Lost Spring

• Looking for: Try to locate or discover.
• Slog their daylight hours: Struggle persistently during the daytime.
• Roof over his head: A place to live / Shelter.
• Perpetual state of poverty: Endless impoverishment; never-ending poverty.
• Dark hutments: Encampment of huts devoid of any light.
• Imposed the baggage on the child: Force the profession or burden on the child at a young age.

Saheb was searching for “gold” (rupee notes, coins, and other useful objects) in the garbage dumps. His family was uprooted from their village in Dhaka, Bangladesh, after storms destroyed their fields. They had no option but to shift to Seemapuri, a slum on the outskirts of Delhi, to look for a source of income.

One explanation the author came across was that it was a tradition to remain barefoot among them, rather than a lack of money. However, she soon realized that this justification was merely an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty and utter destitution.

No, Saheb is not happy. While he was a ragpicker, he valued his freedom and had a carefree look. Working at the tea stall meant sacrificing this freedom since he now had a master to obey. Although the job paid him 800 rupees and meals, he felt the weight of the steel canister was heavier than his plastic rag-picking bag because it belonged to someone else. He was no longer his own master.

Firozabad is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry and is especially famous for making glass bangles for women all over the country.

The glass bangle industry is extremely hazardous:

• Vision Loss: Workers often go blind after years of working in dim light without protective eye gear.
• High Temperatures: Furnaces are set at extremely high temperatures in areas lacking proper ventilation.
• Respiratory Issues: Inhaling glass dust and fumes can lead to lung diseases like cancer.
• Physical Injury: Burns and cuts are frequent occurrences.

Mukesh’s family had accepted bangle making as their fate (“karam”). They believed they could not break this lineage. Mukesh, however, was resolute. He dared to dream differently and wanted to be a motor mechanic. His determination to walk miles to a garage to learn the skill showed he was ready to challenge his fate and rise above his family’s resigned attitude.

People migrate primarily for survival:

• Natural Calamities: As seen in the story, storms destroyed Saheb’s family’s farmland in Dhaka.
• Livelihood: Cities offer better opportunities for work compared to villages.
• Facilities: Access to better healthcare and civic amenities draws people to urban centers.

Yes, promises made to poor children are rarely kept. In the text, the narrator jokingly promises Saheb she will open a school, raising his hopes. When he asks later, she is embarrassed because she never meant it.

Why? This happens because the rich often treat the aspirations of the poor as frivolous or impossible. Promises are made casually to avoid the discomfort of the moment, without any serious intent to fulfill them, shattering the child’s trust.

A vicious circle of forces keeps them in poverty:

1. Middlemen: They exploit the workers and take the major share of profits.
2. Moneylenders: They keep the families trapped in debt for generations.
3. Police & Bureaucrats: Instead of enforcing labor laws, they harass the workers if they try to organize into unions.
4. Social Stigma: The caste system forces them to believe they are born only to make bangles.

Mukesh can realize his dream through sheer persistence and willpower. Unlike others, he has already taken the first step by mentally rejecting the family profession. He is willing to walk a long distance to the garage to learn. By taking small, consistent steps and ignoring societal pressure, he can achieve his goal of becoming a mechanic.

Why: Child labor steals childhood. It denies children education, exposes them to health hazards (like blindness in Firozabad), and traps them in a cycle of poverty.

How:

• Strict Laws: The government must strictly enforce bans on child labor in hazardous industries.
• Education: Free and compulsory education must be accessible to slum children.
• Public Awareness: Society must stop normalizing hiring children for cheap labor.

The Invisible Builders

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.

This paradox is stark in the construction and artisan industries. The hands that create luxurious high-rises or intricate embroidery often live in tin sheds without ventilation or electricity. They create comfort for the world but live in discomfort. The worst risk is not just to the workers but to the skill itself—as the craft becomes synonymous with poverty, the next generation refuses to learn it, leading to the death of traditional arts. The rich and privileged must respect the labor that builds their world.