसी भी तरह का साहसिक कदम उठाने की अनुमति नहीं देता है।

Think as you read (Page 16)

Question 1.
What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
साहेब कूड़े के ढेर में क्या खोज रहा है? वह कहाँ है तथा कहाँ से आया है ?
Where did Saheb’s family settle ? साहेब का परिवार कहाँ बस गया था?
Answer:
Saheb is a young boy who is engaged in rag-picking. He is looking for money in the garbage dumps. Presently he is living at Seemapuri, a place on the border of Delhi. His fam was come from Bangladesh.

साहेब एक छोटा लड़का है जो कचरा उठाने के काम में लगा है । वह कचरे के ढेर में पैसा ढूँढ रहा है आजकल
वह सीमापुरी में रह रहा है जो दिल्ली की सीमा पर स्थित है । उसका परिवार बांग्लादेश से आया है

Question 2.
What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
लेखिका बच्चों के जूते न पहनने के लिए क्या स्पष्टीकरण देती है ?
Or
What does the reference to chappals in ‘Lost Spring’ tell us about the economic condition of ragpickers?
चप्पल के सन्दर्भ में यह पाठ कूढ़े बीनने वालों की आर्थिक दशा के बारे में क्या बताता है?
Answer:
The author has seen children walking barefoot without any chappals in cities and on village roads. Most people think that it is not lack of money but a tradition to stay barefoot but the writer thinks otherwise. She considers that it is the perpetual state of poverty that makes them walk barefoot.

लेखिका ने बच्चों को शहरों और गाँवों की सड़कों पर नंगे पैर बिना चप्पलों के घूमते देखा है । ज्यादातर लोग सोचते हैं कि धन की कमी से नहीं वरन् परम्परा के लिए लोग नंगे पैर रहते हैं । किन्तु लेखिका इसका उल्टा सोचती हैं । उनका मत है कि लगातार बनी रहने वाली गरीबी के कारण लोग नंगे पैर रहते हैं ।

Question 3.
Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall ? Explain.
क्या साहेब चाय की दुकान पर काम करके खुश है? स्पष्ट करो ।
Answer:
Although Saheb gets 1800 and all his meals yet he is not happy working at the tea-stall, for now he is no more the master of his own; he is a servant. He seems to say that it is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven.

यद्यपि साहेब को भोजन और र 800 मिलते हैं तथापि वह टी-स्टाल पर काम करके खुश नहीं है, क्योंकि वह अब अपनी मर्जी का मालिक नहीं है; वह एक नौकर है । ऐसा लगता है वह कह रहा है कि स्वर्ग में सेवा करने की अपेक्षा नर्क में शासन करना बेहतर है

Think as you read (Page 19)

Question 1.
What makes the city of Firozabad famous ?
फिरोजाबाद शहर किस बात के लिए प्रसिद्ध है ?
Answer:
Firozabad is famous for its glass-blowing industry. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles. Many families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles.

फिरोजाबाद काँच को आकार देने वाले कारोबार के लिए प्रसिद्ध है । फिरोजाबाद का हर दूसरा परिवार चूड़ी बनाने में लगा है । बहुत से परिवारों ने भट्टियों के आसपास काँच कोजोड़कर चूड़ियाँ बनाते पीढ़ियाँ गुजार दी हैं ।

Question 2.
Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
काँच की चूड़ियों के उद्योग में काम करने के खतरे बताइये ।
Or
Mention any two hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
काँच की चूड़ियों के उद्योग में काम करने के कोई दो खतरे बताइये ।
Answer:
The two hazards of working in the glass bangles industries are :-
(1) The workers in the glass bangles industry have to work in high temperature. It affects their health badly.
(2) The biggest hazard they face is that they go blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles.

काँच की चूड़ियों के उद्योग में काम करने के दो खतरे हैं :-
(1) काँच की चूड़ियों के उद्योग में मजदूरों को उच्च ताप में काम करना पड़ता है ।इससे उनके स्वास्थ्य पर बुरा प्रभाव पड़ता है
(2) सबसे बड़ा खतरा जो उनके सामने होता है वह यह है कि चूड़ियों के काँच की पॉलिश की धूल से वे अन्धे हो जाते हैं ।

Question 3.
How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
अपने हालात के प्रति मुकेश का दृष्टिकोण उसके परिवार के दृष्टिकोण से किस प्रकार भिन्न है ?
Answer:
Mukesh comes from a family of bangle makers. Unlike his family members, he does not want to cling to bangle making. He wants to be the master of his own. He wants to become a motor-mechanic.

मुकेश चूड़ी बनाने वालों के परिवार से है । अपने परिवारजनों से अलग वह चूड़ी बनाने के काम से चिपका रहना नहीं चाहता है । वह अपना मालिक खुद बनना चाहता है । वह एक मोटर मेकेनिक बनना चाहता है ।

Talking about the text

Question 1.
How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?
आपकी राय में, मुकेश अपने सपने को कैसे चरितार्थ या कार्यान्वित कर सकता है ?
Answer:
A poor child Mukesh accepts his fate just the way his father did. Doing anything different from what his generations have been doing needs courage. These poor children are generally lacking in courage as they have always remained downtrodden.

Mukesh has the glimpse of that very courage. He intends to do something different from what his forefathers have been doing. It is his courage which shows that Mukesh can realise his dream.

एक गरीब बच्चा मुकेश अपने भाग्य को वैसे ही स्वीकार कर लेता है जैसे कि उसके पिता ने स्वीकार किया था । उसकी पीढ़ियों से जो काम होता आ रहा है उससे हटकर सोचने के लिए साहस चाहिए । ऐसे गरीब बच्चों में सामान्यतः साहस की कमी होती है क्योंकि वे हमेशा दबे-कुचले रहे हैं । मुकेश में उसी साहस की झलक है । उसके पूर्वज जो कुछ करते रहे वह उससे हटकर कुछ करना चाहता है । उसका यह साहस ही दिखाता है कि मुकेश अपना सपना पूरा कर सकता है ।

Question 2.
Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
काँच की चूड़ियों के उद्योग में काम करने के खतरों को बताइये ।
Answer:
The Hazards of working in the glass bangles industry are :
(i) The workers work around glass furnaces with high temperatures. They work in dingy cells without air and light. This is quite unhealthy for them.
(ii) The polishing of the glass of bangles produces dust. This dust slowly makes the workers lose their eyesight. They go blind.
(iii) The workers weld the pieces of coloured glass. They do this work in their dark hutments, in the dim light of flickering oil lamps. This also affects their eyesight badly.
(iv) Most of them lose their eyesight even before they become adults.

