The lost child

SUMMARY

Mulk Raj Anand, an Indian writer in English is well known for his depiction of Indian society. The story, ‘The Lost Child’ vividly depicts Indian rural village with all its charm, pomp and gaiety especially during festive season. The main theme in this story is a child’s agony and desperate cry when he is suddenly lost in a crowd and realizes that he doesn’t have the warm protection of his parents.
The child is taken by the parents to a fair during the spring season. The child is filled with joy on seeing the fun and grandeur around him. The child lingers at every stall and wants to buy everything but his parents keep calling out to him to move forward .The parents keep a track of the child because they know the risk of losing the tiny child amidst the crowd that has flocked to enjoy or carry on their business in the fair.
As is common with children, this child too keeps asking the parents to buy everything he comes across. The child also knows that it is going to be a stern ‘No’ from his parents. So he keeps moving to keep pace with his parents lest he gets lost in the crowd. His mother tries to distract him and asks him to see the miles and miles of mustard fields. At the merry – go – round the child is determined to have his share of joy. He stubbornly asks his father for a round of merry – go – round. He realizes that his parents are nowhere near. The child is speechless and helpless. Fear overpowers the child and he starts crying, frantically trying to search for his parents. The only words that escape the child’s choking throat admist uncontrollable tears is ‘Mother ‘, ‘Father’. A stranger who sees the lost child picks him and tries to pacify him. He offers the child all the beautiful things that the child had earlier pleaded for. But now the child doesn’t even look at them and firmly declines. All the things which had appealed so much to the child earlier are no longer attractive. The child is crying only for his parents.
This story is narrated by a third person. While relating the story, the narrator uses the technique of 'showing'. It means: he describes the fair, the longing of the child for various things, the parent’s reluctance to buy the things, the panic-stricken state of the child when he loses his parents, and the
child's insistence on finding his parents. Moreover, the author does not comment on the happenings or characters, but just describes the scene.

Comprehension Questions

1. Which festival is mentioned in the lesson?
The festival of spring is mentioned in the lesson.

2. Where was the crowd proceeding?
A large crowd of people was proceeding towards the fair.

3. Why did the boy lag behind his parents?
The boy was captivated by the colourful toys of different sizes and shapes
and other stalls selling interesting things, so he lingered at each stall hence
he lagged behind his parents.

4. What made the father angry with his child?
The child expressed a strong desire of wanting one of the toys hanging from
the shops. This made the father angry.

5. How did his mother distract the child’s attention?
His mother distracted the child’s attention by pointing toward a flowering
mustard field and asked him to look at what was before him.

6. How has the writer described the field?
The writer describes the field as flowering mustard field, pale like melting
gold as it swept across miles and miles of even land.

7. What happened when the child entered the grove? How did he enjoy there?
When the child entered the grove, a shower of young flowers fell upon him.
He began to gather the raining petals. He heard the cooing of the doves and
ran towards his parents. He had a fun filled splendid time in the grove.

8. Why was the child again left behind in the grove?
The child was again left behind as he was attracted by the little insects and
worms along the footpath that were teeming out from their hiding places.

9. Why was the child not able to keep pace with his parents?
The boy was distracted by the toys which he wanted to buy and other
interesting things, butterflies and dragon flies which he wanted to catch.
Hence he lingered behind his parents.

10.What did the child see as they neared the village?
As they neared the village the child saw many other footpaths full of throngs,
converging to the whirlpool of the fair.

11.How did the child feel as they neared the village?
The child at once felt repelled and fascinated by the confusion of the world he
was about to enter.

12.Why did the child’s mouth water for the burfi?
The child’s mouth watered for the burfi, as it was his favourite sweet.

13.Why did the child not wait for an answer after he had pleaded for sweets?
The child didn’t wait for an answer after he had pleaded for sweets because
he knew that his parents would say that he was greedy and would refuse to
buy sweets.

14.Why did the child think that his parents would refuse to buy flowers?
The child thought that his parents would refuse to buy flowers because they
would say that the flowers were cheap.

15.What was the snake charmer doing?
The snake charmer played the flute to the snake which coiled itself in a
basket, its head raised in a graceful bend like the neck of a swan, while themusic stole into its invisible ears like the gentle rippling of an invisible
waterfall.

16.How was the boy separated from his parents?
There was a roundabout in full swing. Men, women and children carried away
in a whirling motion, shrieking and laughing. The child watched them intently
and made a bold request to his parents but they were nowhere to be seen.

17.How has the writer described fear and insecurity of the child on being lost?
When the child realized that he was lost and separated from his parents, a
full, deep cry rose within his dry throat and with a sudden jerk of his body he
ran from where he stood, crying out for his parents. Tears rolled down from
his eyes, his flushed face was convulsed with fear. Panic-stricken, he ran
from one side to the other, in all directions, knowing not where to go. His
yellow turban came untied and his clothes became muddy.

18.What happened when the lost child reached shrine?
When the child reached a shrine, there was a crowd of people, jostling each
other. The poor child struggled to thrust his way in but was knocked around.
He might have been trampled if he hadn’t shouted at the highest pitch of his
voice. A man in the crowd heard his cry and picked him up.

19.Who rescued the lost child?
The man in the shrine rescued the child.

20.What did the man offer to the lost child?
The man who rescued the lost child took the child in his arms and tried to
pacify him. He took him to the roundabout and offered to buy him flowers,
balloons and sweets.

21.Why did the child refuse to take his favourite things after he was lost?
The child refused to take his favourite things after he was lost as he missed
his parents. Therefore, all the excitement he had earlier felt was all lost.

22.What does the author try to portray from the story?
The author has portrayed a child’s innocence, inquisitiveness, enthusiasm
and eagerness and a strong bond with parents.

23.Explain the symbolism ‘We are all children lost in the world-fair' with reference to
the lesson.
The parents in the story represent God and the lost child represents human
beings. Like the child is lost in the fair because all the things in the fair
attracted him, similarly we human beings are lost in the pleasures /
temptations of the world fair and have lost touch with God.

24.List out the words used by the writer which create the proper festive mood.
The words used by the author which create the proper festive mood are:
festival of spring; a gaily clad humanity; a crowd of bright- coloured
humanity; flooded sea of sparkling silver sunshine; brimming over with life
and laughter; joyous smiling morning; full of flowers and songs.

25.List out the words used by the writer for creating visual images.
The words used by the writer for creating visual images are bright-coloured
rabbits; a flowering mustard field; pale like melting gold, a pole with red
green and purple balloons flying from it, rainbow glory of their silken colours,
its head raised in a graceful bend like the neck of a swan, like the gentle
rippling of an invisible waterfall.

Textual Questions

1. In the fair he wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without
waiting for an answer from his parents?
The child like any other child wanted to have everything from the fair. The
things that the child wanted from the fair were toys ,balloons, sweets, and
garland of gulmohar. He wanted to watch the snake charmer play the flute to
a snake and ride in the roundabout.
The boy moved on without waiting for an answer because he knew that his
request would be denied at each step. He knew that his father won’t buy
anything.

2. What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?
The child saw a number of things which fascinated him on his way to the
fair.
• Firstly, he saw toys at a shop.
• Then he saw a flowering mustard field.
• In the fields, the child also saw dragon flies, butterflies fluttering their
wings
• Then while walking on the footpath he was amazed by the insects and
worms
• When he entered the grove he saw doves which were cooing
• As he neared the village with his parents, he saw huge crowds of people
going to the fair
• The child also came across sweetmeat seller selling a variety of sweets.
• A little further he came across a flower seller who was selling a garland of
gulmohar
• Walking ahead, he saw a man selling rainbow coloured balloons.
• He also saw a snake charmer who stood playing a flute to a snake
• Finally, before losing track of his parents he saw a roundabout.
As he entered the fair, he was both fascinated and repelled by the crowd and the
stalls. He kept lagging behind his parents because he was fascinated by every
other thing he saw on his way to the fair. At times, he stopped because he wanted
to buy toys and at other times he stopped to admire the beauty of the nature –
collecting flowers, catching butterflies, other insects and worms.

3. When does he realize that he has lost his way? How have his anxiety and
insecurity been described?
The child realizes that he has lost his way when on reaching the roundabout;
he stopped to observe it moving in full swing, with men, women and children
enjoying themselves on it. Watching them keenly he calls for his parents and
turns to ask for permission to go on the rounds but there was no reply from
them. He turned to look for them but they were not there. A full, deep cry
rose within his dry throat and with a sudden jerk of his body he ran from
where he stood, crying out for his parents. Tears rolled down from his eyes,
his flushed face was convulsed with fear. Panic-stricken, he ran from one
side to the other, in all directions, knowing not where to go. His yellow
turban came untied and his clothes became muddy.

4. Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?
For any child the security of being with his parents is most important. While
the child was with his parents he was happy and wanted everything on the
display at the fair. However the child loses interest in the things that he
wanted earlier because he was panic stricken on being separated from his
parents. All he wanted now was to be united with his parents. All the things
that attracted him in the fair earlier, no longer appealed to him once the
harsh realization of being lost came to his mind and now the only thing that
mattered to him was to find his parents.

5. What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?
Right from the beginning of their journey, the parents continuously kept
checking whether the child was with them or not. In the end, when they may
have suddenly realized that the child was missing, they may have started a
frantic search for the lost child. The kind and understanding man who tried
to console the lost child by offering him various things at the fair may have
asked the child for some physical description of his parents and helped him
to be reunited with his parents.

Worksheet

Q1 Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
(a) “Look, child, what is before you!” It was a flowering mustard-field, pale like melting
gold as it swept across miles and miles of even land. A group of dragon-flies were
bustling about on their gaudy purple wings, intercepting the flight of a lone black bee
or butterfly in search of sweetness from the flowers.
i. Look, child, what is before you” Who says these words and to whom?
The mother says the words to her child
ii. Where had they come?
The child and his parents had come to the village fair during the festival of
spring.
iii. Why did the mother ask the child to look at the mustard field?
The mother pointed out the mustard field to the child to distract him from the
toy seller’s shop. He was pleading with his father to buy him a toy.
iv. Find synonym for – ‘flashy’.
gaudy
(b) “Come, child, come!” they called to the child, who had now gone running in wild
capers round the banyan tree, and gathering him up they took the narrow, winding
footpath which led to the fair through the mustard fields. As they neared the village the
child could see many other footpaths full of throngs, converging to the whirlpool of the
fair, and felt at once repelled and fascinated by the confusion of the world he was
entering.
i. What fascinated the child as he entered the grove?
A shower of young flowers that fell upon the child as he entered the grove and
the cooing of the doves fascinated the child in the grove.
ii How did the child feel as he and his parents neared the village? Why?
The child was repelled at seeing a large crowd because it scared him. At the
same time, he was fascinated by the colourful and interesting things he could
see.
iii What did the child see when he neared the village?

As the child neared the village, he saw many other footpaths full of throngs, converging to the whirlpool of the fair.
iv Find the synonym of the word – ‘ a crowd of people’
throng
(c) A sweetmeat seller hawked, “gulab-jaman, rasagulla, burfi, jalebi,” at the corner of the
entrance and a crowd pressed round his counter at the foot of an architecture of many
coloured sweets, decorated with leaves of silver and gold. The child stared open-eyed
and his mouth watered for the burfi that was his favourite sweet. “I want that burfi,” he
slowly murmured.
i What was the sweetmeat seller selling?
The sweetmeat seller was selling, gulab-jaman, rasagulla, burfi, jalebi.
ii What did the child stare at? Why?
The child stared at a burfi because it was his favourite sweet.
iii Why did the boy walk ahead without waiting for an answer?
The boy walked ahead without waiting for an answer because he knew his plea
would not be heeded.
iv Give the antonym of the word – ‘ entrance’
exit
(d) Thinking to humour his disconsolate charge by a gift of sweets, the man took him to
the counter of the sweet shop. “What sweets would you like, child?” he asked. The
child turned his face from the sweet shop and only sobbed, “I want my mother, I want
my father!”
i How was the child lost in the fair?
The child was engrossed in watching the roundabout and was separated from
his parents.
ii Who rescued the child? How did he try to pacify him?
The man in the shrine rescued the child. He lifted him up in his arms and tried to
pacify him. He took him to the roundabout and offered to buy him flowers,
balloons and sweets.
iii Why did the child refuse to take his favourite things after he was lost?
The child refused to take his favourite things after he was lost as he missed his
parents. Therefore, all this excitement he had earlier was lost. iv Give the synonym of the word –‘reiterated’.
repeated

Q2 Answer the following in 30- 40 words.
(a) What did the child want from the fair? Why does he move on without waiting for an
answer from his parents?
The child like any other child wanted to have everything from the fair: toys,
balloons, sweets, and a garland of gulmohar. He wanted to watch the snake
charmer play the flute to a snake and ride in the roundabout.
The boy moved on without waiting for an answer because he knew that his
request would be denied at each step. He knew that his father won’t buy
anything.
(b) How was the child lost in the fair?
The child was fascinated with many things which he saw in the fair and wished
to possess everything but deep down in his heart he was aware of his parents’
refusal. When he saw people whirl pooling and shrieking in a roundabout, he
made a bold request to his parents. However, he received no reply and when he
turned to see his parents, he found them nowhere in the sight. In this way the
child got lost in the fair.
(c) Why did the lost child go towards the temple? What happened there?
The lost child was trying to find his parents at the fair. He ran to the shrine
because he saw people crowding near the entrance. There was so much
commotion that he might have been trampled if he had not shouted for his
parents at the highest pitch of his voice. A kind man from the crowd heard his
cries, lifted him up and tried to pacify him but the child only cried asking for his
mother and father.
(d) Who rescued the lost child? What did he offer to buy him?
At the shrine, a man in the crowd heard the child crying and lifted him up. To
soothe the weeping child, the kind man took him to every stall where the boy
previously had been and offered to buy him all that he had earlier desired but
this time he refused everything and asked only for his parents.
(e) Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?
For any child the security of being with his parents is most important. While the
child was with his parents he was happy and wanted everything on the display
at the fair. However the child loses interest in the things that he wanted earlier because he was panic stricken on being separated from his parents. All he
wanted now was to be united with his parents. All the things that attracted him
in the fair earlier, no longer appealed to him once the harsh realization of being
lost hit him. The only thing that mattered to him was to find his parents.
(f) What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?
Right from the beginning of their journey, the parents continuously kept
checking whether the child was with them or not. In the end, when they may
have suddenly realized that the child was missing, they may have started a
frantic search for the lost child. The kind and understanding man who tried to
console the lost child by offering him various things at the fair may have asked
the child for some physical description of his parents and helped him to be
reunited with his parents.
Q3 Answer the following in 100- 120 words.
(a) When does he realize that he has been separated from his parents? How have his
anxiety and insecurity been described?
The child realizes that he has lost his way when on reaching the roundabout; he
stopped to observe the men, women and children enjoying themselves on it.
Watching them keenly he calls for his parents and turns to ask for permission to
go on the roundabout but there was no reply from them. He turned to look for
them but they were not there. He looked all around but there was no sign of
them. A full, deep cry rose within his dry throat and with a sudden jerk of his
body he ran from where he stood, crying out for his parents. Tears rolled down
from his eyes, his flushed face was convulsed with fear. Panic-stricken, he ran
from one side to the other, in all directions, knowing not where to go. His yellow
turban came untied and his clothes became muddy.
(b) How do you know that the child was a nature – lover?
The child was attracted to the nature’s little aspects because of his innocence.
When his mother diverted his attention to the mustard field he saw the flowers
which were in the nascent stage. The flowers of the field were pale like melting
gold. He then saw a group of dragon flies which were bustling about on their
gaudy purple wings. The child wanted to catch those dragon but they went
away fluttering and flapping. He was also attracted to the little insects and
worms along the footpath that were teeming out from their hiding places to
enjoy the sunshine. A shower of young flowers fell upon the child as he entered
the fair. He forgot about his parents and started gathering the raining petals in his hand and then the cooing of doves fascinated him.
(c) Compare the attitude of the child before and after separation from his parents.
Before separation the child was very happy and excited. He was captivated by
all the things that were displayed at the stalls. He wished to possess everything
but deep down in his heart he was aware of his parents’ refusal. When he saw
people whirl pooling and shrieking in a roundabout, he urged his parents to
allow him to sit on it. However when he turned, he found his parents nowhere in
the sight. All of sudden the boy was panic stricken. Forgetting all the wonders
of the fair he begins sobbing and screaming for his parents. The fear was so
predominant that he didn’t want any of the things from the fair that had earlier
appealed to him when the unknown good man offered them to him in order to
pacify him.
(d) Bring out the symbolism of the story.
It is possible to interpret the story at least at two levels.
At the surface level, it appears that the child in the story--like any child-longs for
attractive things such as toys, sweets, balloons, and flowers; but once he loses
his parents, he loses interest in the things he asked for earlier and insists on
finding his father and mother.
At a deeper level (or metaphysical level), the story is symbolic. The child
represents human beings in general; the fair symbolizes the world. The
attractions in the fair appeal to the senses, toys appeal to the eyes (and mind, in
general), burfi appeals to the palate, flowers have visual and olfactory appeal,
balloons have visual appeal, and music has aural appeal. In other words, these
attractions represent several pleasures or these are the temptations that human
beings come across in the fair of the world.
(e) Give critical appreciation of the chapter ‘The Lost child’.
The chapter ‘The Lost child’ has a rural Indian setting, characters, and actions.
It serves as a metaphor for human life. It tells the story of a physical and
psychological quest of a child, of our growth in creativity, compassion, and
confidence. In the lesson ‘The Lost Child’, it raises investigations about
parenting, the function of imagination, the preambles of growing up, and the
relationship of wishes and reality. In this story the child and his parents are
nameless; in fact, the writer has named no one. Despite this, the story never
goes dull at any moment, that’s the true beauty of storytelling.