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Ali used to visit the post-office everyday. He had been visiting the place for many years with the hope that one fine day he would receive a letter from his only daughter, Miriam. 

Letters and envelopes are not merely dead pieces of paper. They are the living documents of human love and concern. Who else but Ali can explain it well, who, through out the whole story, kept on waiting for his daughter Miriam’s letter. He even gave up hunting as, after his daughter’s marriage, he realized the essence of love and the pangs of separation. These pangs of separation transformed even the postmaster who could also understand the agony of a separated father when he himself waited for his sick daughter’s letter. Only a man with a father’s heart can understand the anxiety and worry of another father separated from his child. The whole story revolves around the letter which both the postmaster and Ali waited for. Ali gave five gold guineas to Lakshmi Das to deliver his letter at his grave, after his death telling us the importance of Miriam’s letter. Thus, due importance must be given to letters and they should not be treated as mere pieces of paper. We must realize the value of relations.

Value Points : 

Always respect the feelings of others.

We must not disrespect and contempt the feelings of others. 

In this chapter Coachman Ali’s daughter got married and left him.

At this moment he understands the meaning of love and separation, which he doesn’t when he was a clever hunter.

Everyone in the post office laughs at him/mocks at him.

Postmaster also behaves rudely with him and times he call him ‘a pest’.

When he suffers with the same suffering and pain, he realizes his mistakes and regrets for his bad act.

Then he wishes to help Ali.

Detailed Answer : 

The statement ‘Only the bearer knows where the shoe pinches’ relates aptly to the story ‘The letter’, which is a good example of the Karma theory. We should always respect the feelings of others and not disrespect and contempt the feeling of others. In ‘The Letter’ the protagonist’, Ali’s daughter got married and left him. His life turned over a new leaf. The man (Ali) who was a skilful hunter changed his way of life and waited day in and day out for a letter from Miriam, his daughter. He went to the post office everyday where the postmaster and the postmen made fun of him. They called him ‘a pest. But a day came, when the postmaster’s daughter got ill. He also went through the same pain when he waited for his daughter’s letter. He realised Ali’s anguish and pain. He regretted for having made fun of Ali. He wished to help Ali. So when finally one day Miriam’s letter arrived, the postmaster went with Lakshmi Das, the clerk, to deliver the letter on his grave. Realisation came late to the postmaster but the shoe really pinched him when he himself went through the same pain and suffering which Ali had undergone.

ABC Lane

Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur 

18 May 20××

Dear friend,

Today,

I would like to tell you about coachman Ali’s life story which will definitely bring tears to your eyes. A man who died grieving for his daughter and spent many years endlessly waiting for a letter from her. Coachman Ali was a clever shikari who was not able to pass even a day without hunting. But in the later half of his life, he left his old ways and his life took a new turn, when his only child Miriam got married and left him. For five years, he had no news of her. He now understood the meaning of love and separation. Whenever he waited for his daughter Miriam’s letter outside the post-office, the employees of the office laughed at him and called him a mad man, but he remained undeterred. He became unwell and knew that his end was near. Therefore, he handed over five gold coins to a clerk at the post-office and told him to deliver Miriam’s letter to him at his grave. When a letter for Ali arrived, the clerk, true to his promise, went to Ali’s grave to deliver Miriam’s letter. It is a story of an ordinary man who died waiting endlessly with no one to understand his grief and loneliness. 

Abu

Ali asked the postmaster to write down Miriam’s name in his register as it could be useful when a letter should come from her. The postmaster was annoyed at Ali’s ignorance as Miriam’s name was of not any significance to anyone except her father – coachman Ali.

Coachman Ali gambles and drinks in his younger days without caring for his family. It is only when his daughter runs away that he realizes his mistake. Life turns over a new leaf and he waits day in and day out for a letter from her which never comes. Finally, when the letter does come, he is no longer alive.

