Lost Spring

by Anees Jung

Genres: Literature

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Anees Jung is an Indian woman author, journalist and a columnist for major newspapers in India and abroad, whose most noted work, Unveiling India (1987) was a detailed chronicle of the lives of women in India, noted especially for the detailed depiction of Muslim women behind the veil.

Courtsey : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anees_Jung

Reviews

[Shatovisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUCH an underrated book!!

Our std.12th English book had two tales from this book, and their writing style and poignancy got my attention. And I had decided that I had to read the book.

This is about the lost springs, the stolen childhoods. “Anees Jung exposes a national shame..” reads the blurb, where the author talks about the multitude of children involved in child labour, cleaning floors in restaurants, making locks, weaving carpets, hauling loads in factories, and many more. Some have lost hopes of living a better life, whereas some never stop dreaming of breaking the shackles of grinding poverty and bonded labour.

The book unveils in majorly four parts:
• Travels into Childhood
• A Place Called School
• Sharing Memories
• Joining Hands

Each of the first three parts begin with few beautiful lines of Urdu poetry.

Quoting few lines from the book which had intrigued me in my std.12th English class:

“Together they have imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down. Before he is aware, he accepts it as naturally as his father. To do anything else would mean to dare. And daring is not part of his growing up.”

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read "Lost spring" by "Anees jung" , it was awesome explanation of stolen childhood. The author fully got success to make a real picture of poverty also with mentality of a barefoot ragpicker boy is depicted preferably.

The problems and way to living life by squatters which is discussed by author really compelled to think about it. Small dreams of "Saheb-e-Alam" inspire to living life by best way. The description of India's problems by two distinct worlds in author own language,- "one of the family , caught in a web of poverty , burdened by the stigma of caste in which they are born; the other a vicious circle of the sahukars, the middleman, the policeman, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians. Together they have imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down. Before he is aware, he accepts it as naturally as his father"
is very good.

After all it is good but also there is possibilities to make it more better.
7/10

[Claton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost Spring (Paperback)by Anees Jung- Poem- I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage. The first part tells the writer’s impressions about the life of the poor rag pickers. The rag pickers have migrated from Dhaka and found a settlement in Seemapuri. Their fields and homes had been swept away by storms. They had come to the big city to find a living. They are poor. The writer watches Saheb every morning scrounging for “gold” in her neighbourhood. Garbage is a means of survival for the elders and for the children it is something wrapped in wonder. The children come across a coin or two from it. These people have desires and ambitions, but they do not know the way to achieve them. There are quite a few things that are unreachable to them, namely shoes, tennis and the like. Later Saheb joins a tea stall where he could earn 800 Rupees and all the meals. The job has taken away his freedom.
II – I want to drive a car.
The second part deals with the life of Mukesh, who belongs to the family of Bangle-makers. Firozabad is best known for its glass-blowing industry. Nearly 20,000 children are engaged in this business and the law that forbids child labour is not known here. The living condition and the working environment is a woeful tale. Life in dingy cells and working close to hot furnaces make these children blind when they step into the adulthood. Weighed down by the debt, they can neither think nor find a way to come of out of this trap. The politicians, middlemen, policemen and bureaucrats will all obstruct their way of progress. The women in the household consider it as their fate and just follow the tradition. Mukesh is different from the rest of the folk there. He dreams to become a motor mechanic. The garage is far away from his house, but he shall walk. comes across Mukesh in Firozabad.
The author brings before the readers the plight of children who have to work for a living. Poverty, lack of education of parents, big number of children, availability of work for parents, ill-health of parents etc. are various reasons why children have to seek hazardous employment to get bread and butter for the family. This poem has been included in Class XII NCERT syllabus in Hindi subject.

[Zara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her prose is like poetry 😭✨️

[Janhvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved all the stories. Liked the depth and research done. Her perspective was great.

[Muskan Khunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought provoking read

[Ansh J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such pain and sorrow this book introduced us to.
But it's what reality is and that's what makes this book a collection of strong words !