Flamingo (Lost Spring) Short Answer

 

NCERT Solutions For Class 12 English

Flamingo

Lost Spring– Stories of Stolen Childhood (Anees Jung)

Short Answer type Questions

Q1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
Ans. Saheb is searching for gold in garbage dumps. He lives in the author's neighbourhood. Saheb is from Bangladesh. He arrived in 1971 with his mother. His house was placed in Dhaka's green fields. Storms destroyed their crops and homes. As a result, they left the country.

Q2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
Ans The author suggests that staying barefoot is a cultural tradition. It's not a lack of money. He wonders if this is merely an excuse to justify his perpetual poverty. He also recalls the story of a poor person who begged the goddess for a pair of shoes.

Q3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.
Ans.  No, Saheb is dissatisfied with his job at the tea stall. He is no longer in charge of himself. His face has lost its carefree expression. The steel canister seems to be heavier than the plastic bag he would so casually carry over his shoulder. The bag belonged to him. The man who owns the tea shop owns the canister.

Q4. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?
Ans. Firozabad is famous because of its bangles. Almost every family in Firozabad is involved in the production of bangles. It is the heart of the glass-blowing industry in India. Families have spent generations around furnaces, welding glass and making bangles for the land's women.

Q5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry?
Ans. Boys and girls sit in pitch-black hutments next to rows of flickering oil lights with their mothers and fathers. They make bangles by welding coloured glass pieces into rings. Their eyes are more used to darkness than to outside light. They often end up losing their vision before they reach adulthood. Even the dust created when polishing glass bangles is damaging to the eyes. Many workers now suffer blindness. The furnaces are extremely dangerous because of their high temperatures.

Q6. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans. Mukesh's grandmother believes that the divine law lineage can never be broken. Her son and grandsons are from the bangle-making caste. They've seen only bangles so far.Mukesh's father has taught them the art of making bangles, which he knows well. Mukesh, on the other hand, hopes to be a mechanic. He will go to a garage and learn, regardless of the fact that the garage is far from his home.

Q7. Would you agree that promises made to the poor children are rarely kept? Why do you think this happens in the incidents narrated in the text?
Ans. Promises made to the poor are rarely fulfilled. Half-jokingly, the author asks Saheb if he will start coming to her school if she opens one. Saheb agrees to it. A few days later, he wants to know if the school is ready. The author is embarrassed for making an unintended promise. Promises like hers are a plenty in their gloomy world.

Q8. What forces conspire to keep the workers in bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans. Certain forces work together to keep the workers in Firozabad's bangle industry poor. These include moneylenders, middlemen, policemen, law officers, bureaucrats, and politicians. They impose a significant hardship on the child.

Q9. What is the meaning of Saheb’s full name? Does he know it? How does he conduct himself?
Ans Saheb-e-Alam is his full name. It implies the universe's master. He is unaware of it. He would hardly believe that even if he knew it. He and other rag-pickers walk about the streets barefoot. This army of young men emerges in the morning and departs before midday.

Q10. Explain: “For children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents. ”
Ans. Young children dig through garbage heaps. They anticipate getting a coin, note, or other valuable item in it. They occasionally discover a rupee or even a ten rupees note. This offers promise for discovering more. They eagerly search it. Children are fascinated by waste. But It is a way of survival for the elders. Garbage thus has two distinct meanings.

Q11. What was Saheb’s new job? Was he happy ? [All India 2014]
Ans. Saheb accepted a job at a tea shop. He wasn't satisfied with it, though. He was no longer in control of himself. His expression had lost its careless charm. Even though he received 800 Rs, he was still unsatisfied.

Q12. Who is Mukesh? What does he want to become?

Ans. In Firozabad, where bangle making is a family business for every household, Mukesh is the son of a poor bangle maker. His father hasn’t been capable of making changes to his home or enrols his two sons in school. Mukesh is determined on being his own boss. His ultimate goal is to become a mechanic. He wants to be a driver. The realities of life make his dream appear to be a mirage.

Q13Why don't bangle makers form a cooperative?
Ans The majority of the young bangle makers have fallen victim to the middlemen's schemes. Also, they fear the policemen. They are know that if they engage in unlawful activity, the police will arrest them, beat them, and drag them to jail. They have no leader to guide them towards a new view.   They are limited to running the business they inherited.