The postmaster makes fun of Ali. When his own daughter is ill and he gets no news of her, he realizes Ali’s pain and anguish. He feels sorry for having made fun of Ali. When the letter comes, he decides to deliver it himself and make personal amends for his behaviour but it is too late as Ali is no more. 

Ali was a loving father, always expecting a letter from his daughter who lived with her husband after marriage. For the last five years, he had got no news of his daughter. He went to the post-office everyday to enquire if there was a letter from her. This shows that he was an embodiment of love and patience.

17 July 20××

11 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Today, we had gone to deliver Miriam’s much awaited letter to Ali. But unfortunately, the letter was delivered to Ali’s grave. I am in a position to understand Ali’s concern and anxiety. My newly-awakened father’s heart is reproaching me for having failed to comprehend Ali’s misery. I have now realized the value of each letter and will never again view them merely as envelopes and postcards. My heart is filled with compassion and regret at having rebuked Ali so much that I actually visualised seeing Ali enter the post-office even though he has been dead for the past three months. I think, I will spend the rest of my life repenting my callous attitude at not having understood a person’s pain, helplessness and misery.

15 September 20××

10 p.m.

Dear Diary,

After meeting Lakshmi Das and giving him five golden guineas, I am feeling relieved now. I only wish that he will deliver Miriam’s letter at my grave. What a miserable life I have led for the last five years. Being a staunch lover of humanity, I realised that the whole universe is made up of love and the grief of separation is inescapable. After the marriage of my daughter Miriam, I have realized what separation is. I have not got any letter from her for the past five years. I wanted to tell her and show her that I have changed. I have left hunting since the day of her marriage. I wanted to tell her how much I love her. So, I became a routine visitor to the post-office in order to receive news of my own daughter, though I was called names like ‘pest’, ‘mad person’, etc. But I never minded and waited for the letter. The postmen made fun of me. The postmaster scolded me but I still had hope for the letter. A father’s heart will always miss his daughter, even though I was always humiliated by everyone in the post-office. Now, I sense my last days are approaching. I have given five golden guineas to the clerk Lakshmi Das and requested him to put my letter on my grave when it arrives. Ultimately, I have to leave for my heavenly abode believing that the letter will come, though after my death.

May God bless you Miriam.

Ali gave him five golden coins and told him that his death was very near. He had neither seen Miriam nor had he received her letter. He told the clerk to keep Miriam’s letter, when it came, on his grave. 

Lakshmi Das was one of the employees of the post-office. Convinced by his faith that he would receive a letter from his daughter, Ali gave Lakshmi Das five golden guineas to deliver the letter at his grave, when it came because he knew that his end was near.

18 June 20×× 

10 p.m.

Dear Diary,

What a situation it was when Ali pestered me to take the money only to deliver the letter at his grave as he felt that the end of his life was near. I saw tears in his eyes but not his emotions and feelings. I was happy to get the golden coins and put them into my pocket. After giving me the coins, Ali was never seen again. Later I came to know that he was no more as he did not visit the post-office for a long time. I realized that I was wrong. I could not understand a father’s feelings for his only daughter. I was one of the officials who always made fun of him and spoke rudely to him, called him a pest and misbehaved with him. But now I am regretting my misconduct towards him. My conscience has awakened. I realize that he used to come just to seek his daughter Miriam’s letter but we treated him badly.

I had to keep the promise made to him and I put the letter on his grave as promised. I feel a sense of fulfilment within myself and I will write a letter to his daughter.

Lakshmi Das

(a) Ali came to the post-office in the hope of finding a letter from Miriam.

(b) Ali stopped coming to the post-office because he had not been keeping good health.

(c) All were curious to know because he had been a regular visitor and now had stopped coming to the post office altogether.

(d) eager.

Value Points : Old and lonely, no happiness, desperately longed for a letter from his daughter. People insulted and ridiculed him.

