Views
Lost Spring
by Anees Jung
Story 2:
"I Want to Drive a Car”
Introduction to Chapter
Anees Jung is one of the famous writers of India. She was born in Rourkela. But she spent her childhood in Hyderabad. She got her education in Hyderabad and in USA. Anees Jung began her literary career as writer and columnist for major newspapers of India. This lesson has been taken from her book ‘Lost Spring, Stories of Stolen Childhood’. This lesson presents a depressing picture of modern India. She gives a realistic description of the grinding poverty and pathetic condition of poor and innocent children like Saheb of Seemapuri and Mukesh of Firozabad. Saheb is a ragpicker in Seemapuri, near Delhi. Mukesh works as a labourer in a bangle-making factory of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh. Like many others in India, the childhood of Saheb and Mukesh is full of abject poverty and misery
Summary In English
Now the writer describes the life of another poor boy. His name is Mukesh. His family works in a bangle
factory. He lives in a dusty street of Firozabad. This town is famous for its bangles. It is the centre
of India’s glass blowing factory. Like other poor families of the town, Mukesh’s family has been making
bangles for generations. But Mukesh has dreams in his eyes. He wants to be a motor mechanic. He says
that he wants to learn to drive a car. The author says that more than 20,000 children work in the bangle
factories of Firozabad. They do not know that it is illegal for children to work in the glass furnaces
with high temperatures. They work in dark cells without air and light. They live in miserable
conditions. The author visits Mukesh’s home. He lives in a stinking lane, choked with garbage. The
houses in the streets are just hovels with crumbling walls and no windows. They are crowded with
families of humans and animals. Then they enter Mukesh’s home. It is a half-built rough hut. In one part
of it, the roof is covered with dry grass. There is firewood stove. A frail woman is cooking the evening
meal for the family. She is the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother. Mukesh’s father is a poor bangle maker.
He has been making bangles for many long years. Yet he has not been able to renovate the house and to
send his two sons to schools. He could just teach them the art of bangle making. Mukesh’s grandfather
had gone blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. There is great poverty in the families
of these bangle makers. But they cannot give up their profession. They are born in the caste of bangle
makers. They have nothing but bangles in their houses. In dark hutments, boys and girls sit with their
fathers and mothers, welding pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. They work by flickering
oil lamps. The author meets a young girl in a dull pink dress, sitting alongside an elderly woman. The
girl’s name is Savita. She is welding the pieces of glass. Her hands move mechanically while doing so.
The author wonders whether she knows the sanctity of bangles. They symbolise an Indian woman’s ‘suhaag’.
They stand for auspiciousness in marriage. Perhaps she will realise it one day when she herself becomes
a bride. These poor people have no money to do any other work except carry on the business of making
bangles. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream. The author asks
some young men why they do not organise themselves into a cooperative. They say that even they make an
attempt to do, they will be hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something
illegal. The author realises that there are two distinct worlds. One is the world of the family, caught
in a web of poverty. The other is the world of moneylenders, the middlemen and the policeman, the
bureaucrats and the politicians. They all exploit the poor bangle makers. Mukesh’s eyes are full of
hope. The author asks him if he dreams of flying an aeroplane. He says ‘no’ and is content to dreams of
cars which he sees moving down the streets of his town. The child accepts his destiny as his father had
accepted it.
