1. The passage provides biographical details about author Anees Jung, noting she was born in 1944 in Hyderabad to a renowned scholar and wrote several books on social issues. 2. It then summarizes the short story "Lost Spring" which describes the difficult life of a ragpicker named Saheb who lives in a colony with no facilities and finds items in the garbage to survive. 3. The summary also outlines another story about a boy named Mukesh who wants to escape working in the hazardous bangle-making industry in Firozabad like his family but is trapped by poverty and tradition.

1. ENGLISH PROSE
STANDARD-12
1. The last lesson
2. Lost spring
3. Deep water
4. Rattrap
5. Indigo
6. Poets &Pancakes
7. The interview
8. Going places
Alka Sharma.

2. Lost Spring
Anees Jung
Anees Jung is an author, journalist and a columnist for major
newspapers in India andabroad. She was born in Hyderabad in 1944 in
an aristocratic family. Her father, Nawab Hosh YarJung, was a
renowned scholar and poet. He was the adviser to the last Nizam
of Hyderabadprincely state. Her schooling and graduation were
completed from her hometown. Later she wentabroad for higher
studies. She did her Masters in Sociology and American Studies from
Universityof Michigan, Ann Arbor, US. She started her career in literal
writing with the Youth Times, a Timesof India publication. Later she
served as its editor from 1976 to 1979. Prior to it, she worked
as journalist. Jung came into the limelight with the publication of
Unveiling India in 1987. Later shepublished several books dealing with
social issues including abused children and women’sproblems. Jung is
noted for her lively and vivid descriptions, though she rarely gives
its solutions.

3. Story in Short
I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.
1. The narrator encounters Saheb every morning.
2. He is a ragpicker who lives in Seemapuri at the border of Delhi.
3. His parents came from Bangladesh. He searches for gold in the garbage dumps.
4. He has never gone to school. Nor does he has a pair of shoes.
5. His actual name is “Saheb – e Alam” which means Lord of Universe. But he dosen’t understand
its meaning.
6. He roams the street s with an army of barefoot young ragpickers.
7. They appear in the morning and disappear in the noon.
8. The ragpickers of Seemapuri live in structures of mud with roofs of tin and tarpaulin.
9. There is no sewage, drainage or running water in the colony.
10. These 10,000 ragpickers don’t have any identity but do have their ration cards to vote and buy
again.
11. Survival in Seemapuri means ragpicking.
12. Saheb finds sometimes a rupee, even a t ten rupee note. There is always hope of finding
more.
13. Garbage is wrapped in wonder for children , for the elders it is a means a survival.
14. Now Sahib works in a tea stall getting 800 rs. And all meals.
15. He carries a canisters which is heavier than the plastic bag. He used to carry on his shoulder.
16.The plastic bag was his but the canister belongs to his masters. Sahib is no longer his own
masters.

4. Story in Short
Story 2 - “I want to drive a car”
17. Mukesh insists on being his own master and wants to become motor mechanic.
18. Mukesh lives in a dusty street of Ferozabad.
19. Like his family, every other family in the Ferozabad is engaged in making bangles.
20. About 20000 children work in the glass furnaces.
21. It is illegal to employ children in the glass furnaces with high temperature.
22. The street in which he lives has hovels with crumbling walls. They are crowded with families
of humans and animals.
23. A frail young, his elder brothers wife and the ‘Bahu’ of the , cooks food for the family.
24. The masters of the house is a poor bangle –maker who knows nothing except the art of
making bangles.
25. Mukesh and his family can’t change their trade as they are born in the caste of bangles
makers.
26. All kinds and colours of bangles are made in Ferozabad.
27.Mostly the bangles-makers end a losing eyesight before he become adults.
28. Savita , a young girl, doesn’t know that bangles she helps in making symbolise and Indian
women’s ‘Suhag’.
29. Young man have no initiative and ability to dream. They can’t dream of organising a
cooperative.
30. There are two worlds. The one is world of bangle-makers caught in the web of poverty.
31. The other world is of moneylenders, middlemen and policemen who exploit and torment
them.
32. Mukesh warns to become a car driver. He is content to dream of cars and not of planes.

