The Letter

Answer the following questions briefly:

Q1. Who was Ali ? Where did he go ?

Ans: Ali was an old coachman who was an expert hunter in his younger days. He went to the post office everyday for the past five years in the hope of receiving his daughter Miriam’s letter. She had married a soldier and had gone to Punjab.

Q2. ‘Ali display’s qualities of love and patience’. Give evidence from the story to support the statement.

Ans: Ali loved his daughter immensely. After she got married and went away, he became very lonely. He gave up hunting went to the post office everyday in anticipation of getting her letter. The bitter cold and the intense heat could not deter him from doing so. The people at the post office ridiculed him but he did not lose his patience and get angry or rebuke them.

Q3. How do you know Ali was a familiar figure at the post office?

Ans: Ali had been going to the post office daily for the last five years. He always occupied a particular seat in a particular corner of the building. The people at the post office had become accustomed to seeing him. They made fun of him and sometimes they called out his name just to see him jump and come to the door. He was a familiar figure at the post office.

Q4. Why did Ali give up hunting?

Ans: After his daughter Miriam got married and went away, Ali became very lonely. He understood the meaning of love and separation. He realized that the whole world is made up of love and the pain of separation is inescapable. From then on he gave up hunting as he could not enjoy the sport. The thought of separating the loved ones by killing animals or their young ones became unbearable.

Q5 What impression do you form of the post master after reading the story ‘The letter’?

Ans: The post master was a pompous government official. He had a face as sad and inexpressive as a pumpkin. An indifferent and insensitive man, he did not empathize with Ali. In fact he was rude to Ali and even called him a pest. It was only after his own daughter fell sick and he did not receive any news of her, he understood Ali’s pain and concern for his daughter. He also realized the true worth of letters. He changed from a haughty man to a loving father.

Q6. The post master says to Ali “What a pest you are, brother !”. Do you agree with the statement? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans. No, Ali was not a pest but the postmaster, who was a haughty man did not care to understand the loving heart of a father. He was irritated with Ali because he came to the post office daily and frequently asked for his daughter’s letter. The post master failed to recognize Ali’s love and anxiety for his only daughter.

 Q7 ‘Ali came out very slowly, turning after every few steps to gaze at the post office. His eyes were filled with tears of helplessness, for his patience was exhausted, even though he still had faith’.

Why were Ali’s eyes filled with tears of helplessness? What had exhausted his patience but not his faith?

Ans. Ali knew that his end was near and he would no longer be able to visit the post office to receive his daughter’s letter. The people at the post office did not understand his plight. They ridiculed and rebuked him. He felt helpless and tears filled his eyes. His patience was exhausted yet his love for his daughter gave him faith that she would write to him one day. That is why he gave five gold coins to Lakshmi Das told to deliver his daughter’s letter to his grave.

Q8 ‘The post office, one of the uninteresting buildings in the world, became his place of pilgrimage.’ Who is being referred to here? Why did he come to the post office? Why has the journey been described as pilgrimage?

Ans. Coachman Ali is being referred to here. He comes to the post office everyday in the anticipation of receiving his daughter’s letter. Pilgrimage is a journey taken to a religious place usually in the hope of finding salvation. Ali’s visit to the post office has been described as a pilgrimage because he braved all kinds of weather to come to the post office with the faith that he would receive his daughter’s letter.