Chapter Overview

A Letter to God is a short story about Lencho, a poor but hardworking farmer whose crop is destroyed by a hailstorm. Having complete faith in God, he writes a letter asking God for money. The postmaster, moved by Lencho’s faith, collects money and sends it to him. However, Lencho thinks the post office employees have stolen part of the money. The story beautifully presents faith, innocence, kindness and irony.

Summary in English

Lencho was a hardworking farmer who lived with his family in a lonely house on the top of a hill. His field of ripe corn needed rain for a good harvest. One day, he saw clouds in the sky and hoped for rain. Soon, big drops of rain began to fall. Lencho became very happy and compared the raindrops to new coins because the rain meant a good crop and money for his family.

But his joy did not last long. The rain suddenly turned into a destructive hailstorm. Large hailstones fell for about an hour and ruined the entire cornfield. The field looked white as if covered with salt. Lencho was deeply saddened because all his hard work had been destroyed. He feared that his family would go hungry that year.

Still, Lencho had complete faith in God. He believed that God saw everything and would surely help him. The next Sunday, he wrote a letter to God asking for one hundred pesos so that he could sow his field again and support his family until the next crop came.

At the post office, the postman found the letter addressed to God and showed it to the postmaster. At first, they laughed, but the postmaster was deeply touched by Lencho’s faith. He decided to help Lencho without shaking his belief in God. He collected money from his employees, friends and even contributed from his own salary. However, he could collect only a little more than half of the amount.

The postmaster sent the money to Lencho and signed the letter as “God”. Lencho was not surprised to receive the money because he had full confidence that God would help him. But when he counted the money, he became angry because he had received only seventy pesos. He wrote another letter to God asking for the remaining amount. Ironically, he requested God not to send the money through the post office because he believed the post office employees were crooks.

सारांश हिंदी में

लेन्चो एक मेहनती किसान था जो अपने परिवार के साथ एक पहाड़ी पर बने अकेले घर में रहता था। उसके खेत में पकी हुई मक्के की फसल खड़ी थी और अच्छी उपज के लिए बारिश की आवश्यकता थी। एक दिन उसने आसमान में बादल देखे और बारिश की आशा की। थोड़ी देर बाद बारिश शुरू हुई। लेन्चो बहुत खुश हुआ और उसने बारिश की बूंदों को नए सिक्कों के समान बताया क्योंकि बारिश उसके लिए अच्छी फसल और धन का संकेत थी।

लेकिन उसकी खुशी अधिक देर तक नहीं रही। अचानक तेज हवा चली और बारिश ओलों में बदल गई। लगभग एक घंटे तक ओले गिरते रहे और पूरी फसल नष्ट हो गई। खेत सफेद दिखाई देने लगा, मानो उस पर नमक बिछा हो। लेन्चो बहुत दुखी हुआ क्योंकि उसकी सारी मेहनत बर्बाद हो चुकी थी। उसे डर था कि अब उसका परिवार भूखा रहेगा।

फिर भी लेन्चो का भगवान पर अटूट विश्वास था। उसे विश्वास था कि भगवान सब कुछ देखता है और उसकी सहायता अवश्य करेगा। अगले रविवार उसने भगवान को पत्र लिखा और सौ पेसो मांगे ताकि वह फिर से खेत बो सके और अगली फसल आने तक अपने परिवार का पालन-पोषण कर सके।

डाकघर में डाकिए ने भगवान के नाम लिखा पत्र देखा और उसे पोस्टमास्टर को दिखाया। पहले वे हंसे, लेकिन पोस्टमास्टर लेन्चो की आस्था से प्रभावित हुआ। उसने सोचा कि लेन्चो का भगवान पर विश्वास टूटना नहीं चाहिए। उसने अपने कर्मचारियों, मित्रों और अपनी तनख्वाह से कुछ पैसे इकट्ठे किए। फिर भी वह पूरी राशि नहीं जुटा सका और केवल सत्तर पेसो भेज पाया।

पोस्टमास्टर ने पैसे लेन्चो को भेजे और पत्र पर “God” लिखकर हस्ताक्षर किए। लेन्चो पैसे पाकर आश्चर्यचकित नहीं हुआ क्योंकि उसे भगवान पर पूरा भरोसा था। परंतु जब उसने पैसे गिने तो वह नाराज हो गया। उसे लगा कि बाकी पैसे डाकघर के कर्मचारियों ने चुरा लिए हैं। उसने भगवान को दूसरा पत्र लिखा और विनती की कि बाकी पैसे डाक से न भेजे जाएं क्योंकि डाकघर के कर्मचारी बेईमान हैं। यही कहानी की मुख्य विडंबना है।

Important Points to Form Answers

• Lencho was a hardworking farmer who depended completely on his crop.
• His house was the only house in the valley and stood on a low hill.
• Lencho hoped for rain because his cornfield needed water.
• He compared raindrops to coins because rain meant prosperity and a good harvest.
• The rain soon changed into a hailstorm and destroyed the crop completely.
• Lencho and his family became sorrowful because they feared hunger.
• Lencho had complete faith in God and believed that God saw everything.
• He wrote a letter to God asking for one hundred pesos.
• The postmaster was moved by Lencho’s faith and decided to help him.
• The postmaster collected money from employees, friends and his own salary.
• Only seventy pesos could be sent to Lencho.
• Lencho was not surprised to receive money because he trusted God completely.
• He became angry because he received less money than he had asked for.
• Lencho believed the post office employees had stolen the remaining money.
• The irony is that Lencho calls the helpful post office employees “crooks”.

Character Sketch

Difficult Words and Meanings

Important Question and Answers

Quick Revision Box

Final Conclusion

A Letter to God is a meaningful story that combines faith, innocence, humour and irony. Lencho’s trust in God is inspiring, but his inability to recognise human kindness makes the ending humorous and thought-provoking. The chapter teaches students the value of faith, compassion, gratitude and practical understanding.