5. Words and phrases
1. Looking for- try to locate or discover
2. Slog their daylight hours- struggle persistently
during the daytime
3. Roof over his head- a place to live
4. Perpetual state of poverty- endless
impoverishments
5. Dark hutments- encampment of huts devoid of
any light
6. Imposed the baggage on the child- force the
profession on the child
7. Encounter- come across
8. Scrounging- looking out/searching for
something
9. Dumps- heaps of rubbish
10.Distant- far off
11. Storms- roaring sea-waves
12. Else- any other thing
13. Glibly- easily without caring
14. Permit-card that gives permission
15. Tattered- torn to pieces
16. Pitch- dig in
17. Half-joking- not seriously light-hearted
18. Abound- full of/found in plenty
19. Unaware- not realising
20. Represents- stands for
21. Disappear- out of sight
22. Comment- pass a remark
23. Shuffles- keep shifting
24. Perpetual- never ending
25. Past- crossing in front of
26. Briefly- for a short time
27. Backyard- open space at the back
28. Panting- breathing heavily with mouth open
29. Periphery- outskirts
30. Squatters- those who settle down illegally
31. Tarpaulin- rough and coarse waterproof cloth
32. Sewage- drainage system for dirty water
33. Engaged in- employed in
34. Glass-blowing- glass-melting
35. Welding- joining together
36. Illegal- against the law

6. Words and phrases
37. Acquired- taken the shape of
38. Leaking- escaping from holes
39. Swing- to sway to and fro
40. Discarded- given up/in disuse
41. Out of reach- beyond reach
42. Booth- a small enclosed place
43. Canister- a tin container
44. Pointing- making a sign
45. Mirage- false appearance
46. Dingy- dark and dirty
47. Cells- small rooms
48. Stinking- foul smelling
49. Lanes- narrow streets
50. Co-existing- living together
51. Primeval- very ancient/the beginning stage
52. Bangs- strikes with a loud noise
53. Thatched- having roof of dry grass and straw
54. Sizzling- the sound of food frying
55. Burdened- carrying the weight
56. Stigma- mark of disgrace
57. Imposed- burdened with(by force)
55. Platters- large plates
56. Veil- cloth for covering the face
57. Impoverished- totally poor
58. Despite- in spite of
59. Lineage- tradition of the family
60. Implies- brings out the meaning/concludes
61. Yard- open space in the house
62. Piled- put in heaps
63. Handcarts- carts driven by hands
64. Hutments- settlements of huts
65. Flickering- flame going on and off
66. Adjusted- suited to
67. Symbolises- stands for/a sign of
68. Dawn on- begin to understand
69. Draped- covered with
70. Drained of- removed
71. Flowing- waving in the air
72. Mind- numbing- that numbs the brain
73. Initiative- going ahead
74. Dragged- pulled by force
75. Staring- looking intently
76. Flash- a dazzle of bright light

7. Writing section
1. Write an article on “Child Labour” using these quotations in 250 words.
• Child labour — a social ill that continues to plague Indian society
• A nation is illiterate and uneducated if a child is laboured
• A child is meant to learn, not to earn.
• A child is your heart not born to push your cart.
• A school should be their only workplace.
• Buildings are built on big lands, work is done by tiny hands.
• Cheap labour today, uneducated inefficient workforce tomorrow.
• Child labour – evolution stops here.
• Child labour brings illiteracy whereas child education brings literacy.
• Child labour is a social crime, every child has a right to shine.
• Child labour is a violation, you should concentrate on education.
• Child labour is against nature.
• Child labour is an illegal act.
2. Make a poster on ‘Child Labour.’

8. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.
1. Garbage is gold for them. How?
2. 4. How do the ragpickers help their families?
5. How did the ragpickers settle in Seemapuri with
no facilities?
6. How do young ragpickers support their parents?
7. Why was Saheb not happy with his new job?
8. What is the irony in the name "Saheb-e-Alam"?
9. Why have the ragpickers settled in Seemapuri?
10. Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? Explain.

9. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Story 2 - “I want to drive a car”
1. Briefly describe the working conditions of the bangle
making units of Firozabad?
2. Why can't the bangle makers organise themselves
into a co- operative?
3. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles
industry.
4. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the
bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
5. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?
6. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

10. LONG-ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Explain the significance of the title 'Lost Spring".
– Spring is the season of optimism and hope. It symbolises life.
– But, unfortuntely, millions of children in our country waste their
childhood in ragpicking and other hazardous industries.
– The joys of childhood, the vibrance of spring is lost either in the
garbage or in dingy cells with furnaces.
– The grinding poverty and traditions condemn these children to a life of
exploitation.
– They see very little hope of escaping from their impoverished life of
misery & deprivation.
– Moreover, years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the
ability to dream.
– They are entangled in a spiral that moves from poverty to apathy to
greed and to injustice.
2.

11. LONG-ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. What were the main cause of miseries faced by the bangle
makers of Firozabad?
2. Give a brief description of the factors responsible for their
miserable condition.
3. Explain the lesson 'Lost Spring" is a realistic portrayal of the
lives of the street children.
4. Compare and contrast the characters of Saheb and Mukesh.
5. 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?
6. The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and
make everyone happy but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate.