Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 2 Question Answers FREE PDF Download
FAQs on NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 2 The Lost Spring
1. How do the NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Chapter 2, 'The Lost Spring', help in preparing for the 2025-26 board exams?
The NCERT Solutions for 'The Lost Spring' are designed to help students prepare effectively for the CBSE 2025-26 board exams by providing:
- Accurate Answers: Step-by-step solutions to all textbook questions, ensuring you understand the core concepts.
- CBSE Pattern Alignment: Answers are structured as per the latest CBSE guidelines, helping you learn the correct way to present information in exams.
- In-depth Analysis: Detailed explanations for complex questions, especially those involving themes like poverty and child labour, to build a strong foundation.
- Time-saving Resource: A consolidated place for all chapter questions and answers, saving valuable preparation time.
2. What is the correct method to answer the question, 'Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall?' as per the NCERT textbook?
To correctly answer this question, you should state a clear position and support it with evidence from the text. The correct approach is:
- Begin with a direct answer: No, Saheb is not happy working at the tea stall.
- Provide the reason: He has lost his freedom and the carefree look he had as a ragpicker.
- Use textual evidence for support: Explain that while he earns ₹800 and all his meals, he is now bound to a master. The author notes that the steel canister he now carries “seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his shoulder,” symbolising the burden of his lost independence.
3. How do the NCERT Solutions explain the different hardships faced by the two main characters, Saheb and Mukesh?
The NCERT Solutions systematically break down the distinct yet similar hardships of the two protagonists:
- For Saheb: The solutions detail his life as a refugee from Bangladesh, living in the slums of Seemapuri. They focus on the loss of his identity, the daily grind of rag-picking which is his only means of survival, and the eventual loss of freedom when he takes up a job at a tea stall.
- For Mukesh: The solutions highlight his entrapment in a generational profession of bangle-making in Firozabad. They explain the hazardous working conditions in glass furnaces, the exploitation by middlemen, and the societal pressure that stifles his dream of becoming a motor mechanic.
4. What types of questions are covered in the NCERT Solutions for 'The Lost Spring'?
The solutions cover all question categories from the NCERT textbook to ensure comprehensive understanding. These include:
- Think as You Read: In-text questions that check your immediate comprehension of the story's events.
- Understanding the Text: Analytical questions that require a deeper interpretation of the chapter’s themes and character motivations.
- Thinking about Language: Questions focused on identifying and explaining literary devices like metaphors, irony, and similes used by the author.
- Inferential Questions: Exercises that train you to deduce the meaning of specific phrases and expressions from their context.
5. Why is it important to understand literary devices like metaphor and irony when solving questions for 'The Lost Spring'?
Understanding literary devices is crucial because they carry the deeper meaning of the chapter. For instance:
- Irony: Recognising the irony in the name 'Saheb-e-Alam' (Lord of the Universe) for a poor ragpicker helps you write a more insightful answer about his tragic reality.
- Metaphor: Identifying metaphors like the 'web of poverty' allows you to explain the complex, inescapable nature of the bangle makers' situation effectively.
The NCERT solutions guide you on how to identify these devices and use them to add depth to your answers, which can lead to higher marks.
6. What key points must be included when answering questions about the forces that keep the bangle makers of Firozabad in poverty?
A complete answer, as guided by the NCERT solutions, should include these interconnected forces:
- The vicious circle of sahukars (moneylenders) and middlemen who exploit them.
- The burden of the family lineage, which dictates that they must follow the bangle-making profession.
- The absence of any leadership or cooperative to fight for their rights.
- The fear of being beaten and jailed by the police and authorities if they try to organise.
- A deep-rooted sense of acceptance that their condition is their destiny or 'karam'.
7. How do the NCERT Solutions help analyse the contrast between the children's dreams and their harsh realities in 'The Lost Spring'?
The solutions provide a structured framework to analyse this central theme. They guide you to compare the characters' aspirations with their circumstances by highlighting specific examples:
- Saheb's lost dreams: The solutions explain how his simple desire for school and tennis shoes is crushed by the need to earn a living, first through rag-picking and then at the tea stall.
- Mukesh's daring dream: They show how Mukesh’s ambition to be a motor mechanic is a form of rebellion against his predetermined fate in the hazardous bangle industry, helping you analyse his resilience.
8. What is the step-by-step approach to explaining the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry as per the NCERT exercise?
The NCERT solutions guide you to explain the hazards in a structured manner:
- Poor working environment: Mention the high-temperature furnaces and dingy, poorly ventilated hutments.
- Health risks: Detail the specific dangers, such as polishing the glass bangles, which often leads to blindness from the dust.
- Lack of safety: Emphasise that workers, including children, operate without protective gear, leading to frequent burns and injuries.
- Long-term illness: Note the risk of severe respiratory illnesses like lung cancer due to inhaling harmful fumes over many years.

