Detailed Answer : Ali was an old man who lived a life of loneliness. There was no happiness in his life. His only daughter had shifted to Punjab after getting married and he desperately longed for a letter from her. People at the post-office insulted him, and ridiculed him but he paid no attention to them. He only wanted a letter from his daughter. It seemed that the only aim of his existence was to get a letter from his daughter which came only after his death. He didn’t receive it while he was alive and thus led a cheerless life.

(a) The speaker here is Ali.

(b) He had been a hunter and was known for his expertise in killing but now when he is away from his own daughter he realizes this philosophy.

(c) The pain of separation.

(d) Something that can’t be avoided/prevented. 

(a) Coachman Ali.

(b) He went to the post-office daily despite the bitter cold and waited for a letter from his only child, Miriam.

(c) His love for his daughter and faith that she would write to him gave him strength to bear the bitter cold.

(d) hate

(a) The speaker here is Ali.

(b) He had been a hunter and was known for his expertise in killing but now when he is separated from his own daughter he realized this philosophy.

(c) The pain of separation.

(d) It is the love for his daughter Miriam that has changed the speaker. Now, he no longer hunts. 

Ali had lost the zeal to do anything after his daughter got married and shifted to Punjab. He realized how sad life was and he gave up hunting. His only aim in life now was coming to the post-office like a pilgrimage and in the hope of collecting his letter.

(a) ‘He’ refers to coachman Ali.

(b) It refers to old age of Ali.

(c) Ali had been a hunter but later he stopped ‘his old ways’ i.e., he stopped hunting animals.

(d) He took a new turn as he had realized the meaning of love and separation. 

(a) optimism.

(b) went there with faith and hope.

(c) five years ago.

(d) Looking at.

(a) The old man was the coachman Ali.

(b) He was shivering because it was very cold. 

(c) He was going to the post office.

(d) Walked unsteadily/walked slowly.

When Ali’s only daughter, Miriam, married and went away, he relised the pain of separation and understood loneliness and grief. It had been five years and he was anxious to receive a letter - news of well-being from his daughter. So he would visit the post-office daily, as a ritual in the hope of receiving a letter from Miriam.

Ali was a sure shot. He realized the pain of separation on being separated from his daughter. So, he gave up hunting as he could no longer bear the thought of children being separated from their parents.

Value points :

Hoping to receive a letter from his daughter Miriam, Ali regularly went to the post office every day as if it was a religious duty. It shows Ali’s deep love and affection for his only daughter.

Detailed Answer :

Ali went to the post office daily in the hope of receiving a letter from his daughter Miriam. He felt as if it was his religious duty to go there. This trait of Ali shows his deep love and affection for his daughter Miriam.

Ali went to the post-office daily. He was the first one to be there, people knew him and laughed at him, called out his name and enjoyed seeing him jump.

Ali was a hunter. When Ali sighted the earth-brown partridge, the poor bird was as good as in his bag - his sharp eyes would spot the hare crouching in a yellow-brown shrub and in another moment it was dead, even the best hunting dogs would fail, but Ali never missed to notice game nor did he ever miss his mark.

Ali was a sure shot. He realized the pain of separation on being separated from his daughter. So, he gave up hunting as he could no longer bear the thought of children being separated from their parents.

(a) The old man was coachman Ali.

(b) He intended to go to the post-office in the hope of hearing from his daughter.

(c) The poor man was ill-clad and his tattered clothes couldn’t protect him from the biting cold. Still defying the weather he held his clothes tight and continued walking.

(d) Ali’s defiant attitude towards the unfavourable weather highlights his firm determination and immense willpower.

Ali had been a hunter earlier. He had one daughter who got married to a soldier and left Ali. There was no news of her for five years. Ali became lonely and suffered from the pangs of love and separation. He gave up hunting. He always expected a letter from his daughter Miriam and regularly went to the post-office to look for her letter.

(a) Coachman Ali. 

(b) To the post-office.

(c) He is going there to check if his daughter has sent him a letter.

(d) He is determined and does not stop even in the face of physical discomfort.