काँच की चूड़ियों के उद्योग में काम करने के खतरे इस प्रकार हैं :
(i) मजदूर बहुत उच्च तापमान वाली काँच पिघलाने वाली भट्टियों के पास काम करते हैं । वे हवा व प्रकाश से रहित गन्दी कोठरियों में काम करते हैं । यह उनके लिए बहुत अस्वास्थ्यकर है ।
(ii) चूड़ियों के काँच को पॉलिश करने से गर्द निकलती हैं । इस गर्द से धीरे-धीरे मजदूरों की दृष्टि समाप्त हो जाती है । वे अन्धे हो जाते हैं ।
(iii) मजदूर रंग-बिरंगे काँच के टुकड़ों को जोड़ते हैं । वे यह काम अपनी झोपड़-पट्टियों में तेल के दीपकों के टिमटिमाते प्रकाश में करते हैं । इससे भी उनकी दृष्टि पर बुरा प्रभाव पड़ता है ।
(iv) उनकी आँखें प्रकाश के बजाय अंधेरे की अधिक अभ्यस्त हो जाती हैं । बड़े होने से पहले ही उनमें से अधिकांश की दृष्टि समाप्त हो जाती है । इस प्रकार, काँच की चूड़ियों के उद्योग में काम करना मजदूरों के लिए अत्यधिक खतरनाक है ।

Question 3.
Why should child labour be eliminated and how ?
बालश्रम को क्यों और किस प्रकार मिटाया जाना चाहिए ?
Answer:
Although child labour is banned by law yet a large number of children work in various industries. It is the age when children should get their education and prepare themselves for future. This age should be utilised to make all-round development of a child.

Child labour can be eliminated through enacting laws and by strictly enforcing them. But no law is adequate until there is willingness among the people to follow it. So it is necessary to spread awareness among the parents and the people who employ children as workers.

यद्यपि बालश्रम पर कानून द्वारा रोक लगा दी गई है फिर भी विभिन्न उद्योगों में बहुत सारे बच्चे काम करते हैं। यह वह उम्र होती है जिसमें बच्चों को शिक्षा प्राप्त करनी चाहिए तथा भविष्य के लिए तैयार होना चाहिए । बालश्रम को कानून बनाकर तथा उनका कठोरता से पालन करके मिटाया जा सकता है । परन्तु जब तक लोगों में कानून का पालन करने की इच्छा न होगी कोई भी कानून पर्याप्त नहीं होगा । अतः माता-पिता तथा उन लोगों में जागरूकता फैलाना जरूरी है जो बच्चों को काम पर लगाते हैं ।

Thinking about language

Although this text speaks of factual events and situations of misery, it transforms these situations with an almost poetical prose into a literary experience. How does it do so? Here are some literary devices :

यद्यपि इस गद्यांश में तथ्यात्मक घटनाओं तथा दु:ख के हालातों का वर्णन है तथापि लगभग काव्यात्मक गद्य के माध्यम से यह इन हालातों को साहित्यिक अनुभव बना देता है । यह ऐसा कैसे करता है ? यहाँ कुछ साहित्यिक विधाएँ हैं :

(1) Hyperbole is a way of speaking or writing that makes something sound better or more exciting than it really is.
For example : Garbage to them is gold. Hyperbole
बोलने या लिखने का वह तरीका है जो किसी चीज को वास्तविकता से ज्यादा उत्तेजनात्मक या बेहतर दिखाता है । उदाहरण के लिए : कूड़ा उनके लिए सोना है ।

(2) A Metaphor, as you may know, compares two things or ideas that are not very similar. A metaphor describes a thing in terms of a single quality or feature of some other thing; we can say that a metaphor “transfers” a quality of one thing to another. For example : The road was a ribbon of light. Metaphor,

जैसा कि आप जानते होंगे, दो वस्तुओं या विचारों की तुलना करता है जो बहुत अधिक समान नहीं होते हैं । Metaphor किसी वस्तु को किसी दूसरी चीज की किसी एक विशेषता या गण के रूप में वर्णित करता है । हम यह कह सकते हैं कि Metaphor एक वस्तु के गुण का स्थानान्तरण दूसरी वस्तु में कर देता है । उदाहरण के लिए – सड़क प्रकाश का फीता थी ।

(3) Simile is a word or phrase that compares one thing with another using the words “like” or “as”.
For example : As white as snow.

Simile कोई शब्द या शब्द-समूह होता है जो like या as जैसे शब्दों का प्रयोग करके एक वस्तु से दूसरी की तुलना करता है ।
उदाहरण के लिए – बर्फ जैसा सफेद ।

Carefully read the following phrases and sentences taken from the text. Can you identify the literary device in each example ?
पाठ से लिए गए नीचे दिये वाक्यांशों तथा वाक्यों को ध्यानपूर्वक पढिए । क्या आप बता सकते हैं कि प्रत्येक उदाहरण में किस साहित्यिक विधा का प्रयोग हुआ है ?

1. Saheb-e-Alam which means the lord of the universe is directly in contrast to what Saheb is in reality.
2. Drowned in an air of desolation.
3. Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet, miles away from it, metaphorically.
4. For the children it is wrapped in wonder; for the elders it is a means of survival.
5. As her hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine, I wonder if she knows the sanctity of the bangles she helps make.
6. She still has bangles on her wrist, but not light in her eyes.
7. Few airplanes fly over Firozabad.
8. Web of poverty.
9. Scrounging for gold.
10. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art.
11. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his shoulders.
    Answer:
12. Irony
13. Hyperbole
14. Irony
15. Paradox
16. Simile
17. Irony
18. Hyperbole
19. Metaphor
20. Hyperbole
21. Hyperbole
22. Oxymoron

Things to do

The beauty of the glass bangles of Firozabad contrasts with the misery of people who produce them. This paradox is also found in some other situations, for example, those who work in gold and diamond mines, or carpet weaving factories, and the products of their labour, the lives of construction workers, and the buildings they build.

फिरोजाबाद की काँच की चूड़ियों के सौन्दर्य का, चूड़ी बनाने वालों के कष्ट के साथ विरोधाभास है । ऐसा विरोधाभास कुछ अन्य परिस्थितियों में भी पाया जाता है । उदाहरण के लिए – वे लोग जो सोने और हीरे की खानों में काम करते हैं या कालीन बनाने वाली फैक्ट्रियों में काम करते हैं और उनके मेहनत से बने उत्पाद, निर्माण कार्य से जुड़े लोगों का जीवन और भवन जो वे बनाते हैं ।

• Look around and find examples of such paradoxes.
अपने चारों ओर देखो और ऐसे विरोधाभासों के उदाहरण ढूँढो ।
Note : Do yourself.