Summary In Hindi
I. मैं कार चलाना चाहता हूँ।”
फिरोजाबाद में लेखिका की मुकेश से भेंट होती है। उसका परिवार चूड़ियाँ बनाने में लीन है किन्तु मुकेश स्वयं
अपना स्वामी बनने की जिद्द पर डटा हुआ है। वह घोषण करता है, “मैं एक मोटर-मैकेनिक बनूंगा।” वह कहता है, “मैं
कार चलाना सीखेंगा”
फिरोजाबाद अपनी चूड़ियों के लिए प्रसिद्ध है। प्रत्येक दूसरा परिवार चूड़ियाँ बनाने के काम में व्यस्त है।
परिवारों ने भट्ठियों के सामने काम करते हुए, शीशे को जोड़ लगाते हुए, स्त्रियों के लिए चूड़ियाँ बनाते हुए
कई पीढ़ियाँ बिता दी हैं। उनमें से कोई भी यह नहीं जानता कि मुकेश जैसे छोटे बालक के लिए उच्च तापमान वाली
शीशे की भट्ठी पर वायु एवं प्रकाश रहित तंग कोठरी में काम करना अवैध (गैर-कानूनी) है। वे दिन के प्रकाश के
पूरे समय कठोर परिश्रम करते रहते हैं, प्रायः अपनी आँखों की चमक खो बैठते हैं। यदि कानून को कठोरता से लागू
किया जाये, तो यह मुकेश तथा उस जैसे 20,000 बच्चों को गर्म भट्ठियों से मुक्त कर देगा।
वे बदबूदार तंग गलियों से जो कूड़े-करकट से भरी पड़ी हैं, उन घरों के समीप से गुजरते हुए जाते हैं जो ढहती
हुई दीवारों, अस्थिर लटकते हुए दरवाजों एवं खिड़की रहित तंग कोठरियाँ मात्र हैं। यहाँ मानव तथा पशु एक साथ
निवास करते हैं। वे आधी निर्मित एक फूहड़ झोपड़ी में पहुँचते हैं। इसके एक भाग में सूखी घास की छत लगी है।
एक कमजोर नवयुवती लकड़ी के चूल्हे पर शाम का भोजन बना रही है। वह मुकेश के बड़े भाई की पत्नी है तथा तीन
पुरुषों की देखभाल करने वाली है उसका पति, मुकेश तथा उनका पिता। पिता एक निर्धन चूड़ियाँ बनाने वाला है।
वर्षों तक कठोर परिश्रम करने के बावजूद, पहले एक दर्जी के रूप में तथा फिर चूड़ियाँ बनाने वाले के रूप में,
वह एक मकान को पुनः बनाने तथा अपने दोनों बालकों को विद्यालय भेजने में असमर्थ रहा है। जो कुछ वह उन्हें
सिखा पाया है वह वही है जो वह जानता है- चूड़ियाँ बनाने की कला।।
मुकेश की दादी ने चूड़ियों के शीशों की पालिश करने से उड़ी धूल से अपने पति को अन्धा होते हुए देखा है। वह
कहती है कि यह उसका भाग्य है। उसका निहित अर्थ है कि प्रभु प्रदत्त कुटुम्ब रेखा नहीं तोड़ी जा सकती। वे
चूड़ी निर्माताओं की जाति में उत्पन्न हुये हैं और उन्होंने विभिन्न रंग की चूड़ियों के अतिरिक्त कुछ अन्य
नहीं देखा है। लड़के तथा लड़कियाँ अपने माता-पिता के साथ बैठकर रंगीन शीशे के टुकड़ों को जोड़कर चूड़ियों के
वृत्त बनाते हैं। वे अंधेरी झोंपड़ियों में तेल के दीयों की टिमटिमाती हुए लौ की पंक्तियों के आगे काम करते
हैं। उनकी आँखें बाहर के प्रकाश की अपेक्षा अंधेरे में अधिक अभ्यस्त हैं। वयस्क होने से पहले ही प्राय: वे
कई बार अपनी आँखों की ज्योति खो देते हैं।
फीकी गुलाबी पोशाक पहने हुए एक युवा लड़की सविता एक बुजुर्ग महिला के साथ बैठी है। वह शीशे के टुकड़ों को
टांके लगा रही है। उसके हाथ किसी मशीन के चिमटों की भाँति मशीनी रूप से चलते हैं। शायद वह उन चूड़ियों की
पवित्रता के विषय में नहीं जानती जिनको बनाने में वह सहायता करती है। उसके पास बैठी स्त्री ने जीवनपर्यन्त
एक बार भी भरपेट भोजन का आनन्द नहीं लिया है। उसका पति लहराती हुई दाढ़ी वाला वृद्ध व्यक्ति है। वह चूड़ियों
के अतिरिक्त कुछ नहीं जानता। उसने परिवार के निवास हेतु एक मकान बनाया है। उसके सिर पर छत है।
फिरोजाबाद में समय के साथ बहुत कम बदलाव हुआ है। परिवारों के पास खाने को पर्याप्त भोजन नहीं है। उनके पास
इतना धन नहीं है कि चूड़ियाँ बनाने के धन्धे को जारी रखने के अतिरिक्त कोई अन्य काम कर सकें। वे उन
बिचौलियों के कुचक्र में फैंस गए हैं। जिन्होंने उनके पिता तथा दादा-परदादा को जाल में फँसाया था। वर्षों तक
मस्तिष्क को सुन्न कर देने वाले परिश्रम ने उनके पहल करने की सभी भावनाओं तथा स्वप्न देखने की सामर्थ्य को
समाप्त कर दिया है। वह किसी सहकारी संस्था में संगठित होने के अनिच्छुक हैं। उन्हें भय है कि पुलिस द्वारा
उनको ही अवैध कार्य करने के लिए पकड़ा जायेगा, पीटा जायेगा तथा कारागार में डाल दिया जायेगा। उनके मध्य कोई
नेता नहीं है। कोई भी उन्हें वस्तुओं को पृथक रूप से देखने में सहायता नहीं करता। वे सब थके हुए प्रतीत होते
हैं। वे गरीबी (निर्धनता), उदासीनता, लालच तथा अन्याय की बातें करते हैं।
दो स्पष्ट संसार दिखाई देते हैं-एक, गरीबी में फँसे परिवार, जो कि बोझा ढो रहे हैं उसे कलंक का, जिस जाति
में उन्होंने जन्म लिया है; दूसरे, महाजनों, बिचौलियों, पुलिसवालों, कानून के रखवालों तथा राजनीतिज्ञों का
दुष्चक्र। उन्होंने एक साथ मिलकर बच्चे पर इतना भार (सामान) लाद दिया है कि वह इसे नीचे भी नहीं रख सकता वह
इसे उतने ही स्वाभाविक रूप से स्वीकार कर लेता है, जैसे कि उसके पिता ने किया था। कोई अन्य काम करने का अर्थ
होगा-साहस करना तथा साहस करने का उनके बड़े होने में कोई हिस्सा नहीं है। लेखिका को तब प्रसन्नता होती है जब
वह मुकेश में इसकी चमक देखती है जोकि मोटर-मैकेनिक (मिस्त्री) बनना चाहता है।
Full Explanation
“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
glass-blowing industry where families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass,
