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EnglishClass 12Lost Spring Stories of Stolen Childhood About the author

Lost Spring Stories of Stolen Childhood About the author | Class 12 English Notes

By ConceptScroll Team · Published on 17 July 2026 · 4 min read

Lost Spring Stories of Stolen Childhood About the author – this guide gives you a concise, exam-ready overview of Lost Spring Stories of Stolen Childhood About the author from Class 12 English, written by ConceptScroll editors and reviewed against the latest NCERT textbook.

About the author

Anees Jung, born in 1944 in Rourkela, spent her formative years in Hyderabad. She received education both in Hyderabad and the United States, which enriched her worldview and writing style. Coming from a family of writers, with both parents engaged in literary pursuits, Anees Jung naturally gravitated towards writing. She began her career as a writer in India and has since been an editor and columnist for major newspapers both in India and abroad. Her literary works often focus on social issues, especially those concerning marginalized communities. The chapter 'Lost Spring, Stories of Stolen Childhood' is an excerpt from her book of the same title, where she critically examines the harsh realities faced by children living in poverty, forced into labor, and deprived of education. Through her narrative, she highlights the grinding poverty and entrenched traditions that trap these children in a cycle of exploitation and lost childhoods.

📊 Diagram: The section includes a photograph of Anees Jung, providing a visual connection to the author.

🧪 Activity: Students are encouraged to notice and infer meanings of expressions such as 'looking for', 'slog their daylight hours', 'roof over his head', 'perpetual state of poverty', 'dark hutments', and 'imposed the baggage on the child' from the context.

🔗 Connection: Leads into the narrative about Saheb and his life as a child ragpicker, illustrating the themes introduced in the author's background.

Frequently asked questions

Think as you read 1. What makes the city of Firozabad famous? 2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry. 3. How is Mukesh's attitude to his situation different from that of his family?

1. Firozabad is famous for its glass bangles industry. It is known as the city of glass bangles.

2. The hazards of working in the glass bangles industry include exposure to heat and smoke, risk of burns and injuries, poor working conditions, and health problems due to inhaling glass dust and chemicals.

3. Mukesh's attitude is different because he dares to dream of becoming a motor mechanic and wants to learn a skill that can help him improve his life. Unlike his family, who accept their povert

Understanding the text 1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities? 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? 3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?

1. Reasons for migration include lack of employment opportunities in villages, poverty, search for better livelihood, and attraction of city jobs even if low-paying.

2. Yes, promises made to poor children are rarely kept because of systemic neglect, poverty, lack of education, and exploitation by society and authorities. In the text, children are forced into labour and denied schooling.

3. Forces include exploitation by middlemen and factory owners, lack of education, poor working conditions,

Talking about the text 1. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream? 2. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry. 3. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

1. Mukesh can realise his dream by getting access to proper training in a garage, support from family and society, education, and opportunities to learn a trade. Government schemes and NGOs can help.

2. Hazards include exposure to heat, risk of burns, inhalation of harmful dust and chemicals, poor working conditions, and health risks.

3. Child labour should be eliminated because it deprives children of education, harms their health, and exploits them. It can be eliminated through strict laws,

Carefully read the following phrases and sentences taken from the text. Can you identify the literary device in each example? 1. Saheb-e-Alam which means the lord of the universe is directly in contrast to what Saheb is in reality. 2. Drowned in an air of desolation. 3. Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically. 4. For the children it is wrapped in wonder; for the elders it is a means of survival. 5. As her hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine, I wonder if she knows the sanctity of the bangles she helps make. 6. She still has bangles on her wrist, but not light in her eyes. 7. Few airplanes fly over Firozabad. 8. Web of poverty. 9. Scrounging for gold. 10. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art. 11. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his shoulders.

1. Irony (contrast between meaning and reality) 2. Metaphor (air of desolation as drowning) 3. Metaphor (distance metaphorically) 4. Contrast/Metaphor 5. Simile (like the tongs of a machine) 6. Metaphor (light in eyes) 7. Symbolism/Metaphor (few airplanes symbolize lack of progress) 8. Metaphor (web of poverty) 9. Metaphor (scrounging for gold) 10. Hyperbole (rag-picking as fine art) 11. Simile/Comparison (steel canister heavier than plastic bag)

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