The Lost Child

About the author

Mulk Raj Anand (12 December 1905 – 28 September 2004) was an Indian writer in English,
notable for his depiction of the lives of the poorer castes in traditional Indian society. One of the
pioneers of Indo-Anglian fiction, he, together with R. K. Narayan, Ahmad Ali and Raja Rao, was
one of the first India-based writers in English to gain an International readership. Anand is
admired for his novels and short stories, which have acquired the status of classics of modern
Indian English literature;

Introduction to the lesson

The Lost Child is the story of a small child who gets lost in a fair. He had gone with his parents to
the fair but loses them when he gets engrossed in looking at a roundabout swing. The story
highlights the bond of love and affection that the child shares with his parents. Before losing
them he had been demanding different things like sweets, balloons, flowers, swings, etc. Once he
loses them, he is picked up by a stranger. The stranger tries to quieten the child by offering him
all these things that he had demanded from his parents but the child does not want them
anymore. He wants his parents first.

IT was the festival of spring. From the wintry shades of narrow lanes and alleys emerged a gaily
clad humanity. Some walked, some rode on horses, others sat, being carried in bamboo and
bullock carts. One little boy ran between his father’s legs, brimming over with life and laughter.

wintry shades of narrow lanes and alleys: in the winter season, the narrow lanes were full of
shade.

Clad- dressed in

Gaily clad humanity-brightly dressed poeple

Alley-a narrow passageway between or behind the buildings

Emerged: came out

Brimming over: to be full of something

The story is set in the spring season. As the winter season had just ended, all the people came
out of their houses. They were cheerful as the chilling cold weather had ended. People travelling
through different modes - foot, horses, bamboo carts and bullock carts. A little child was
accompanied by his parents. He ran excitedly and often banged into his father’s legs. He was full
of life, excitement and laughter.

“Come, child, come,” called his parents, as he lagged behind, fascinated by the toys in the shops
that lined the way. He hurried towards his parents, his feet obedient to their call, his eyes still
lingering on the receding toys. As he came to where they had stopped to wait for him, he could
not suppress the desire of his heart, even though he well knew the old, cold stare of refusal in
their eyes.

Lagged behind: was left behind

Fascinated by: attracted to
Lined the way: were set up along the way.

Lingering: lasting for a long time

Receding: left behind as he walked ahead
Suppress: put an end to
Cold: without any feelings, emotions

The child was attracted to the toys which were displayed at the various stalls. As he would be left
behind, his parents would call him to come with them. The child was obedient and would walk
towards them on being called but his eyes would keep on looking at the toys that he wanted. As
he reached them, he couldn't control his desire to buy a toy. He was familiar to the reaction that
they would give. He knew that they would stare him indicating denial to buy him the toy. The
child knew the emotionless way in which they would stare at him.

“I want that toy,” he pleaded. His father looked at him red-eyed, in his familiar tyrant’s way. His
mother, melted by the free spirit of the day was tender and, giving him her finger to hold, said,
“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 dragonflies 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. The child followed them in the air with his gaze, till one of them would still its
wings and rest, and he would try to catch it. But it would go fluttering, flapping, up into the air,
when he had almost caught it in his hands. Then his mother gave a cautionary call: “Come, child,
come, come on to the footpath.”

Tyrant: a cruel and oppressive ruler

Melted: became tender and loving

Pale: dull, colourless

Gaudy: extremely bright and showy

The child was unable to control his desire any longer. He said that he wanted to buy the toy. The
father’s eyes grew red with anger. He looked at the child just like a cruel ruler who was trying to
oppress him. The mother became emotional due to the cheerful mood. Lovingly, she gave her
finger to the child to hold and guided him to a place. She asked him to see what was in front of
him. There was a vast field full of bright yellow - coloured mustard flowers. They seemed like
flowing streams of gold and were widespread. A group pf dragonflies, black bees and butterflies
buzzed around, sucking the nectar from the flowers. The child looked at them as they flew
around. When one of them sat somewhere, he tried to catch them but the tiny creatures would
fly away the next instance. The mother called out to him as they started walking down the
footpath.

He ran towards his parents gaily and walked abreast of them for a while, being, however, soon
left behind, attracted by the little insects and worms along the footpath that were teeming out
from their hiding places to enjoy the sunshine. “Come, child, come!” his parents called from the
shade of a grove where they had seated themselves on the edge of a well. He ran towards them.

A shower of young flowers fell upon the child as he entered the grove, and, forgetting his
parents, he began to gather the raining petals in his hands. But lo! he heard the cooing of doves
and ran towards his parents, shouting, “The dove! The dove!” The raining petals dropped from
his forgotten hands.

