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Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Saheb-e-Alam, whose name means 'lord of the universe', scrounges every morning for gold in the garbage dumps of Delhi's neighbourhoods. He came as a child from Dhaka, where storms had swept away his family's fields. He now lives in Seemapuri, a settlement on the periphery of Delhi but miles away from it metaphorically. Ten thousand ragpickers live in Seemapuri in mud structures with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, with no sewage or running water. They have ration cards but no permits. 'Food is more important for survival than an identity,' the author notes. To Saheb's parents garbage is a means of survival; to the children, the author observes, it is wrapped in wonder, for a stray rupee or a ten-rupee note can light up their eyes. One winter morning the author finds Saheb watching young men play tennis behind a club fence. He is wearing discarded tennis shoes — even shoes with a hole are 'a dream come true' for one who has walked barefoot. Later Saheb takes a job at a tea stall for Rs 800 a month and meals. His face, the author notes, has lost the carefree look; the steel canister he now carries belongs to the shop owner. Saheb is no longer his own master. Adapted from Anees Jung, 'Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood'. Q5. When Saheb takes the tea-stall job, the author observes that he has lost his 'carefree look'. The BEST reading of this is that

ASaheb misses school
BSaheb is enjoying his new responsibilities
CThe author is wrong; nothing has changed
DAlthough he now earns wages and meals, he has also lost his independence — the canister belongs to the owner, and Saheb is no longer his own master
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Although he now earns wages and meals, he has also lost his independence — the canister belongs to the owner, and Saheb is no longer his own master
The passage closes on this turn: 'The bag was his. The canister belongs to the man who owns the tea shop. Saheb is no longer his own master!' Economic stability has been bought at the price of dignity and freedom.
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