Question

What was the importance of garbage for children in Seemapuri?

Hint:

When answering questions from “Lost Spring,” always connect poverty with the symbolic meaning given in the text (e.g., garbage as gold, or dreams of children).

Answer 1

Step 1: Context of Seemapuri.
Seemapuri, a settlement on the outskirts of Delhi, was inhabited mainly by ragpickers who lived in extreme poverty. For them, garbage was not just trash but the only source of livelihood and survival.
Step 2: Garbage as a means of survival.
For the children of Seemapuri, garbage meant "gold." It provided them with food to eat, coins to spend, and sometimes articles they could sell. Their families depended on it for their daily bread. Thus, garbage became an inseparable part of their lives.
Step 3: Garbage as a source of hope.
Children looked at garbage with a sense of excitement and hope. Each morning, they searched the heaps for something valuable—maybe a coin, a toy, or anything useful. For them, garbage represented both their present means of survival and a faint hope for a better tomorrow.
Step 4: Conclusion.
Thus, for the children of Seemapuri, garbage was not dirt or waste. It was their treasure, their bread, their hope, and their only chance of living another day.