Abreast: side by side and facing the same way

Teeming out: to pour or empty out

Grove: a small wood or group of trees

The child ran towards his parents. He walked next to them but after few steps, he stopped to see
the insects who were coming out of the soil. Once again the child was left behind. The parents
called him. They sat next to a well under the shady trees. The child once again ran and joined his
parents. As the child entered the shady forested area, he was welcomed by a shower of flowers.
He forgot his parents and started collecting the petals that had fallen. Just then he heard the
cooing of doves and was excited to see them. He started chasing the birds and in the process, the
petals fell from his hand. (This shows that as the child got attracted towards the next thing, he
forgot what he had been doing earlier).

“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
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 through the mustard fields.

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. But he half knew
as he begged that his plea would not be heeded because his parents would say he was greedy. So
without waiting for an answer he moved on.

Capers: a playful skipping movement

Whirlpool-confusion

Throngs: huge crowds

Converging: gathering

Sweetmeat-an item of confectionary or sweet food

Heeded: paid attention to

As they were about to reach the fair, the child saw huge crowds of people walking from all
directions towards the fair. The dense crowd scared him and he stepped back for a while but the
next moment, he got attracted to the mind - boggling crowd of humanity. At the entrance of the
fair, to one corner, a sweetmeat seller had set up a shop. He was selling various sweets like gulab
jamun, rasgulla, burfi and jalebi. The sweets were displayed at different heights and were
covered with foils of gold and silver. The boy's mouth watered when he sighted his favourite
burfi. He expressed his desire to get one in a low voice because he knew that his request would
be refuted by his parents. They would say that he was greedy for the burfi. As he did not expect
that his demand would be fulfilled, he walked further.

A flower-seller hawked, “A garland of gulmohur, a garland of gulmohur!” The child seemed

irresistibly drawn. He went towards the basket where the flowers lay heaped and half
murmured, “I want that garland.” But he well knew his parents would refuse to buy him those
flowers because they would say that they were cheap. So, without waiting for an answer, he
moved on.

A man stood holding a pole with yellow, red, green and purple balloons flying from it. The child
was simply carried away by the rainbow glory of their silken colours and he was filled with an
overwhelming desire to possess them all. But he well knew his parents would never buy him the
balloons because they would say he was too old to play with such toys. So he walked on further.

A snake-charmer stood playing a flute to a snake which coiled itself in a basket, its head raised in
a graceful bend like the neck of a swan, while the music stole into its invisible ears like the gentle
rippling of an invisible waterfall. The child went towards the snake-charmer. But, knowing his
parents had forbidden him to hear such coarse music as the snake-charmer played, he proceeded
farther.

Overwhelming: a very strong emotion

Forbidden: not allowed

Coarse: unpleasant

The next stall was that of a flower seller. He announced that he was selling garlands of Gulmohar
flowers. The child wanted one of those. He walked towards the basket of fowers and again
announced his desire to have one in a low voice because he knew that his demand would not be
fulfilled. They would refuse to buy him the flowers as they would say that they were cheap.
Again, the boy walked ahead without expecting a reply from his parents. The next thing that the
child came across was a balloon seller selling balloons of different colours of the rainbow. The
boy was attracted to the shiny colours of the balloons and wanted to have them all. He knew
that his parents would not buy the balloons for him as they would reason that he was too old to
play with them. So, the child walked further.

Then he paused at a snake charmer who was playing a flute and the snake was twisting it’s neck
to the music. The snake had coiled itself in a basket and had raised its head out. It bent and
moved its neck gracefully like a swan. It seemed that the music of the flute was heard by the
snake’s invisible ears and created the effect of a waterfall on it because it swayed its neck in a
similar way. The boy walked towards the snake charmer but as his parents had warned him to
remain away from the unpleasant music played by such men, he walked further.

There was a roundabout in full swing. Men, women and children, carried away in a whirling
motion, shrieked and cried with dizzy laughter. The child watched them intently and then he
made a bold request: “I want to go on the roundabout, please, Father, Mother.” There was no
reply. He turned to look at his parents. They were not there, ahead of him. He turned to look on
either side. They were A full, deep cry rose within his dry throat and with a sudden jerk of his
body he ran from where he stood, crying in real fear, “Mother, Father.” Tears rolled down from
his eyes, hot and fierce; his flushed face was convulsed with fear. Panic-stricken, he ran to one
side first, then to the other, hither and thither in all directions, knowing not where to go.
“Mother, Father,” he wailed. His yellow turban came untied and his clothes became muddy not
there. He looked behind. There was no sign of them.

