Question

What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dump? Where is he and where has he come from?

Answer 1

Hint: This question is taken from the chapter, the lost spring. The story describes the life of young children who have become rag pickers to earn some money in order to survive. The story beautifully describes how the innocent childhood of the children has been lost.

Complete answer:
Saheb was a very young boy. He was looking for coins in the garbage dump and considered them as Gold as they were of great importance to him because he and his family were so poor that they could not even arrange a full one time meal for themselves.

Saheb and his family live in a filthy and dingy area of Seemapuri which is located on the outskirts of Delhi. His family was one among those families who came from Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1971 as their houses were swept away by storms in Dhaka and they had no source of livelihood. The condition of Saheb and his family is pathetic. He had nothing to do so he decided to become a rag picker. His childhood was lost because of the poor condition of his family.

Note:
- The author of the story is Anees Jung. She has authored several books and has been a successful columnist for a lot of newspapers in India and abroad.
- The lesson clearly depicts the poverty of people and how young children are exploited because of their poverty.