Lost Spring

• Saheb, a rag-picker from Seemapuri, lives in structures of mud with roofs of tin and tarpaulin
• Saheb and others like him have lived in Seemapuri for over thirty years without identity cards or permits
• Despite their living conditions, rag-picking has become a means of survival for Saheb and others in Seemapuri
• Garbage is like gold to Saheb and the rag-pickers, providing them with their daily bread and a roof over their heads
• Saheb finds hope in the garbage-heap, sometimes discovering money that gives him hope for more
• For Saheb, discarded tennis shoes are a dream come true, even if they have holes, as he watches others play tennis behind a fence
• Mukesh, from Firozabad, dreams of becoming a motor mechanic despite his family's tradition of making bangles
• Mukesh's family, like many others in Firozabad, work in bangle making, unaware of the illegal nature of children working in glass furnaces
• Despite the harsh living conditions and lack of education, Mukesh's family continues the tradition of making bangles, passing down the skill through generations
• The families in Firozabad are trapped in a cycle of poverty and exploitation by middlemen, preventing them from dreaming or organizing for change
• The author is hopeful when she sees Mukesh's desire to break away from the traditional bangle-making profession and become a motor mechanic