Question

.This morning, Saheb is on his way to the milk booth. In his hand is a steel canister. “I

now work in a tea stall down the road,” he says, pointing in the distance. “I am paid 800

rupees and all my meals”. Does he like the job ? I ask, His face, I see, has lost the

carefree look. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so

lightly over his shoulder. The bag was his. The canister belongs to the man owns the

tea shop. Saheb is no longer his own master!

(a) What is paid to Saheb at tea stall ?

(b) Does Saheb like the job ?

(c) Why steel canister seemed heavier than the plastic ’ bag?

(d) ‘Saheb is no longer his own master !’ Explain.​

Answer 1

Answer:

a 800 and food

b no

c plastic bag his own and steel canister belongs to other

d because he was not his own master. He worked under a teastall owner.

Answer 2

Answer:

This extract is taken from the prose 'Lost Spring' written by Anees Jung.

1. Saheb was a poor ragpicker who lived in Seemapuri. Saheb's full name was 'Saheb-e-Alam', which means Lord of the Universe. One morning, Saheb was on his way to the milk booth, there was a steel canister at his back. He told that he had started working in a tea stall where he was paid eight hundred rupees and all his meals.
2. Saheb did not like his job at the tea stall because he was tied down by the odd work he had to do at the stall. Thus, losing his independence and the carefree look of his face which he had earlier as a ragpicker. So he was not at all happy with his job.
3. The steel canister seemed heavier than the plastic bag because the bag belonged to Saheb only but the canister belonged to the tea stall owner. Also, Saheb is no longer his own master.
4. Saheb was no longer his own master because grinding poverty and the necessity for a life of subsistence have involved Saheb in rag-picking. Roaming through the garbage does not provide him with a regular income but gives him the freedom to roam around in search of treasure in the garbage. As a rag picker, he had complete freedom to roam with his friends in the streets without any worries. The job he took at the tea stall was one of his attempts to become his own master. But ironically this further enslaved him. He was now not free to roam aimlessly in the streets, his new job bonded him to serve somebody else.

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