Lost Spring NCERT Solutions Class 12 English

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 2 “Lost Spring” offer complete, detailed, and accurate answers to all textbook questions. This comprehensive guide includes step-by-step solutions for Think as You Read, Understanding the Text, Talking About the Text, Thinking About Language (literary devices), and Writing/Project Tasks (including sample essays and reports). Be sure to read Lost Spring Summary to grasp the core story and answer these questions more effectively!

Lost Spring Class 12 Question Answers

Think as you read (page 16)

Q.1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
Ans. Saheb is scrounging for “gold” in the garbage dumps, meaning anything valuable he can find, such as a rupee or even a ten-rupee note. He is in a big city (Delhi), living in Seemapuri on its outskirts. He has come from Dhaka, Bangladesh, where storms swept away his family’s fields and homes, so they migrated in search of a livelihood.

Q.2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
Ans.

One boy says his mother did not bring his chappals down from the shelf.
Some say it is a tradition to stay barefoot, not a lack of money.
The author doubts this and thinks it may only be an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty. She recalls the Udipi boy who prayed for shoes, which shows that going barefoot is really about poverty.

Q.3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.
Ans. No. Saheb earns 800 rupees and meals, but his face has lost its carefree look. The steel canister he carries seems heavier than the plastic bag he used to carry. The bag was his own, but the canister belongs to the tea-shop owner. He has lost his freedom and is “no longer his own master”.

Think as you read (page 19)

Q.1. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?
Ans. Firozabad is famous for its bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry, and nearly every other family there makes bangles.

Q.2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
Ans.

Children work near hot furnaces at high temperatures.
They work in dingy cells without air and light.
Their eyes get used to the dark, and the dust from polishing glass damages their eyesight, so many lose their sight before adulthood.
The work is mind-numbing and long, and it kills initiative and the ability to dream.
It is illegal for children to work in these conditions, yet around 20,000 do.

Q.3. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans. Mukesh’s family accepts bangle-making as their karam (destiny) and has lost the ability to dream. They are caught in poverty, caste and the grip of middlemen. Mukesh refuses to follow the family trade. He insists on being his own master and wants to become a motor mechanic. He is ready to walk to the distant garage, which shows his determination and courage to break the cycle.

Understanding the text

Q.1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?
Ans.

Natural calamities: storms and floods destroy fields and homes (as with Saheb’s family in Dhaka).
Poverty and hunger: the land gives no grain, and people go where they can find food.
Lack of employment: villages offer few jobs or alternative sources of income.
Lack of facilities: schools, healthcare and basic amenities are poor in villages.
Hope of a better life: cities promise “gold”, better wages and opportunities.

Q.2. Would you agree that promises made to poor children are rarely kept? Why do you think this happens in the incidents narrated in the text?
Ans. Yes. In the text, the author promises Saheb that she will start a school, but she says, “It takes longer to build a school,” and admits it was a promise not meant. She notes that “promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.” Such promises are broken because:

They are often made casually, out of sympathy, without any real intention or plan to act.
Poor children have no power, voice or means to demand that promises be kept.
Society and the authorities are indifferent to their problems.
Real change needs resources, time and effort that few people are willing to give.

Q.3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans.

Caste and tradition: they are born into the bangle makers’ caste and believe it is their god-given destiny that cannot be broken.
Poverty: the families are too poor to renovate their homes or send children to school, so the cycle repeats.
Middlemen and sahukars: these exploiters trap workers in a vicious circle of debt and low pay.
Police and law-keepers: they harass those who try to organise, so people fear forming a cooperative.
Bureaucrats and politicians: they are indifferent and do not enforce child labour laws.
Lack of leadership and awareness: there is no leader to guide the workers, and years of toil have killed their initiative.

Talking about the text

(Discussion questions, so here are points you can use.)

Q.1. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?
Ans.

By being determined and working hard, as he has shown the will to walk to the garage every day.
By getting help from an NGO, a government scheme or a skill-training institute (such as ITI or Skill India programmes) to learn motor mechanics formally.
By getting basic education, which would help him learn faster and open more doors.
By finding a mentor, such as a garage owner who is willing to train him.
By receiving support from people, who should encourage dreamers like him instead of leaving them alone.

Q.2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
Ans. Furnaces with high temperatures, dingy cells without air and light, dust from polishing glass, and loss of eyesight at a young age. Child workers also lose their education and childhood, and the work kills their ability to dream.

Q.3. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?
Ans. Why:

It robs children of their childhood, education and proper growth.
It harms their health and safety (as in the glass furnaces).
It continues the cycle of poverty and illiteracy.
It is illegal and violates the rights of children.

How:

Strictly enforce child labour laws and punish offenders.
Provide free and compulsory education, with mid-day meals and incentives, as under the Right to Education Act.
Reduce poverty by giving adults employment so families do not depend on children’s earnings.
Support families through cooperatives and fair wages to remove the hold of middlemen.
Spread awareness, and let NGOs and citizens report cases of child labour.