Hither and thither: here and there

Then he saw the roundabout swing. It was full of men, women and children who were enjoying
the ride. The boy watched the people on the roundabout and then with a lot of courage,
expressed his desire to go on the roundabout.

When his parents did not reply, he turned towards them. He saw that they were nowhere
around. He looked around and behind but his parents were nowhere to be seen.

The boy cried loudly, jerked his body and ran here and there calling out for his parents. He was
full of fear and tears started rolling down his cheeks. As he wailed and ran around his turban
opened and his clothes became muddy.

Having run to and fro in a rage of running for a while, he stood defeated, his cries suppressed
into sobs. At little distances on the green grass he could see, through his filmy eyes, men and
women talking. He tried to look intently among the patches of bright yellow clothes, but there
was no sign of his father and mother among these people, who seemed to laugh and talk just for
the sake of laughing and talking.

He ran quickly again, this time to a shrine to which people seemed to be crowding. Every little
inch of space here was congested with men, but he ran through people’s legs, his little sob
lingering: “Mother, Father!” Near the entrance to the temple, however, the crowd became very
thick: men jostled each other, heavy men, with flashing, murderous eyes and hefty shoulders.
The poor child struggled to thrust a way between their feet but, knocked to and fro by their
brutal movements, he might have been trampled underfoot, had he not shrieked at the highest
pitch of his voice, “Father, Mother!” A man in the surging crowd heard his cry and, stooping with
great difficulty, lifted him up in his arms.

Intently: carefully

Congested: full of
Hefty: large and heavy
Thrust: push
Knocked: hit
Brutal: harsh, rough
Trampled: crushed
Surging: powerful

After some time he gave up. The loud cries turned into mild sobs. He saw some people standing
and talking and tried to find if his parents were among them. The laughter and talks of the
people were meaningless for the child. He was simply searching for his parents.

The boy ran towards a temple which was crowded with people. He ran through the legs of men,
calling out for his parents. The crowd was pushing each other as he neared the entrance of the
temple. The boy got scared of huge strong men who starred people with their murderous eyes
and pushed them with their strong and big shoulders. The boy could have been crushed under
the feet of the men had his cries not been heard by a man in the crowd. He lifted the child.

“How did you get here, child? Whose baby are you?” the man asked as he steered clear of the
mass. The child wept more bitterly than ever now and only cried, “I want my mother, I want my
father!”

The man tried to soothe him by taking him to the roundabout. “Will you have a ride on the
horse?” he gently asked as he approached the ring. The child’s throat tore into a thousand shrill
sobs and he only shouted, “I want my mother, I want my father!” The man headed towards the
place where the snake-charmer still played on the flute to the swaying cobra. “Listen to that nice
music, child!” he pleaded. But the child shut his ears with his fingers and shouted his double-
pitched strain: “I want my mother, I want my father!” The man took him near the balloons,
thinking the bright colours of the balloons would distract the child’s attention and quieten him.
“Would you like a rainbow coloured balloon?” he persuasively asked. The child turned his eyes
from the flying balloons and just sobbed, “I want my mother, I want my father!”

Soothe: relax, comfort

Steered clear-trying to make way avoiding things/obstacles

Pleaded: requested
Double - pitched strain: usage of a lot of force

As the man got the child out of the crowd, he asked him how he had reached there and what
were his parents’ names. The boy cried even more and repeated that he wanted to go to his
parents.

The man tried to relax the child by taking him to the roundabout swing. He offered him a ride but
the child screamed and wept loudly that he wanted his parents.

The man started walking back on the same route which the child had taken. So he took the child
to the snake charmer. He asked him to listen to the nice music being played by the snake -
charmer. The child shut his ears with his fingers and screamed loudly that he wanted his parents.
The man took the child to the bright coloured balloons, hoping that he might get cheered by
seeing them. He offered a balloon to the child but he turned away and wept for father,

The man, still trying to make the child happy, bore him to the gate where the flower-seller sat.
“Look! Can you smell those nice flowers, child! Would you like a garland to put round your
neck?”

The child turned his nose away from the basket and reiterated his sob, “I want my mother, I want
my father!”

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!”

Bore: carried

Reiterated: repeated
Disconsolate: very unhappy and unable to be comforted
Charge: a person or thing entrusted to the care of someone

The man tried to make the child happy and took him to the flower seller. He asked him to smell
the fragrance of the flowers and offered him a garland.

The child refused to smell the flowers that he wanted to buy earlier because now, his priority
was to get his parents.

Finally, the man took him to the sweet meat seller and offered to buy sweets for him. Still, the
child did not want his favourite sweet but wanted his parents.