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1. THE LOST CHILD
MULK RAJ ANAND

2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mulk Raj Anand was one of the first Indian writers who wrote in
English and gained popularity at an international scale. He
produced a remarkable body of work that contains several short
stories, novels and essays. Anand was born in Peshawar and
his father was a coppersmith. Anand was a highly educated
man; he graduated with honours from Punjab university and
then went to university college, London.
He first gained popularity for his novels, ‘Untouchable and
Coolie’. Among his other notable works is a trilogy consisting of
‘The Village, Across the black waters and the Sword and the
Sickle’. Through his empathetic portrayal of the lives of the
common Indian people, he provided stark social commentaries
on the structures of society. Anand is regarded as one of the
founding figures of Indian English literature.

3. CENTRAL IDEA OF THE STORY
The story is set in an Indian village around the time of independence. Set during
springtime, the story offers a look into a period of time in history when changing
seasons were celebrated with fairs, which offered simple pleasures like the
sweetmeat seller, the flower seller, the snake charmer, a balloon seller, etc. The
time period is emphasised further by mention of the modes of transportation, such
as people riding on horses on the roads, while others rode in the bamboo and
bullock carts.

4. THEME OF THE STORY
The underlying theme of the story “The Lost Child” is the universality of
a child's desire for everything that he claps his eyes on. All that
the child witnesses—from the toys lining the street, to the dragon flies in the
mustard field, to the snake swaying to the tunes of a snake charmer's pungi—
obsesses the child.
He looks at everything in wonder, his senses almost rejoicing at being alive. His
parents on the other hand make him abstain him from the lures of the illusionary
world as if secretly knowing that what he needs most is something else entirely.
They offer a quiet reminder that the child must learn to prioritise what is important
and what is not in life.

5. MESSAGE
The story highlights the value of relationships over material goods. The child
realises the true value of his parents once he is separated from them. It also
sheds light on the universal fear of children and parents of getting separated from
one another and the result of such a calamity as seen from the eyes of a little
child.

6. RELEVANCE OF THE TITLE
The title beautifully captures the reactions of the child to the world around him
before and after he is lost.
The lesson is about an event that takes place in the life of a child who gets lost in
a fair. It expresses the fears, anxieties and worries of this very young child who is
separated from his parents due to his fascination with the world around him.
When he gets lost and separated from his parents, however, his fascination with
the world around is also lost.

7. CONTENT ANALYSIS
‘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.
It was the season of spring. The people of the village came out of their houses, in colourful
attire and walked towards the fair. A child along with his parents was going to the fair and was
very excited and happy. He was attracted to the stalls of toys and sweets. Though, his father
got angry but his mother pacified him and diverted his attention towards other things. The child
moved forward but once again lagged behind because his eyes were caught by one thing or
the other every now and then.

8. CONTENT ANALYSIS - CONTINUED…
As they moved forward, the child wanted the various things on the stalls. His mouth watered seeing
sweets decorated with gold and silver leaves. He wanted his favourite burfi but knowing that his parents
would refuse on the ground that he was greedy, he walked ahead. Then he saw beautiful garlands of
gulmohur but didn’t ask for it, then he saw balloons but he knew very well that his parents would deny
due to the fact that he was too old to play with balloons, so he walked away.
Then he saw a snake charmer and a roundabout swing. As he stopped to ask his parents for permission
to enjoy the swing, to his astonishment, there was no reply. Neither his father nor his mother was there.
Now the child realized that he was lost. He ran here and there but could not find them. The place was
overcrowded. He got terrified but suddenly a kind hearted man took him up in his arms and consoled the
bitterly weeping child. He asked if he would like to have a joyride but the child sobbed “I want my father,
I want my mother.” The man offered him sweets, balloons and garland but the child kept sobbing “I want
my father, I want my mother.”

9. CHARACTER SKETCH – THE PARENTS
The father of the child appears to be a strict disciplinarian who does not give into the demands
of the child for toys and sweets. He is the head of the family and both his wife and child do not
question his decisions. In fact he seems to be leading the family, expecting them to follow him
without dawdling.
The mother has been described as a typical loving mother who tries to soften the
disappointment of the child by diverting his attention from the objects that he wants to possess.
She seems to be torn between her husband and her child as she struggles to keep pace with
her husband and at the same time keep her child from straying. At some point her attention
seemed to have wavered, when her child gets separated from her.

10. CHARACTER SKETCH – THE CHILD
The child is very young and full of joy and excitement at the thought of visiting the fair.
He is attracted by all the sights and sounds of the fair. Like all children of his age, he
wants whatever catches his fancy, whether a sweetmeat or a dragonfly. He is however
quite obedient and disciplined as he does not throw tantrum when his parents don’t
give him any of the things that he demands. In the end he dissolves into tears as he
realizes that he has lost his parents and makes a valiant effort to look for them, almost
getting trampled underfoot by the people at the temple before he is rescued by a
stranger. The same things that he had desired a little while ago lose all meaning when
he gets separated from his parents.

11. CHARACTER SKETCH – THE STRANGER
The stranger appears to be a kind hearted man who rescues the lost child from under
the feet of people thronging outside the temple. He tries hard to stop the child from
weeping by offering him all the goodies at the fair and appears to be genuinely
concerned to restore the child to his parents.

12. ASSET QUESTIONS
1. The synonym of ‘trembled’ is ---------------
a) Slithered
b) Convulsed
c) Glided
d) Slipped
2. The antonym for the word ‘free’ is ---------------
a) Congested
b) Closed
c) Crammed
d) Packed

13. ASSET QUESTIONS
3. Men jostled each other. The word jostled here means._________.
a) Greeted
b) Bumped against
c) Helped
d) Prostrated in front of
4. Mustard field pale like melting gold. The figure of speech used here is______
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Personification
d) Repetition

14. ASSIGNMENT
Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words.
1. When the boy reached near the fair, how did the fair appear and how did he react?
2. What was the situation of the child near the shrine?
3. What happened when the boy was taken to the sweet seller’s shop?

15. ASSIGNMENT
Answer the following questions in about 40-50 words.
1. After running to and fro, how did the boy search for his parents?
2. What shock did the boy experience after making his desire for the roundabout?
3. What had been the feelings of the boy about the flower-seller? How did he know
that his parents wouldn’t show any interest?

16. ASSIGNMENT
Answer the following questions in about 100-120 words.
1. Imagine yourself to have been lost in a crowded market in an unfamiliar place. After
a frantic search you were able to unite with your parents. Express your emotions
and feelings in the form of a diary entry.