• Write a paragraph of about 125 words on any one of them noted above. You can start by making notes.
उपर्युक्त में से किसी एक पर लगभग 125 शब्दों का एक अनुच्छेद लिखिए। शुरुआत करने से पहले आप नोट्स बना सकते हैं

• Here is an example of how one such paragraph may begin :
ऐसे एक अनुच्छेद की शुरूआत का एक उदाहरण यहाँ दिया जा रहा है:
You never see the poor in this town. By day they toil, working cranes and earthmovers, squirreling deep into the hot sand to lay the foundations of chrome. By night they are banished to bleak labour camps at the outskirts of the city.
Answer:
You never see the poor in this town. By day they toil, working cranes and earthmovers,squirreling deep into the hot sand to lay the foundations of chrome. By night they are banished to bleak labour camps at the outskirts of the city.

They make splendidly towering blocks, gorgeously impressive temples or mosques, ultra modern shopping malls, huge over-bridges that create a good impression of our country in the eyes of foreigners. All the above mentioned things are in utter contrast to the life of the workers who make them. They live in humble hutments. It is a great irony of fate that the workers who toil so hard to prepare beautiful buildings have to live in dirty conditions. This, indeed , is a very shameful thing for all of us.

आपको इस शहर में गरीब कभी दिखाई नहीं देते हैं । दिन में वे मेहनत करते हैं, क्रेन व अर्थमूवर (खुदाई की मशीन) पर मेहनत से काम करके गर्म रेत में गहरी खुदाई करते हैं जिस पर क्रोम (एक धातु) की नींवें रखी जा सकें। रात में शहर के बाहरी भाग में धुंधले लेबर कैम्पों में निष्कासित कर दिये जाते हैं ।

वे शानदार ऊँचे भवन, शानदार प्रभावशाली मंदिर या मस्ज़िद, अति आधुनिक शापिंग मॉल, विशाल ओवर-ब्रिज बनाते हैं जो विदेशियों की नज़रों में हमारे देश का अच्छा प्रभाव जमाते हैं । उपर्युक्त वर्णित सभी चीजें उन लोगों के जीवन से बिल्कुल विपरीत हैं जो इन्हें बनाते हैं । वे टूटी-फूटी झोंपड़ियों में रहते हैं । यह भाग्य की सबसे बड़ी विडम्बना है कि जो मजदूर इन सुन्दर भवनों को तैयार करने में इतना कठोर परिश्रम करते हैं उन्हें गन्दी स्थितियों में रहना पड़ता है। यह वास्तव में हम सभी के लिए एक बड़ी ही शर्मनाक बात है ।

RBSE Class 12 English Lost Spring Important Questions and Answers
Short Answer Type Questions

Answer the following questions in about 20-25 words :

Question 1.
Who was Saheb? What did he do?
साहेब कौन था ? वह क्या करता था ?
Answer:
Saheb was a poor ragpicker boy. Every morning, he would scrounge for coins or other valuables in the garbage dumps.

साहेब एक गरीब कचरा बीनने वाला लड़का था । प्रत्येक सुबह, वह कचरे के ढेर में पैसे या अन्य कीमती चीजें ढूँढा करता था ।

Question 2.
Why did Saheb’s family migrate to India ?
साहेब का परिवार भारत क्यों आया ?
Answer:
Saheb’s family lived in Dhaka. There were many storms that swept away their fields and homes. So they left Dhaka for Delhi to earn their livelihood.

साहेब का परिवार ढाका में रहता था। वहाँ बहुत से तूफान आते थे जो लोगों के खेतों और घरों को बहा ले जाते थे । इसलिए वे अपनी रोजी रोटी कमाने ढाका से दिल्ली आ गये ।

Question 3.
Why does the writer feel her advice to be hollow ?
लेखिका को अपना सुझाव खोखला क्यों लगता है?
Answer:
The writer knew that there was no school in the neighbourhood, nor could she start one in the near future, yet she asked Saheb to go to school. This apparently shows the hollowness of her advice.

लेखिका जानती थी कि आस-पास कोई स्कूल नहीं है और न ही वह निकट भविष्य में कोई स्कूल खोल सकती है, तथापि साहेब को उसे स्कूल जाने के लिए कहा । यह स्पष्टतः उसकी सलाह के खोखलेपन को दर्शाता है।

Question 4.
Why did the author feel embarrrassed ?
लेखिका को स्वयं पर ग्लानि क्यों हुई ?
Answer:
The author had promised Saheb that she would open a school for him. Later when Saheb asked her about the school, she felt embarrassed.

लेखिका ने साहेब से वादा किया था कि वो उसके लिए एक स्कूल खोलेगी। बाद में जब साहेब ने उससे स्कूल के बारे में पूछा तो उसे स्वयं पर ग्लानि हुई ।

Question 5.
What does garbage mean to the elderly people ?
बड़े लोगों के लिए कूड़े का क्या अर्थ है ?
Answer:
For elderly people or the parents, garbage is not at all a useless thing, it is a means of their survival.
बड़े लोगों या माँ-बाप के लिए कूड़ा बेकार चीज नहीं है वरन जीवित रहने का साधन है ।

Question 6.
“But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.” Explain.
“लेकिन मेरे जैसे वायदे उसके धुंधले संसार में सब ओर भरे हुए हैं ।” समझाइये ।
Answer:
Through this statement, the author throws light on the gloomy world of the poor children. Everyday, new promises are made to improve their lot, but none of them are implied in the spirit.

इस कथन के माध्यम से लेखिका गरीब बच्चों के दुःखपूर्ण संसार पर प्रकाश डालती है । हर रोज, उनकी दशा सुधारने के नये-नये वादे किये जाते हैं, लेकिन पूरी भावना के साथ उनमें से किसी को लागू नहीं किया जाता

Question 7.
Bring out the irony in the name of the ragpicker boy Saheb-e-Alam.
कचरा बीनने वाले लड़के, साहेब-ए-आलम के नाम में विडम्बना दर्शाइये ।
Answer:
The ragpicker boy is named Saheb-e-Alam, which means the lord of the universe. But he is is a poor ragpicker. This is the irony in his name.

साहेब-ए-आलम का अर्थ है – ब्रह्माण्ड का स्वामी लेकिन वह एक गरीब कचरा बीनने वाला है। यही उसके नाम की विडम्बना है।

Question 8.
Where is Saheb going with a steel canister in his hand ?.
स्टील का कनस्तर हाथ में लेकर साहेब कहाँ जा रहा है ?
Answer:
Saheb is going to the milk booth with a steel canister in his hand. He works at a tea-stall. The tea stall owner sent him to fetch milk from there.

स्टील का कनस्तर हाथ में लेकर साहेब दूध की दुकान पर जा रहा है । वह एक चाय की दुकान पर काम करता है । चाय वाले ने उसे कहाँ से दूध लाने को भेजा था ।

Question 9.
Describe the living conditions of the children like Saheb.
साहेब जैसे बच्चों के जीवन जीने की दशाओं का वर्णन कीजिए ।
Answer:
Children like Saheb live in structures of mud with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of drainage or running water. They earn their livelihood by ragpicking, and are devoid of a good life.

साहेब जैसे बच्चे मिट्टी के बने घरों में रहते हैं जिनकी छत टिन या तिरपाल की होती है, जहाँ न तो पानी की निकासी होती है और न ही जलापूर्ति। वे कचरा बीनकर अपनी आजीविका चलाते हैं, और एक अच्छे जीवन से वंचित रहते हैं ।

Question 10.
What does Mukesh want to become in life ?
मुकेश जीवन में क्या बनना चाहता है ?
Answer:
Mukesh wants to be his own master, so he wants to become a motor mechanic in his life.

मुकेश वह अपना मालिक खुद बनना चाहता है, इसलिए जीवन में वह मोटर मिस्त्री बनना चाहता है।

Question 11.
What is customary for a daughter-in-law in India ?
भारत में आम तौर पर एक बहू के लिए क्या प्रथा है ?
Answer:
India is a land of different customs and traditions. Some of the traditions cannot be justified. It is customary for a daughter-in-law in India to veil her face before male elders.

परम्पराओं और प्रथाओं का देश है । उनमें से कुछ परंपराएँ न्यायोचित नहीं हो सकती । भारत में बहू द्वारा बड़े पुरुषों के सामने घूघट करने की प्रथा है ।

Question 12.
Why do welders of the glass pieces usually lose their eyesight?
काँच के टुकड़ों को जोड़ने वालों की आँखें प्रायः खराब क्यों हो जाती हैं ?
Answer:
Eyes of welders of the glass pieces are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside due to their work. That is why they often lose their eyesight.

काँच के टुकड़े जोड़ने वालों की आँखें उनके काम के कारण प्रकाश की अपेक्षा अँधेरे से अधिक समायोजित हो जाती हैं । यही कारण है कि अक्सर उनकी आँखों की रोशनी चली जाती है ।

Question 13.
What does a bangle signify?
चूड़ी का क्या महत्व है ?
Answer:
A bangle has a very significant place in Indian culture. It signifies an Indian woman’s Suhaag, auspiciousness in marriage.
भारतीय संस्कृति में चूड़ी का बहुत महत्त्वपूर्ण स्थान है । यह एक भारतीय महिला के सुहाग, विवाह में पवित्रता की प्रतीक होती है ।

Question 14.
When will Savita know the sanctity of the bangles?
सविता चूड़ियों की पवित्रता को कब समझेगी ?
Answer:
Savita will know the sanctity of the bangles when her head is draped with a red veil, her hands dyed with henna and red bangles rolled onto her wrists and understand their importance when she gets married.

सविता को चूड़ियों की पवित्रता तब समझ में आएगी जब उसके सिर पर लाल चूंघट होगा, हाथों में लाल मेंहदी होगी और उसकी कलाइयों पर लाल चूड़ियाँ पहिनाई जाएंगी।

Question 15.
What is the main occupation of the people of Firozabad ?
फिरोजाबाद के लोगों का मुख्य व्यवसाय क्या है ?
Answer:
Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles. They have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass and making bangles.

फिरोजाबाद में प्रत्येक दूसरा परिवार चूड़ी बनाने के व्यवसाय में लगा है । यहाँ परिवारों ने भट्टियों के इर्द-गिर्द काम करते, काँच के टुकड़ों को जोड़ते और चूड़ियाँ बनाते हुए पीढ़ियाँ गुजार दी हैं।

Question 16.
How is Firozabad unchanged ?
फिरोजाबाद बदलावरहित किस तरह है ?
Answer:
The poor people in Firozabad do not have enough even to eat. So they are bound to carry on the business of making bangles. Thus, with the passage of time, nothing has changed in Firozabad.

फिरोजाबाद के गरीब लोगों के पास खाने के लिए भी पर्याप्त पैसा नहीं है । अतः वे चूड़ी बनाने के काम में लगे रहने के लिए मजबूर हैं । इस तरह समय के साथ फिरोजाबाद में कुछ भी नहीं बदला है।

Question 17.
Why does the author compare Saheb and his friends to the morning birds ?
लेखिका साहेब और उसके मित्रों की तुलना सुबह के पक्षियों से क्यों करती हैं ?
Answer:
The author compares Saheb and his friends to the morning birds because just like them, they go scrounging garbage in the morning and return to their places in the noon. Strecha

साहेब और उसके मित्रों की तुलना सुबह के पक्षियों से इसलिये करती हैं क्योंकि उन्हीं की तरह वे सुबह कचरे में से खोजने (बीनने) का कार्य करते हैं और दोपहर को अपने स्थानों पर वापिस आ जाते हैं

Question 18.
Why do the bangle makers not organise themselves into a cooperative ?
चूड़ी बनाने वाले स्वयं को एक सहकारी समिति में संगठित क्यों नहीं करते हैं ?
Answer:
The bangle-makers don’t organise themselves into a cooperative because if they do so,they will be hauled up by the police, beaten, and dragged to jail for doing something illegal.

चूड़ी बनाने वाले स्वयं को एक सहकारी समिति में इसलिये संगठित नहीं करते हैं क्योंकि उन्हें पुलिस द्वारा पकड़ा जायेगा, पीटा जायेगा, कुछ अवैध करने के लिये कैद कर दिया जायेगा ।

Question 19.
What are the workers in Firozabad unaware of ?
फिरोजाबाद के श्रमिकों को किस बात का पता नहीं है ?
Answer:
The workers in Firozabad are unaware of the fact that it is illegal for children to work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures in dingy cells without air and light.

फिरोजाबाद के श्रमिक इस तथ्य से अनभिज्ञ हैं कि बिना हवा और प्रकाश वाली अँधेरी कोठरियों में उच्च तापक्रम वाली भट्टियों पर बच्चों से काम करवाना गैरकानूनी है ।

Question 20.
How does Mukesh’s grandmother accept life?
मुकेश की दादी जीवन को किस तरह स्वीकार करती हैं ?
Answer:
Mukesh’s grandmother thinks that all their misery is the result of their Karam or destiny.That is why she has quietly accepted her husband’s blindness.

मुकेश की दादी सोचती हैं कि उनकी वर्तमान दशा उनके कर्मों या भाग्य का फल है । यही कारण है अपने पति के अन्धे होने को वह चुपचाप स्वीकार कर लेती हैं।

Question 21.
What do Saheb and Mukesh represent ?
साहेब और मुकेश किस चीज का प्रतिनिधित्व करते हैं ?
Answer:
Saheb is a ragpicker who later works at a tea stall. He gives up ragpicking in favour of working at a tea-stall. Mukesh aspires to be a motor mechanic. Both the boys represent a class of poor people who want to wriggle out of the clutches of poverty.

साहेब एक कूड़ा बीनने वाला लड़का है जो वह चाय की दुकान पर काम करने के लिए कूड़ा बीनना छोड़ देता है । मुकेश मोटर मेकेनिक बनना चाहता है । दोनों ही लड़के गरीबों के एक ऐसे वर्ग का प्रतिनिधित्व करते हैं जो गरीबी की जकड़ से छूटने का प्रयत्न कर रहा है।

Question 22.
Why does the narrator think that the children in slums are the partners in their parents’ survival?
लेखिका को ऐसा क्यों लगता है कि मलिन बस्तियों में बच्चे जीने में अपने माता-पिता के सहभागी होते हैं ?
Answer:
Children in the slums are the partners in their parents survival as they engage in rag picking at an early age.
झोपड़-पट्टी में रहने वाले गरीब बच्चे अपने माता-पिता को जीने में मदद करते हैं क्योंकि वे बहुत कम उम्र में ही कूड़ा बीनने लगते हैं ।

Question 23.
What does the narrator think about Savita ?
लेखिका सविता के बारे में क्या सोचती है ?
Answer:
The narrator thinks if that girl Savita knows the sanctity and importance of the bangles that she is making.
लेखिका सोचती है कि क्या यह लड़की सविता जिन चूड़ियों को बना रही है उनकी पवित्रता एवं उनका महत्व समझती है ।

Question 24.
What different thing does the author notice in Mukesh ? ‘
लेखिका मुकेश में क्या अलग बात देखती है ?
Answer:
Mukesh belongs to a family of bangle makers but he wants to be a motor-mechanic. This desire of him seems quite different and daring to the author.

मुकेश एक चूड़ी बनाने के काम में लगे परिवार से है लेकिन वह मोटर-मैकेनिक बनना चाहता है । उसकी यह इच्छा लेखिका को बिल्कुल अलग व साहसपूर्ण लगती है ।

Question 25.
How do children and elderly people look at garbage ?
बच्चे तथा बड़े लोग कूड़े को किस दृष्टि से देखते हैं ?
Answer:
Children scrounge garbage because they hope they will find a note or coin in the garbage. But for elders, garbage is a means of their survival.

बच्चे कूड़े को कुरेदते रहते हैं क्योंकि उन्हें आशा रहती है कि कूड़े में उन्हें कोई नोट या सिक्का मिल जाएगा । परन्तु बड़े लोगों के लिए, कूड़ा जीने का साधन होता है ।

Long Answer Type Questions

Answer the following questions in about 80 words :

Question 1.
How do names mismatch people in real life? Discuss.
वास्तविक जीवन में नाम किस प्रकार व्यक्तियों से मेल नहीं खाते हैं ? व्याख्या कीजिए ।
Answer:
India abounds in meaningful names. Sometimes, they match the personality of a person but ivry often they do not match. Dhani Ram or Dhanpati are the names often given to the beggars. Satya Narayans are often found telling lies and Sajjans are not always gentle. Saheb-e-Alam is one such name. It means lord of the universe. But unaware of what his name stands for, the poor boy roams barefoot searching for a few coins in the garbage. These examples show that names do not always match the persons in real life.

भारत में सार्थक नाम भरे पड़े हैं । कभी-कभी ये व्यक्ति के व्यक्तित्व से मेल खाते हैं परन्तु ज्यादातर ये मेल नहीं खाते हैं । धनीराम या धनपति ऐसे नाम हैं जो भिखारियों को दिये जाते हैं । सत्य नारायण नाम वाले लोग अक्सर झूठ बोलते पाये जाते हैं और सज्जन हमेशा सज्जन नहीं होते हैं । साहिबे-आलम ऐसा ही एक नाम है । इसका अर्थ है संसार का मालिक । परन्तु अपने नाम के मतलब. से अनभिज्ञ, बेचारा लड़का नंगे पैर कचरे में कुछ सिक्के ढूँढता रहता है। ये उदाहरण दिखाते हैं कि वास्तविक जीवन में नाम हमेशा व्यक्तियों से मेल नहीं खाते हैं।

Question 2.
Describe the life of ragpickers in Seemapuri.
सीमापुरी में कूड़ा बीनने वालों के जीवन का वर्णन करो ।
Answer:
Seemapuri is situated on the periphery of Delhi. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971. Natural disasters forced them to leave their native land. About ten thousand ragpickers live here in structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin.

They do not have sewage, drainage or running water. Although they have no identity, they have ration cards and have their names in voters’ list. Children grow up in these small structures and the children help their parents in their survival. Rag-picking is the only way for survival in Seemapuri.

सीमापुरी बाहरी दिल्ली में स्थित है । यहाँ रहने वाले अवैध निवासी हैं जो 1971 में बांग्लादेश से आये थे । प्राकृतिक आपदाओं ने उन्हें अपना देश छोड़ने के लिए मजबूर कर दिया । लगभग दस हजार कूड़ा बीनने वाले यहाँ त्रिपाल और टीन की छत वाले कच्चे घरों में रहते हैं । उनके यहाँ मलनिकासी, जलनिकासी तथा जलापूर्ति नहीं है । यद्यपि उनकी कोई पहचान नहीं है, तथापि उनके पास राशन कार्ड हैं तथा उनके नाम मतदाता सूचियों में हैं । बच्चे इन्हीं छोटे घरों में बड़े होते हैं और बच्चे अपने माता-पिता की आजीविका कमाने में मदद करते हैं । सीमापुरी में कूड़ा बीनना ही जीवन बचाये रखने का एकमात्र तरीका है ।

Question 3.
Describe the place where Mukesh lives.
मुकेश के रहने के स्थान का वर्णन करो ।
Answer:
Mukesh lives in a street which is choked with garbage. There are houses with crumbling walls, wobbly doors and without windows. They are over-crowded with families from humans and animals coexisting in a primeval state. Mukesh’s house is half-built.

A part of this house is thatched with dead grass. A weak young woman is cooking the evening meal for the whole family. Her eyes are filled with smoke. Mukesh and his family live in utterly un-hygienic conditions.

