English Flamingo Notes for Chapter 2 Lost Spring Class 12 - FREE PDF Download
In these notes, you'll find an easy summary of CBSE Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 2, “Lost Spring.” The chapter tells real stories of kids who work instead of going to school. You’ll learn about their lives, dreams, and daily struggles in simple words. This makes understanding the chapter and remembering the main points much easier for revision.
Table of Content
Our notes also help you with key lines and important themes, so you don’t get confused during revision. If you want more notes, check other chapters using our CBSE Class 12 English Revision Notes.
“Lost Spring” is part of the main Literature section, often featured in important board questions. To see where this chapter appears, you can look at the CBSE Class 12 English syllabus.
FAQs on Lost Spring Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 2 CBSE Notes - 2025-26
1. What is a quick summary of the two stories in 'Lost Spring' for revision?
'Lost Spring' by Anees Jung presents two distinct stories of stolen childhood. The first part, 'Sometimes I find a Rupee in the garbage', follows Saheb, a young ragpicker in Seemapuri, whose life is mired in poverty and the daily struggle for survival, losing his freedom for a meagre job. The second part, 'I want to drive a car', tells the story of Mukesh, who belongs to a family of bangle-makers in Firozabad, and dares to dream of becoming a motor mechanic, despite being trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and tradition. For a more detailed look, you can refer to the Lost Spring Summary.
2. Who are the two main protagonists in 'Lost Spring', and what do their stories represent?
The two main protagonists are Saheb-e-Alam and Mukesh. Saheb represents the plight of rootless migrants who are forced into rag-picking and lose their carefree childhood to the burdens of survival. Mukesh represents the crushing weight of generational poverty and tradition, where children are forced into hazardous occupations like bangle-making, but he also embodies a spark of hope and resistance by dreaming of a different future.
3. What are the central themes a student should focus on when revising 'Lost Spring'?
For a thorough revision of 'Lost Spring', students should focus on these core themes:
- Grinding Poverty: The extreme poverty that defines the living conditions in both Seemapuri and Firozabad.
- Child Labour: The story is a powerful commentary on the illegal and inhuman practice of child labour, which steals the 'spring' or childhood from millions of children.
- Lost Dreams vs. Hope: The contrast between Saheb, who eventually succumbs to his circumstances, and Mukesh, who holds onto his dream of breaking free from the family tradition.
- Social Apathy and Systemic Failure: The indifference of society and the failure of the system (politicians, middlemen, police) to help these children escape their fate.
4. What is the significance of the title 'Lost Spring'?
The title 'Lost Spring' is deeply symbolic and serves as a metaphor for lost childhood. Spring is the season of bloom, joy, and growth, which is synonymous with childhood. By using this title, author Anees Jung powerfully conveys that children like Saheb and Mukesh have been robbed of this vibrant phase of their lives due to the harsh realities of poverty and exploitation. Their childhood is 'lost' to the need to earn a livelihood, and they are forced into adulthood prematurely.
5. How does the setting of Seemapuri and Firozabad shape the lives of Saheb and Mukesh respectively?
The settings are crucial as they represent different kinds of poverty traps. Seemapuri, a slum on the outskirts of Delhi, is a place of squalor and temporary structures where rag-picking is the only means of survival. For children like Saheb, garbage is 'gold'—a source of daily bread. Firozabad, the centre of India's glass-blowing industry, represents a prison of tradition. Here, families are trapped for generations in the hazardous work of bangle-making, often leading to blindness and debt, which stifles dreams like Mukesh's.
6. Compare the dreams and realities of Saheb and Mukesh. What does this contrast reveal?
The contrast between Saheb and Mukesh is a key aspect of the chapter. Saheb's reality is rag-picking, and his dream is simply to go to school and play games like tennis, which remains unfulfilled. He eventually loses his freedom entirely by taking a job at a tea stall. Mukesh's reality is the suffocating tradition of bangle-making, but his dream is to become a motor mechanic. Unlike Saheb, Mukesh actively works towards his dream, showing resilience. This contrast reveals that while poverty can extinguish aspirations, a determined spirit can still dare to hope and resist.
7. What are the key symbols in 'Lost Spring' and how do they enhance the story's meaning?
The chapter uses powerful symbols to deepen its message:
- Garbage: For adults, it is a means of survival. For children like Saheb, it is wrapped in 'wonder,' a source of occasional treasures, symbolising a flicker of childhood innocence amid filth.
- Bangles: They symbolise the 'suhaag' (auspiciousness in marriage) for women but ironically represent a vicious circle of exploitation, darkness, and lost dreams for the children who make them in Firozabad.
- The Steel Canister: When Saheb starts working at the tea stall, his steel canister seems heavier than his plastic rag-picking bag, symbolising the loss of his freedom and ownership of his life.
8. How does Anees Jung's narrative style make the stories of child labour so impactful?
Anees Jung's narrative style is a blend of journalistic observation and empathetic storytelling. She uses a first-person perspective and personal anecdotes from her interactions with Saheb and Mukesh, which adds authenticity and builds a direct emotional connection with the reader. Her use of vivid imagery and poignant descriptions of their living and working conditions makes their plight tangible. This narrative choice transforms the issue of child labour from a mere statistic into a moving human tragedy, compelling the reader to reflect on their own social responsibility.