making bangles for all the women in the land it seems.
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. 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 daughter-in-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-in-law 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.
“It is his karam, his destiny,” says Mukesh’s grandmother, who has watched her own husband to 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.
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 heena, 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! 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-numbling toil have killed all initiative and the
ability to dream. “Why not organise yourselves into a co-operative?” 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. There is no leader among them, no one who could help them see things
differently. Their fathers are as tired as they are. They talk endlessly in a spiral that moves from
poverty to apathy to greed and to injustice.
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.
Exercises
Question and Answers
Ans. The city of Firozabad is famous for its bangles. Many families in this town are engaged in this business.
Q:2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
Ans. The workers in the glass bangle industry work in dark cells without air and light. They cannot bear the daylight. They go blind before they are old. The dust from polishing the glass bangles makes the bangle makers blind. Thus, working in the glass bangles industry is hazardous and unhealthy.
Q:3. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans. Mukesh belongs to a family of bangle makers. Their work is hazardous and their life is poor and miserable. But they have accepted their destiny. However, Mukesh’s attitude is different. He does not want to follow the occupation of his family. He wants to become a motor mechanic.
Q:4. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty? Or The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone happy but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate.
Ans. Firozabad is a famous city of Uttar Pradesh. It is famous for its bangles and bangle industry. Many families in Firozabad have spent generations working around furnaces, grinding glass, welding it and making bangles. Apart from the elders, there are about 20,000 children working in these factories. They work in miserable conditions. The author feels pity for these workers. She comes across a child named Mukesh. She visits his house and finds that they live in great poverty and misery. They work in very dim lights. Many of them lose their eyesight before they become adults. Mukesh’s grandfather had become blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles. They have fallen into the trap of middleman who exploit them. The author asks a group of young men why they don’t organize themselves into cooperative. When they try to get organized, they are hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged to jail. Thus, the middleman and police conspire to keep the workers of Firozabad in poverty.
Q:5. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?
A: Mukesh is a poor boy. He belongs to a family of bangle makers. Like other bangle makers of Firozabad, Mukesh’s family also leads a life of utter poverty and misery. Mukesh also works in a bangle factory. But he has his own dream. He does not want to spend all his life in bangle making. He wants to become a motor mechanic. He dreams of driving a car one day. Mukesh seems to be determined. He can realise his dream by his will power and determination. He has to take courage and leave the work of bangle making. He should contact a garage owner and convince him to take him as an apprentice. With his determination, he can prove his worth and win the confidence of the owner. Thus, he can become a good mechanic. If he wants to be a taxi driver, he has to learn to drive. After clearing the driving test, he can have a driving license. In this way, Mukesh can realise his dreams.
Q:6. Who is Mukesh? Describe his background.
A: Mukesh is a poor boy of Firozabad. He belongs to a family of bangle makers. He is one of the 20,000 young people engaged in bangle-making. He and his family lead a poor and miserable life. They work by glass furnaces with high temperature. His family lives in half-built hut. The street is choked with garbage.