मुकेश कूड़े से भरी गली में रहता है । यहाँ टूटे-फूटे, कमजोर दरवाजों वाले और बिना खिड़कियों वाले घर हैं । यहाँ आदिम युग की भाँति मनुष्य और पशु साथ-साथ घिचपिच में रह रहे हैं । मुकेश का घर अधबना है। घर के एक हिस्से पर सूखी घास का छप्पर है । एक कमजोर नवयुवती पूरे परिवार के लिए शाम का खाना बना रही है । उसकी आँखों में धुंआ भरा है । मुकेश और उसका पूरा परिवार बहुत ही अस्वास्थ्यकर हालातों में रहते हैं।

Question 4.
Why does the writer feel elated when she thinks about Mukesh ?
मुकेश के बारे में सोचकर लेखिका खुश क्यों होती है ?
Answer:
Mukesh belongs to a family of bangle makers. The author thinks that there are two distinct worlds – the world of the poor and the world of the rich. A poor child falls in the net of the rich before he is aware of it. Doing anything other than what his generations have been doing’ needs courage. But Mukesh dreams of becoming a motor mechanic. He seems courageous enough to break away the cycle of work his family has been doing for generations. When the author senses a flash of courage in Mukesh, she gets elated.

मुकेश चूड़ी बनाने वाले एक परिवार से है । लेखिका सोचती है कि दो भिन्न संसार हैं – गरीबों का संसार और अमीरों का संसार । एक गरीब बालक कुछ जानने से पहले ही धनी लोगों के जाल में फँस जाता है । उसकी पीढ़ियाँ जिस काम को करती आ रही हैं उससे हटकर कुछ करने के लिए साहस की जरूरत है । किन्तु मुकेश एक मोटर मिस्त्री बनने का सपना देखता है। लगता है कि उसमें उस कार्य के चक्र को तोड़ने का साहस है जो उसका परिवार पीढ़ियों से करता आ रहा है। जब लेखिका को मुकेश में उसी साहस की झलक दिखती है तो वह चहक उठती है ।

Question 5.
Describe the plight of the children like Saheb that take rag-picking as their way of life.
साहेब जैसे बच्चों की दयनीय दशा का वर्णन कीजिए जिनके लिए कचरा बीनना आजीविका का साधन है ।
Answer:
Saheb is a small boy who belongs to a family of ragpickers. Children like him are cursed to live a life of sheer poverty. They are devoid of even the basic needs of life. They live in poorly built hutments amidst lots of filth. What to say of nutritious food and proper clothing, even fresh air and water are a luxury to them. They have to live a life of humiliation. They are made to do overwork and treated in a very inhuman way. Thinking of them really brings tears to eyes.

साहेब एक छोटा लड़का है जिसका परिवार कचरा बीनने का काम करता है । उसके जैसे बच्चे घोर गरीबी का जीवन जीने को अभिशप्त हैं । वे जीवन की मूलभूत आवश्यकताओं से भी वंचित हैं वे टूटी-फूटी झोपड़-पट्टियों में अत्यधिक गन्दगी के बीच रहते हैं । पोषक भोजन व पर्याप्त कपड़ों का तो कहना ही क्या, उनके लिए तो ताजी हवा व जल भी विलासिता की वस्तुएँ हैं । उन्हें अपमानित जीवन जीना पड़ता है । उनसे आवश्यकता से अधिक कार्य कराया जाता है और उनके साथ अत्यधिक अमानवीय व्यवहार किया जाता है । उनके बारे में सोचकर वास्तव में आँखों में आँसू आ जाते हैं ।

Question 6.
“Can a god-given lineage ever be broken ?” Explain this statement of Mukesh’s grandmother with reference to the lesson.
“क्या कभी ईश्वर-प्रदत्त वंश परम्परा को तोड़ा जा सकता है ?” मुकेश की दादी के इस कथन को पाठ के संदर्भ में समझाइये ।
Answer:
Mukesh belongs to a family of bangle makers in Firozabad. The plight of the people engaged in this work is great. They have to work in dark cells. The dust from polishing the glass of bangles makes them blind. However, they cannot think of doing some other work.

Even if some of them try to do some other work, they are trapped by the moneylenders, police and politicians. Then, years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream. This work is accepted by them as their god-given lineage and they don’t have any courage to break it.

मुकेश फिरोजाबाद के एक चूड़ी बनाने वाले परिवार से है । इस काम में लगे लोगों की दशा बड़ी दयनीय है। उन्हें अंधेरी कोठरियों में काम करना पड़ता है । चूड़ियों के काँच को पॉलिश करने से उड़ने वाली गर्द उन्हें अन्धा बना देती है । फिर भी वे कुछ और काम करने के बारे में नहीं सोच पाते हैं ।

यदि वे कुछ और काम करने की कोशिश भी करें तो साहूकारों, पुलिस और राजनीतिज्ञों द्वारा उन्हें फँसा दिया जाता है । उस पर, वर्षों के दिमाग को सुन्न कर देने वाले परिश्रम ने उनमें कुछ नया करने की इच्छा और सपने देखने की क्षमता को समाप्त कर दिया है । वे इस काम को ईश्वर प्रदत्त वंश परम्परा मानकर स्वीकार कर लेते हैं और उनमें इस परम्परा को है ।

Seen Comprehension Passages

Read the following passages and answer the questions given below:

Passage 1.

‘Sometimes I find a Rupee in the garbage’ Why do you do this?” I ask Saheb whom I encounter every morning scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps of my neighbourhood. Saheb left his home long ago. Set amidst the green fields of Dhaka, his home is not even a distant memory. There were many storms that swept away their fields and homes, his mother tells him. That’s why they left, looking for gold in the big city where he now lives.
“I have nothing else to do,” he mutters, looking away. “Go to school,” I say glibly, realising immediately how hollow the advice must sound. “There is no school in my neighbourhood. When they build one, I will go.”

Questions:

1. What did Saheb search in the garbage?
2. Where was Saheb’s native home?
3. What does Saheb’s mother tell him?
4. Why does Saheb not go to school?
5. Find the word from the passage which means “a lot of.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘every thing?
   Answers:
7. Saheb searched for valuables and coins in the garbage.
8. Saheb’s native home was amidst the green fields in Dhaka.
9. Saheb’s mother tells him that many severe storms had swept away their fields and homes.
10. Saheb does not go to school because there is no school in his neighbourhood.
11. many.
12. nothing

Passage 2.

A few days later I see him running up to me. “Is your school ready?”
“It takes longer to build a school,” I say, embarrassed at having made a promise that was not meant. But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world. After months of knowing him, I ask him his name. “Saheb-e-Alam,” he announces. He does not know what it means. If he knew its meaning – lord of the universe – he would have a hard time believing it. Unaware of what his name represents, he roams the streets with his friends, an army of barefoot boys who appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon. Over the months, I have come to recognise each of them.

