NCERT English Moments Class 9 Chapter 1 - The Lost Child

Chapter 1 - The Lost Child

Writer of the Story - Mulk Raj Anand
Question and Answers
Question 1: What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?
Answer: The child sees toys, flowering mustard-field, dragon flies, butterflies, doves, a huge crowd of people entering the fair, sweet shops, garlands of gulmohur, rainbow color balloons, a snake charmer and a roundabout swing.
He lags behind because he is fascinated by the things that he sees on the way to the fair. His parents repeatedly call him so that he doesn’t get lost in the crowd. He would stop at the shops and wishes to get them and sometimes would be amazed at the beauty of nature. 

Question 2: In the fair he wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without waiting for an answer?
Answer: Things that he wanted are
• Toys
• Sweets like burfi
• Garland of gulmohur
• Balloons
• Watching the snake dancing at the tune of snake charmer
• Ride in roundabout
He moves on without waiting for an answer because he knows that his parent would say that he was too greedy, or they were too cheap, or he was too old to play with them. 

Question 3: When does he realise that he has lost his way? How have his anxiety and insecurity been described?
Answer: When the child saw the roundabout, he made a bold request to his parents to go to the roundabout. But there was no response from his parents. When he turned to look at them, he couldn’t find them. This is how he realized that he had lost his way.
His anxiety and insecurity have been described in a very heart-warming way. When he realizes that he has lost his way, a deep cry rises within his dry throat and with a sudden jerk of his body, he runs away here and there. His face is filled with fear and eyes of full of tears. He runs in search of his parents in all the possible directions crying, “Mother, Father”.

Question 4: Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?
Answer: The lost child loses his interest in the things that he had wanted earlier because the only thing that he wants at that moment is his parents. He is panic-stricken and he just wants to be united with them again.

Question 5: What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?
Answer: The lost child would have found his parents. While the child was lost, his parents would also have searched for him when they would have realized that he is not with them. The gentleman who was trying to comfort the child might have also asked for the description of his parents and would have looked around for them. Finally, the child would have been united with his parents.