Character sketch of Saheb-e-Alam ('Lost Spring' by Anees Jung))

 The author’s acquaintance with Saheb and many of his friends who are  barefoot  rag-pickers introduce her to Seemapuri.

Saheb is such a boy who picks up rags roaming street to street many with his friends, Saheb and his entire family live in Seemapuri, it is a slum area located on the periphery of Delhi. Though Saheb and his family have come from Bangladesh in 1971 while war as being refugees and they settled here forever. Saheb’s family is one among many rag-pickers in Seemapuri. The area consists of mud structures, with roof of tin and tarpaulin. Saheb roams barefoot with his friends; they appear like flight of birds in the morning and disappear till the afternoon. There are no facilities of sewage, drainage or 24 hours running water. About 10,000 rag-pickers live in Seemapuri.

Saheb has also many dreams like a common child but there is no one around him who could listen his sound of heart. He seems curious to have a pair of shoes. The shirt that he has worn looks discoloured. He looks for gold in the garbage dumps. Saheb works at a tea stall where he paid Rs 800 and all meals, though he doesn’t like to work but it is his compulsion. Saheb couldn’t be his own master anymore, as he ever used to be.
He adored roaming and picking up rags better than this work. Saheb is only the character of the exploitation of a child that reflects childlabour. it shows, there are millions like him who could never enjoy their childhood. Their dreams never come true. They lost their childhood and innocent dreams somewhere in this brutal world where no one feels from the heart like Saheb.