Questions:

1. Why was the narrator embarrassed?
2. What was the name of the boy and what did it mean?
3. What was the little boy unaware of?
4. How is the little boy’s name contrary to his lifestyle?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘flourish’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘before’.
   Answers:
7. The narrator was embarrassed because she had made a false promise of building a school.
8. The name of the boy was ‘Saheb-e-Alam’, meaning lord of the universe.
9. The little boy was unaware of the literary meaning of his name.
10. The little boy’s name means ‘lord of the universe’, but on the contrary he roams the whole day in the streets barefooted and looking for valuables in the garbage dump.
11. abound.
12. after.

Passage 3.

“Why aren’t you wearing chappals?” I ask one. “My mother did not bring them down from the shelf,” he answers simply. “Even if she did he will throw them off,” adds another who is wearing shoes that do not match. When I comment on it, he shuffles his feet and says nothing. “I want shoes,” says a third boy who has never owned a pair all his life. Travelling across the country I have seen children walking barefoot, in cities, on village roads. It is not lack of money but a tradition to stay barefoot, is one explanation. I wonder if this is only an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty.

Questions:

1. Who is not wearing chappals?
2. What is the another one wearing?
3. Why does the third boy want shoes?
4. What did the narrator see while travelling across the country?
5. Find the word from the passage which means to be of the same size, shape or colour’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘limited’.
   Answers:
7. One of the rag-picker boys is not wearing chappals.
8. The another boy is wearing shoes which do not match.
9. The third boy wants shoes because he has never owned a pair of them all his life.
10. While travelling across the country, the narrator saw children walking barefoot, in cities and on village roads.
11. match.
12. perpetual.

Passage 4.

I remember a story a man from Udipi once told me. As a young boy he would go to school past an old temple, where his father was a priest. He would stop briefly at the temple and pray for a pair of shoes. Thirty years later I visited his town and the temple, which was now drowned in an air of desolation. In the backyard, where lived the new priest, there were red and white plastic chairs.

A young boy dressed in a grey uniform, wearing socks and shoes, arrived panting and threw his school bag on a folding bed. Looking at the boy, I remembered the prayer another boy had made to the goddess when he had finally got a pair of shoes, “Let me never lose them.” The goddess had granted his prayer. Young boys like the son of the priest now wore shoes. But many others like the ragpickers in my neighbourhood remain shoeless.

Questions:

1. When he was a young boy, where would the man pray?
2. When he was a young boy, what would the man pray for?
3. When did the narrator visit the man’s town and the temple?
4. Who wore shoes now and who did not?
5. Find the word from the passage which means “out of breath’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘refused’.
   Answers:
7. When he was a young boy, the man would pray in an old temple in the way of his school.
8. When he was a young boy, the man would pray for a pair of shoes.
9. The narrator visited the man’s town and the temple thirty years later.
10. The young boys like the son of the priest wore shoes now, while the rag-picker boys in the narrator’s neighbourhood still remain shoeless.
11. panting
12. granted.

Passage 5.

My acquaintance with the barefoot ragpickers leads me to Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971. Saheb’s family is among them. Seemapuri was then a wilderness. It still is, but it is no longer empty. In structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water, live 10,000 ragpickers.

They have lived here for more than thirty years without an identity, without permits but with ration cards that get their names on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain. Food is more important for survival than an identity. “If at the end of the day we can feed our families and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields that gave us no grain,” say a group of women in tattered saris when I ask them why they left their beautiful land of green fields and rivers.

Questions:

1. Who live in Seemapuri?
2. What are the living conditions in Seemapuri?
3. What enables them to buy grain?
4. What is more important for them and why?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘outskirts’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘death”.
   Answers:
7. Squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971 live in Seemapuri.
8. Seemapuri has structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water.
9. Ration cards that get their names on voters’ lists enable them to buy grain.
10. Food is more important for them to survive than an identity.
11. periphery.
12. survival.

Passage 6.

And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art. Garbage to them is gold. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads, even if it is a leaking roof. But for a child it is even more.“I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten-rupee note,” Saheb says, his eyes lighting up.

When you can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage, you don’t stop scrounging, for there is hope of finding more. It seems that for children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents. For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival.

One winter morning I see Saheb standing by the fenced gate of the neighbourhood club, watching two young men dressed in white, playing tennis. “I like the game,” he hums, content to watch it standing behind the fence. “I go inside when no one is around,” he admits. “The. gatekeeper lets me use the swing.”

Question

1. Through the years, what has acquired the proportions of a fine art in Seemapuri?
2. What does Saheb sometimes find in the garbage?
3. For children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents. What is this difference?
4. Which game does Saheb like?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘searching’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to “despair’.
   Answers:
7. Through the years, rag-picking has acquired the proportions of a fine art in Seemapuri.
8. Sometimes Saheb finds a rupee or even a ten-rupee-note in the garbage.
9. For the children garbage is wrapped in wonder, while for the elders it is a means of survival.
10. Saheb likes the game of tennis.
11. scrounging.
12. hope.

Passage 7.

Saheb too is wearing tennis shoes that look strange over his discoloured shirt and shorts. “Someone gave them to me,” he says in the manner of an explanation. The fact that they are discarded shoes of some rich boy, who perhaps refused to wear them because of a hole in one of them, does not bother him. For one who has walked barefoot, even shoes with a hole is a dream come true. But the game he is watching so intently is out of his reach

This morning, Saheb is on his way to the milk booth. In his hand is a steel canister. “I now work in a tea stall down the road,” he says, pointing in the distance. “I am paid 800 rupees and all my meals.” Does he like the job? I ask. His face, I see, has lost the carefree look. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his shoulder. The bag was his. The canister belongs to the man who owns the tea shop. Saheb is no longer his own master!

Questions:

1. Why do the tennis shoes which Saheb is wearing look strange?
2. Why did the rich boy discard his shoes?
3. Where does Saheb work now? What does he get there?
4. Why has Saheb lost his carefree look?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘attentively’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘up’.
   Answers:
7. The tennis shoes which Saheb is wearing look strange as they do not match his discoloured shirt and shorts.
8. The rich boy discarded his shoes because of a hole in one of them.
9. Saheb now works in a tea stall down the road. He is paid 800 rupees and all his meals.
10. Saheb has lost his carefree look because now he has lost his freedom and worked as a servant.
11. intently.
12. down.

Passage 8.

“I want to drive a car” Mukesh insists on being his own master. “I will be a motor mechanic,” he announces. “Do you know anything about cars?” I ask. “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 glassblowing industry where families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles for all the women in the land it seems.

Questions:

1. What does Mukesh look forward to become?
2. Where does Mukesh live? What is it famous for?
3. What is the occupation of every other family in Firozabad?
4. Where have the families spent their generations?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘says emphatically’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘breaking’.
   Answers:
7. Mukesh wants to become his own master and looks forward to be a motor mechanic.
8. Mukesh lives in Firozabad, a town famous for its bangles.
9. Every other family is engaged in the occupation of making bangles.
10. Families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass, and making bangles for women.
11. insists.
12. welding

Passage 9.

