Mind Map Lost Spring

Mind Map

Lost Spring

Main Characters

Saheb-e-Alam: Ragpicker in the neighbourhood. Left Dhaka due to storms. No school in his neighbourhood; hopes for a future school. 

Name meaning: "Lord of the Universe" (unaware of its significance).

Life in Seemapuri

Location: Periphery of Delhi. Home to 10,000 ragpickers. Poor conditions: mud structures, no sewage, no running water. People: Migrants from Bangladesh (1971). Survival through rag-picking. Lack of identity but ration cards for food.

Rag-Picking as Survival

Daily Life: Garbage as "gold." Saheb finds money (rupees, ten-rupee notes) while scrounging. Children see garbage with wonder; adults see it as survival.

Dreams and Struggles

Saheb's Dream: Likes tennis but cannot play. Wears discarded tennis shoes but can only watch, not play. Starts working at a tea stall for 800 rupees/month. No longer his own master.

Mukesh's Story

Location: Firozabad, known for bangle-making.

Mukesh's Aspiration: Wants to be a motor mechanic despite limited resources. Dreams of driving a car, but limited by his circumstances.

Bangle Industry: Child labour in glass-blowing furnaces. Health risks: loss of eyesight due to toxic fumes. Family tradition: generations of bangle-makers.

Mukesh's family lives in poor conditions, unable to improve their situation. Mukesh's determination to break free from tradition.

Societal Issues

Mukesh's family stuck in the bangle-making industry due to caste. Limited opportunities for change, despite the will to break out.

Vicious cycle of poverty, apathy.. greed, and injustice. Middlemen, police, and bureaucracy trap the workers. Lack of leadership and hope among the young men in Firozabad

Conclusion 

Two Worlds: The world of poverty, caste, and limited opportunity and The world of oppression imposed by corrupt systems (middlemen, police, politicians).

Saheb and Mukesh's Future: Saheb faces a life of struggle but holds onto dreams. Mukesh's desire for change remains constrained by the social structure around him.