Q:7. Describe the conditions in which the bangle makers of Firozabad work.
A: More than 20,000 persons are engaged in bangle making work in Firozabad. They work in miserable conditions. They work near glass furnaces with high temperature. They make bangles in small rooms without proper light or air. Because of dim light and because of the dust rising from polishing the glass, most of the children lose their eyesight before they become adults.
Q:8. What has Mukesh’s father achieved after years of hard labour?
Or
Why is Mukesh’s Father a failed man?
A: Mukesh’s family is engaged in bangle making. His father started his career as a tailor. But soon he became a bangle maker. But even many years of hard labour as a bangle maker, his life is still poor and miserable. He has failed to renovate his house. Nor has he been able to send his two sons to school. He has only been able to teach them the art of bangle making.
Q:9. Describe the kind of bangles made in Firozabad.
A: Firozabad is known for its bangles industry. The town produces all kinds of bangles for Indian women. In the factories of Firozabad, bangles of all sizes and colours are made. These bangles can be sunny gold and paddy green. One may have royal blue, pink or purple bangles.
Q:10. What is the ambition of Mukesh?
Or
How can Mukesh realise his dreams?
A: Mukesh is a bangle maker of Firozabad. But he is different from others. He does not want to make bangles all his life. His ambition is to become a motor mechanic. He dreams of driving a car one day. He is determined and hopeful. The author feels that one day he will be able to realise his dream.
Q:11. Who is Mukesh? What is his ambition? Describe the author’s visit to the house of Mukesh?
Or
“It is his Karam, his destiny that made Mukesh’s grandfather go blind.” How did Mukesh disprove this belief by choosing a new vocation and making his own destiny.
Or
What did the writer see when Mukesh took her to his home?
A: Mukesh is a young bangle maker of Firozabad. His family has been doing this job for generations. Like the other families of bangle makers, Mukesh’s family is also very poor. They think that their destiny is fixed and they will spend their lives making bangles only. But Mukesh seems to be different. He is determined that one day he will leave this job. He wants to become a motor mechanic. He dreams of driving a car one day. The author thinks that Mukesh can achieve his aim as he seems determined. The author visits Mukesh’s home. He lives in a stinking lane, choked with garbage. The houses in the streets are just hovels with crumbling walls and no windows. They are crowded with families of humans and animals. Then they enter Mukesh’s home. It is a half-built rough hut. In one part of it, the roof is covered with dry grass. There is firewood stove. A frail woman is cooking the evening meal for the family. She is the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother. Mukesh’s father is a poor bangle maker. He has been making bangles for many long years. Yet he has not been able to renovate the house and to send his two sons to schools. He could just teach them the art of bangle making. Mukesh’s grandfather had gone blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles.
Multiple Choice Questions
Q:1. The writer describes the life of another poor boy. What is his name?
(A) Mukesh
(B) Sukesh
(C) Ramesh
(D) Sumesh
Ans. (A) Mukesh
Q:2. Where does Mukesh’s family work?
(A) in a school
(B) on a farm
(C) in a club
(D) in a bangle factory
Ans. (D) in a bangle factory
Q:3. Where does Mukesh live?
(A) in Ferozepur
(B) in Faridabad
(C) in Aurangabad
(D) in Firozabad
Ans. (D) in Firozabad
Q:4. What is Firozabad famous for?
(A) bangles
(B) sandals
(C) cloth
(D) electronics
Ans. (A) bangles
Q:5. What does Mukesh want to become?
(A) a doctor
(B) a motor mechanic
(C) teacher
(D) writer
Ans. (B) a motor mechanic
Q:6. What does the writer say about the street in which Mukesh’s house is
situated?
(A) a fine street
(B) a wide street
(C) a street with civic amenities
(D) a stinking lane, choked with garbage
Ans. (D) a stinking lane, choked with garbage
Q:7. In what kind of house does Mukesh live?
(A) in a big house
(B) in a bungalow
(C) in a half-built rough hut
(D) in a flat
Ans. (C) in a half-built rough hut
Q:8. What’s Mukesh’s father?
(A) a doctor
(B) a poor bangle maker
(C) a teacher
(D) a leader
Ans. (B) a poor bangle maker
Q:9. What do the bangles symbolize in Indian culture?
(A) ‘Suhaag’
(B) corruption
(C) chastity
(D) farming
Ans. (A) ‘Suhaag
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