Illiteracy in families below the poverty line
The chapter Lost spring is an excerpt from the book Stories of Stolen Childhood. In the chapter Lost Spring, Anees Jung tries to make us aware of the reality of many underprivileged backward societies in India. She analyses the grinding poverty and traditions which condemn these children to a life of exploitation. The story of the two young children illustrates their hardships at a very tender age. Saheb-e-Alam was a rag-picker who lived in Seemapuri. His family had migrated from Dhaka, Bangla Desh to India in 1971 with the hope of finding better living conditions. He roamed about streets collecting garbage. His family lived in miserable conditions. He could not afford to go to school. He did not have even slippers to wear. He wished to play lawn tennis which was unachievable. He worked at a tea stall though other children of his age were studying at school. Mukesh is a young boy who belongs to a bangle-makers family from Firozabad, the city which is famous for its colourful bang...