Thinking about language

Identify the literary device in each example:

No.	Phrase	Device	Explanation
1	Saheb-e-Alam (lord of the universe) in contrast to what Saheb is in reality	Hyperbole (also irony)	His grand name is an exaggeration compared with his life as a poor ragpicker.
2	Drowned in an air of desolation	Metaphor	The air of loneliness is compared to water that drowns something.
3	Seemapuri… yet miles away from it, metaphorically	Metaphor	Seemapuri is close to Delhi in distance, but it is far away in living conditions and quality of life.
4	For the children it is wrapped in wonder; for the elders it is a means of survival	Metaphor	Garbage is described as something “wrapped” in wonder, like a gift.
5	Hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine	Simile	Savita’s hands are compared to the tongs of a machine using “like”.
6	She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes	Metaphor	“Light” stands for hope and joy. Her eyes have lost their spark.
7	Few airplanes fly over Firozabad	Metaphor	Airplanes stand for high dreams and ambitions, which are rare in Firozabad.
8	Web of poverty	Metaphor	Poverty is compared to a spider’s web in which people are trapped.
9	Scrounging for gold	Hyperbole	Garbage is called “gold” to show how valuable it seems to the ragpickers.
10	Rag-picking… has acquired the proportions of a fine art	Hyperbole	The ordinary, humble job is exaggerated as a “fine art”.
11	The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag	Metaphor	The canister’s “heaviness” stands for the burden of lost freedom and responsibility.

Note: In the exam, a few of these can be argued either way (for example, 2 and 4 can be called metaphor or personification). What matters is that you give a short reason.

Things to do

1. Look around and find examples of paradoxes.
Some examples:

Construction workers build tall skyscrapers and luxury homes but live in tin shacks or temporary labour camps.
Farmers grow food for the nation but often sleep hungry or fall into debt.
Weavers make beautiful carpets and sarees but cannot afford to buy them.
Tailors in garment factories stitch fashionable clothes but wear tattered ones.
Domestic helpers keep rich homes clean while they live in slums.

2. Paragraph (200–250 words) on one paradox (sample: construction workers)

Notes first: Workers build towers → live in labour camps → low wages, no safety → children miss school → the contrast between the grand buildings and their lives.

The Builders Who Have No Homes
You never see the poor in this city. By day they toil, lifting bricks and cement under the scorching sun to raise glass towers that scrape the sky. By night they retreat to cramped tin shelters on the outskirts, lit by a single flickering bulb. This is one of the saddest paradoxes of our society: the people who build the homes of others remain homeless themselves.
A construction worker lays thousands of bricks in his lifetime, yet he may never own a house with a proper roof. He mixes the cement for gleaming malls and luxury apartments, but he cannot enter them except to clean them. His wages are meagre and often delayed by contractors. He works without helmets or safety belts, and accidents are common. His children play in dust beside the construction site, and many never see the inside of a classroom, since the family keeps moving from one project to the next.
The irony is painful. The more beautiful the building, the more invisible its builder becomes. Once the project is complete, the workers are sent away to build another dream for someone else.
A society that celebrates its skylines must also care for the hands that raised them. Fair wages, safe working conditions, proper housing and education for workers’ children are not favours. They are the rights of those who build our world.

3. Report: How can workers in the unorganised sector use digital infrastructure (Digital India)?
After interviewing a few workers such as a ragpicker, a vegetable seller or a bangle maker, you can write your report in this format:

REPORT
Topic: Use of Digital Infrastructure by Unorganised Sector Workers
Prepared by: [Your name], Class XII
Date: 12 October 2026
Introduction: A large number of people in India work in the unorganised sector as garbage pickers, bangle makers and vegetable sellers. I interviewed [number] such workers to understand how digital facilities can help them.
Findings:
Most workers are paid in cash and have no bank savings. Opening Jan Dhan accounts and using UPI would give them safe and transparent payments.
Digital payments can reduce the dependence on middlemen, who often withhold wages or record them as “deposits” (as in the Delhi scrap-collectors study).
Workers can get benefits of government schemes, such as pensions and insurance, through the e-Shram portal and Aadhaar-linked services.
Mobile phones can show them the real market prices of scrap, vegetables or bangles, and let them sell directly to buyers.
Free online courses and skill-training apps can help them and their children learn new skills.
Difficulties mentioned: Lack of digital literacy, no smartphones or internet access in some areas, fear of fraud and lack of identity documents.
Suggestions: Conduct digital literacy camps, provide low-cost phones and internet, simplify registration, and spread awareness through NGOs and local bodies.
Conclusion: With proper training and support, digital infrastructure can reduce exploitation and bring the unorganised workers into the mainstream economy.

Tip: Replace the details above with the actual answers you get from the people you interview, since the board expects your own observations.