The letter Summary for Class 10
Answers
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SUMMARY :-
Coachman Ali is very old and sick and has been regularly visiting the post office for the last five years. Unfavourable weather and failing health don’t deter him. He religiously visits the post office every day in the hope of receiving a letter from his daughter Miriam, his only child, who had got married to a soldier and left him. Getting a letter from Miriam becomes the most important mission for him and every day Ali is the first one to arrive and the last one to leave, but no letter ever comes for him. Everyday he goes back dejected and empty-handed. Everyone at the post office considers him mad and derives pleasure in tormenting him.
Coachman Ali had been a famous shikari and a crackshot in his yester-years. When Miriam left him and did not respond, he realised the pain of suffering and separation. So he gave up hunting altogether. One day Ali is in very bad physical condition and reaches the post office with great effort. This makes him impatient and an argument takes place with the postmaster. The postmaster has his own pre occupations, he becomes irritated and calls Ali ‘a pest’. Ali is humiliated, crestfallen but not bereft of hope. While leaving, Ali gives five guineas to Laxmi Das, the clerk, and extracts a promise from him that he will deliver Miriam’s letter to his grave.
Ali’s prediction proves true and he is not seen for some time. By a strange quirk of fate, the postmaster finds himself in a similar situation. His daughter is ill in another town and he has no information of her condition. He is eagerly waiting for his daughter’s letter, when he chances upon Miriam’s letter for her father. Since the postman is also suffering the pain of separation, he understands the value of a child’s letter for the father. Next morning he delivers the letter personally to Ali. He is later shocked to discover that Ali has been dead for the past three months. Laxmi Das, the clerk, recounts his last meeting with Ali and their suspicions are further confirmed to see Miriam’s letter lying near the door. To compensate for their bad treatment, both the postmaster and Laxmi Das visit Ali’s grave and place the letter on it.
This proves to be a very traumatic experience for the postmaster. He realises that letters are not just envelopes and postcards, but they have great human worth. The newly awakened father’s heart curses him for maltreating Ali. His only fate is now to wait for his daughter’s letter and spend another night in restless anxiety.
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THEME AND MESSAGE OF THE STORY :-
The theme and message of the story ‘The Letter’ is that sometimes the postmaster could not understand Ali’s plight till the time he himself experienced the same situation. There was a drastic change in his heart after his own daughter became unwell. He realised that letters are not just envelopes and postcards, but they have great human worth. The newly awakened father’s heart cursed him for maltreating Ali.
The story also depicts the unconditional love that parents have for their children.
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HOPE IT HELPS U !!!
CHEERS :))
# Nikky
‘The Letter’ written by Dhumaketu is the story of an old coachman whose daughter Miriam, married a soldier and went to live with him. Ali missed her and gave up hunting after he realized the pain of separation. Five years passed, but he kept on waiting for Miriam’s letter. He went to the nearby post-office daily in the hope of getting a letter from her. But no letter ever came for him. Rather the clerks and other officials made fun of him. They would call out his name in mischief and when Ali would go to the window they would laugh at him.
Ali used to feel bad about all this. The postman started taking him to be a mad man. But Ali, not bothering about all this, returned every day to the post-office just to hear a word from his daughter or about her well-being. Towards the end of his life, his ill-health prevented him from visiting the post-office daily.
He couldn’t breathe properly. So, one day, when he visited the post-office, he told one of the clerks to do him a favour by forwarding Miriam’s letter to his grave. He offered him five golden guineas for this. There were tears in his eyes. He was never seen after that and then nobody bothered to enquire about him. Time passed.
One day, the postmaster had a problem. His daughter, who lived in another town, fell ill. He anxiously waited for news of her but there was none. It was at this moment that he was reminded of Ali and his anxiety of getting a letter from his daughter.
This realisation made him truly repentant of his rude behaviour towards Ali. Meanwhile there was a letter addressed to Ali. He decided to hand over the letter to Ali himself at 4 o’clock. That night the postmaster could not sleep. At five, he heard a soft knock at the door. He opened the door only to find Ali standing there.
The postmaster handed him the letter. Ali immediately disappeared. Just then, Lakshmi Das, the clerk who had taken the guineas from Ali, came there and saw the postmaster talking to someone. He was astonished to hear Ali’s name and so informed the postmaster that Ali had died three months ago.
The postmaster could not believe this. That evening, both of them went to visit coachman Ali’s grave and placed the letter there. Now, the postmaster realised the value of human feelings and emotions in terms of letters and envelopes. Now, they were not mere postcards but much more than what anyone could realize.