The Lost Child

Chapter Notes & Summary

Recap: A child attends a spring fair with his parents, filled with excitement and drawn to various attractions like toys, sweets, and balloons. Despite his longing, he refrains from insisting on purchases, anticipating his parents’ refusal. As he becomes engrossed in the roundabout, he suddenly realizes his parents are gone, plunging him into panic and fear. A kind man tries to console him by offering all the things he had desired earlier – a ride, snake-charmer’s music, balloons, flowers, and sweets – but the lost child now only yearns for his mother and father, losing all interest in the fair’s attractions.

Detailed Notes with Subtopics:

Journey to the Fair and Early Attractions
- It was the festival of spring, and people emerged from narrow lanes and alleys “gaily clad”.
- Some walked, some rode horses, others were carried in bamboo and bullock carts.
- A little boy ran excitedly between his father’s legs, “brimming over with life and laughter”.
- He often “lagged behind”, fascinated by toys in shops lining the way.
- His feet were “obedient to their call” to hurry, but his eyes “lingering on the receding toys”.
- He pleaded for a toy, but knew his father’s “old, cold stare of refusal”.
- His father looked “red-eyed, in his familiar tyrant’s way”.
- His mother, however, was “tender” and distracted him with a flowering mustard-field.
- He chased dragonflies and bees in the mustard field.
- His mother called him to the footpath, and he walked abreast of them for a while.
- He was then attracted by small insects and worms “teeming out from their hiding places to enjoy the sunshine”.
- His parents called him from a grove, where he gathered raining petals, forgetting them.
- Hearing doves cooing, he ran towards his parents, shouting, “The dove! The dove!”, dropping the petals.
- His parents then gathered him from “wild capers round the banyan tree” and took a narrow, winding footpath to the fair.
Attractions at the Fair (Before getting lost)
- As they neared the village, the child saw footpaths “full of throngs, converging to the whirlpool of the fair”.
- He felt “at once repelled and fascinated by the confusion”.
- A sweetmeat seller hawked “gulab-jaman, rasagulla, burfi, jalebi”.
- The child’s “mouth watered” for burfi, his favorite sweet, and he “slowly murmured”, “I want that burfi”.
- He knew his plea would not be heeded, as his parents would say he was greedy, so he moved on.
- A flower-seller hawked “A garland of gulmohur”.
- The child was “irresistibly drawn” and “half murmured”, “I want that garland”, but knew his parents would refuse, saying they were cheap, so he moved on.
- A man held a pole with yellow, red, green, and purple balloons.
- The child was “carried away by the rainbow glory” and felt an “overwhelming desire to possess them all”.
- He knew his parents would say he was “too old” for such toys, so he walked on.
- A snake-charmer played a flute to a coiled snake, whose head was raised “like the neck of a swan”.
- The child went towards the snake-charmer but knew his parents had “forbidden him to hear such coarse music”, so he “proceeded farther”.
- He then saw a “roundabout in full swing”, with people “shrieked and cried with dizzy laughter”.
- He made a “bold request”: “I want to go on the roundabout, please, Father, Mother”.
Realization of Being Lost and Panic
- There was “no reply” to his request.
- He turned and found his parents were “not there, ahead of him”, nor on either side, nor behind him.
- A “full, deep cry rose within his dry throat”, and he ran, crying in “real fear”, “Mother, Father”.
- Tears rolled down his eyes, “hot and fierce”; his “flushed face was convulsed with fear”.
- “Panic-stricken”, he ran “hither and thither in all directions, knowing not where to go”, wailing “Mother, Father”.
- His turban came untied and clothes became muddy.
- After running “to and fro in a rage of running”, his cries “suppressed into sobs”.
- Through his “filmy eyes”, he saw men and women talking, but no sign of his parents.
- He ran to a crowded shrine, pushing through people’s legs, his sob “lingering”: “Mother, Father!”.
- Near the temple entrance, the crowd was “very thick”, with “heavy men, with flashing, murderous eyes and hefty shoulders”.
- He “struggled to thrust a way” and “might have been trampled underfoot” if he hadn’t “shrieked at the highest pitch of his voice”, “Father, Mother!”.
The Kind Man’s Attempts to Console
- A man in the “surging crowd” heard his cry, lifted him up, and asked, “How did you get here, child? Whose baby are you?”.
- 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, offering a ride on the roundabout, but the child’s “throat tore into a thousand shrill sobs”.
- He took the child to the snake-charmer, suggesting, “Listen to that nice music, child!”, but the child “shut his ears” and shouted, “I want my mother, I want my father!”.
- The man offered a “rainbow-coloured balloon”, but the child “turned his eyes from the flying balloons and just sobbed”, “I want my mother, I want my father!”.
- He then took the child to the flower-seller, suggesting, “Can you smell those nice flowers, child! Would you like a garland to put round your neck?”.
- The child turned his nose away and “reiterated his sob”, “I want my mother, I want my father!”.
- Finally, thinking to “humour his disconsolate charge” with sweets, the man took him to the sweet shop, offering “What sweets would you like, child?”.
- The child turned his face from the sweet shop and “only sobbed”, “I want my mother, I want my father!”.

