Solution

(i) The story ‘Lost Spring’ revolves around the pathetic lives of the poor children who live in the slums and work in unhygienic conditions. Seemapuri is a slum area on the periphery of Delhi with a settlement of more than 10,000 rag pickers. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971. They live in the structures of mud with roofs of tin or tarpaulin, devoid of sewage systems, drainage or running water. One may think that the life of people living on the periphery of the national capital must be very easy-going, rich and good but it is all opposite. They have no identity or permits except ration cards as food is more important to them than any identity. Children grow up only to become the supporters of their parents in survival. To them, garbage means ‘gold’. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads. It is a gift for them because whenever they find some silver coin in a heap of garbage, they hope to survive on it for some days. (ii) ‘The Rattrap’ is a bit philosophical story which tells that the world is a trap and the materialistic things are bait. In the story, the author tells that humans need someone to share their joys and sorrows. They can’t live alone and that’s why they are called social animals. In the story too, the peddler is lonely and so is the crofter. A peddler is a lonely man who sells rattraps to avoid his loneliness whereas the crofter is an old man who has neither wife nor child. Due to his loneliness, he wants someone to talk to. So he becomes talkative and friendly with the peddler and allows him to have a conversation with him. He not only gives him shelter but also gives him food to eat and tobacco to smoke. He tells the peddler everything about himself and his earnings. On the other hand, the ironmaster and his daughter are also lonely. They have lots of money but no companion and so they request the peddler to spend Christmas with them. (iii) It is a natural thing for teenagers to dream. It is a part of their life but sometimes these dreams are impractical and non-realistic and when they are shattered, they cause a lot of pain. In the story ‘Going Places’, the author has described the feelings and dreams of such a girl Sophie who was a school-going teenager. She was a daydreamer who fantasizes about her future life with Danny Casey, a football player from Ireland. She dreamt of having met him twice in the arcade. For her, he was the hero to be worshipped. She also thought of owning a boutique despite her weak financial status. She was blind to the bitter truth of life. She dreamt of an imaginary life, full of beautiful things. She also dreamt of becoming an actress as there was a lot of money and fame in that profession. She wanted to be a fashion designer too. Overall, she wanted to lead a lavish and grand life against which her father and friend Janie had warned her. Her dreams were unrealistic in the sense that ultimately she would have to work in a biscuit factory as planned. She wanted to have the things which were impossible.