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. We walk down stinking lanes choked with garbage, past homes that remain hovels with crumbling walls, wobbly doors, no windows, crowded with families of humans and animals coexisting in a primeval state.

Questions:

1. What is the occupation of Mukesh’s family?
2. What is illegal for children?
3. What would happen if the law was enforced strictly?
4. What are the living conditions of the area where Mukesh lives?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘dark and dirty’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to “modern’.
   Answers:
7. Mukesh’s family is engaged in the work of bangle making
8. It is illegal for children to work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light.
9. If law is enforced strictly, it could get around 20,000 children out of the hot furnaces where they slog their daylight hours, often losing the brightness of their eyes.
10. The area where Mukesh lives has stinking lanes choked with garbage, homes that remain hovels with crumbling walls, crowded with families of humans and animals.
11. dingy.
12. primeval.

Passage 10.

He stops at the door of one such house, bangs a wobbly iron door with his foot, and pushes it open. We enter a half-built shack. In one part of it, thatched with dead grass, is a firewood stove over which sits a large vessel of sizzling spinach leaves. On the ground, in large aluminium platters, are more chopped vegetables. A frail young woman is cooking the evening meal for the whole family. Through eyes filled with smoke she smiles.

She is the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother. Not much older in years, she has begun to command respect as the bahu, the daughterin-law of the house, already in charge of three men her husband, Mukesh and their father. When the older man enters, she gently withdraws behind the broken wall and brings her veil closer to her face.

As custom demands, daughters-inlaw must veil their faces before male elders. 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, send his two sons to school. All he has managed to do is teach them what he knows-the art of making bangles.

Questions:

1. What is there in one part of the house?
2. Who is cooking the evening meal for the family?
3. What does the custom demand?
4. What has Mukesh’s father failed to do?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘weak’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite toʻrich’.
   Answers:
7. In one part of the house, thatched with dead grass, there is a firewood stove over which sits a large vessel of sizzling spinach leaves.
8. A frail young woman, who is the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother, is cooking the evening meal for the family.
9. Custom demands that daughters-in-law must veil their faces before male elders.
10. Mukesh’s father has failed to renovate the house and send his two sons to school.
11. frail.
12. impoverished.

Passage 11.

“It is his karam, his destiny,” says Mukesh’s grandmother, who has watched her own husband go blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. “Can a god-given lineage ever be broken?” she implies. Born in the caste of bangle makers, they have seen nothing but bangles in the house, in the yard, in every other house, every other yard, every street in Firozabad.

Spirals of bangles sunny gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink, purple, every colour born out of the seven colours of the rainbow lie in mounds in unkempt yards, are piled on four-wheeled handcarts, pushed by young men along the narrow lanes of the shanty town. And in dark hutments, next to lines of flames of flickering oil lamps, sit boys and girls with their fathers and mothers, welding pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. That is why they often end up losing their eyesight before they become adults.

Questions:

1. What has been called as his destiny?
2. What is the colour of the bangles?
3. What work is being done in dark hutments?
4. Why do they often lose their eyes even before becoming adults?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘ancestry’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘well-ordered’.
   Answers:
7. Mukesh’s grandmother, who has watched her own husband go blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles, calls this his destiny.
8. The bangles are of sunny gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink and purple colour.
9. In dark hutments, pieces of coloured glass are being welded into circles of bangles.
10. As their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside, they often lose their eyesight before they become adults.
11. lineage.
12. unkempt.

Passage 12.

Savita, a young girl in a drab pink dress, sits alongside an elderly woman, soldering pieces of glass. As her hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine, I wonder if she knows the sanctity of the bangles she helps make. It symbolises an Indian woman’s suhaag, auspiciousness in marriage.

It will dawn on her suddenly one day when her head is draped with a red veil, her hands dyed red with henna, and red bangles rolled onto her wrists. She will then become a bride. Like the old woman beside her who became one many years ago. 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!

Questions:

1. Who is Savita? What is she doing?
2. What does the narrator wonder about?
3. What all has the old woman reaped in her lifetime?
4. What many have failed to achieve in their lifetime?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘piousness’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to‘sowed’.
   Answers:
7. Savita is a young girl. She is soldering pieces of glass.
8. The narrator wonders if Savita knows the sanctity of the bangles she helps in making.
9. The old woman has not enjoyed even one full meal in her lifetime. This is what she has reaped.
10. Many have failed to build their own house in their lifetime.
11. sanctity.
12. reaped.

Passage 13.

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 their elders. Little has moved with time, it seems, in Firozabad. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

“Why not organise yourselves into a cooperative?” I ask a group of young men who have fallen into the vicious circle of middlemen who trapped their fathers and forefathers. “Even if we get organised, we are the ones who will be hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something illegal,” they say.

Questions:

1. What is the cry that rings in every home?
2. What has been the result of years of mind-numbing toil performed by the bangle-making families of Firozabad?
3. Who suggests the young men to organize themselves into a cooperative?
4. What is the young men’s response to this?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘resound’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘rejoice’.
   Answers:
7. 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.
8. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream.
9. The narrator suggests the young men to organize themselves into a cooperative.
10. They say that even if they get organised, they are the ones who will be hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something illegal.
11. echo.
12. lament.

Passage 14.

Listening to them, I see two distinct worlds– one of the family, caught in a web of poverty, burdened by the stigma of caste in which they are born; the other a vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians.Together they have imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down. Before he is aware, he accepts it as naturally as his father. To do anything else would mean to dare. And daring is not part of his growing up. When I sense a flash of it in Mukesh I am cheered. “I want to be a motor mechanic,’ he repeats.

He will go to a garage and learn. But the garage is a long way from his home. “I will walk,” he insists. “Do you also dream of flying a plane?” He is suddenly silent. “No,” he says, staring at the ground. In his small murmur there is an embarrassment that has not yet turned into regret. He is content to dream of cars that he sees hurtling down the streets of his town. Few airplanes fly over Firozabad.

Questions

1. Who all have “imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down”?
2. What is not a part of growing up of these children?
3. What does the narrator ask Mukesh?
4. What is Mukesh content to dream of?
5. Find the word from the passage which means ‘fantasy’.
6. Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘artificially’.
   Answers :
7. The plight of the family and the vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians have together imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down.
8. Daring is not a part of growing up of these children.
9. The narrator asks Mukesh whether he also dreams of flying a plane.
10. Mukesh is content to dream of cars that he sees hurtling down the streets of his town of Firozabad.
11. dream.
12. naturally.