Important Vocabulary:

gaily clad: dressed in bright and cheerful clothes
brimming over with: full of; overflowing with
lagged behind: moved more slowly than others
lingering on: remaining for a long time
receding: moving back or away
suppress: to forcibly stop something
tyrant’s way: like a cruel and oppressive ruler
tender: gentle and loving
swept across: moved quickly over an area
bustling about: moving around in an energetic and busy manner
gaudy: extravagantly bright or showy, typically tasteless
intercepting: obstructing (someone or something) so as to prevent them from continuing to a destination
still its wings: make its wings motionless
fluttering: flying unsteadily or hovering by flapping the wings quickly and lightly
flapping: moving (its wings) up and down
cautionary call: a warning call
abreast of: alongside or level with
teeming out: emerging in large numbers
grove: a small wood, orchard, or group of trees
lo!: (archaic or poetic) used to draw attention to something surprising or impressive
cooing: (of a dove or pigeon) making a soft, murmuring sound
wild capers: playful and lively movements or dances
throngs: large, densely packed crowds of people or animals
converging: tending to meet at a point
whirlpool: a powerful circular current of water; here, metaphorically, a place of intense activity
repelled: driven or forced back or away
fascinated: strongly attracted and interested
hawked: sold goods, typically by shouting them out in the street
architecture: (here) a tall, structured display
murmured: said something in a low or soft voice
plea: an urgent request
heeded: paid attention to; taken notice of
irresistibly drawn: attracted so strongly that it cannot be resisted
overwhelming: very great or intense
snake-charmer: a person who entertains by charming snakes
rippling: (of a sound) forming or moving in small waves
forbidden: ordered someone not to do something
coarse music: rough or unrefined music
roundabout: a rotating amusement ride
shrieked: uttered a high-pitched piercing cry or sound
dizzy laughter: laughter that makes one feel slightly unbalanced or giddy
intently: with eager attention
bold request: a brave or daring demand
jerk: a quick, sharp, sudden movement
flushed: (of a person’s skin or face) red and hot, typically as the result of illness or strong emotion
convulsed with fear: shaking uncontrollably due to intense fear
panic-stricken: affected by extreme panic
hither and thither: in various directions; here and there
wailed: gave a long, mournful cry, typically one indicating pain or distress
to and fro: backwards and forwards
rage of running: an intense burst of running
suppressed: held back; restrained
sobs: broken cries; sniffling sounds
filmy eyes: eyes covered with a film of tears or tiredness
congested: crowded; blocked up with too many people or things
jostled: pushed, elbowed, or bumped against (someone) roughly
hefty shoulders: strong and broad shoulders
thrust a way: pushed or forced a path
trampled underfoot: trodden on and crushed
highest pitch of his voice: the highest note or level of his voice
surging crowd: a crowd that is moving rapidly and forcefully
stooping: bending the body forwards and downwards
steered clear of: avoided
mass: a large number of people or things
soothe: gently calm (a person or their feelings)
approached the ring: came near the circular area (of the roundabout)
throat tore into a thousand shrill sobs: his throat produced many loud, high-pitched cries
swaying: moving or swinging slowly from side to side
double-pitched strain: a cry with two distinct, high notes, indicating extreme distress
distract: to draw away the attention of
persuasively: in a way that convinces someone to do or believe something
bore him to: carried him to
reiterated: said again or repeated (something typically a statement) for emphasis or clarity
humour: to please or indulge (someone)
disconsolate charge: a person (here, the child) who is very unhappy and cannot be comforted

Grammar Focus:

No explicit grammar concepts or exercises were detailed in the provided text for this chapter.

Phrases/Idioms:

red-eyed: having red eyes, often from anger or tiredness
on the brink of suicide: (This phrase is from “The Little Girl” but appears in the provided context for general recall by Gemini, not specific to “The Lost Child”.)
brimming over with life and laughter: full of vitality and joy
old, cold stare of refusal: a familiar, stern look indicating disapproval or denial
mouth watered: to produce saliva in the mouth in anticipation of food
carried away by: overcome by strong feeling or enthusiasm
in full swing: at the peak of activity
dizzy laughter: laughter that causes a feeling of unsteadiness or giddiness
dry throat: a throat that is parched or hoarse, often from crying or fear
convulsed with fear: shaking uncontrollably due to intense fear
panic-stricken: affected by extreme panic
hither and thither: in various directions; here and there
to and fro: backwards and forwards
rage of running: an intense, uncontrolled burst of running
suppressed into sobs: held back or controlled until they became broken cries
filmy eyes: eyes blurred by tears
for the sake of: for the purpose or benefit of
every little inch of space: every tiny bit of area
flashing, murderous eyes: eyes that gleam in a threatening or fierce way
hefty shoulders: strong and broad shoulders
trampled underfoot: crushed by being stepped on
highest pitch of his voice: the loudest or highest sound he could make
surging crowd: a large, moving crowd
tore into a thousand shrill sobs: his throat emitted a great many piercing cries
shut his ears: covered his ears to block out sound
double-pitched strain: a crying sound with two high notes, indicating extreme distress
turned his nose away from: moved his nose away, indicating disinterest or disgust