Lesson 1 – Letter to God
Textbook Pg. No. 5
Q1. What did Lencho hope for ?
लैंचो किस बात की आशा कर रहा था?
Ans. Lencho hoped for the rain for his crop field,
लैंचो अपने खेत की फसल के लिए बारिश की आशा कर रहा था।
Q2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
लैंचो ने बारिश की बूंदों को नये सिक्के जैसा क्यों कहा?
Ans. Lencho’s crop was ready for harvest. As raindrops would have helped in getting a better harvest, resulting in more prosperity, Lencho compared them with new coins.
लैंचो की फसल पकने को तैयार थी। बारिश होने से अच्छी फसल होने की उम्मीद होती जिससे कि सुख समृद्धि आती, इसलिए लैंचो ने इन्हें नये सिक्के कहा।
Q3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields ?
बारिश कैसे बदल गयी ? लैंचो के खेतों का क्या हाल हुआ?
Ans. The rain was pouring down but suddenly a strong wind began to blow and very large hailstones began to fall along with the rain. All the corn in Lencho’s field was destroyed.
अच्छी बारिश हो रही थी पर अचानक तेज हवाएँ चलने लगी और बारिश के साथ बड़े-बड़े ओले भी गिरने लगे। लैंचो के खेत की सारी मकई की फसल बरबाद हो गयी।
Q4. What were Lenchos’ feelings when the hail stopped?
जब ओले गिरना बन्द हो गये तब लैंचो की क्या भावनाएँ थी।
Ans. After the hailstorm stopped, Lencho was extremely disheartened and his soul was filled with immense sadness
ओलों का तूफान रुकने के बाद लैंचो अत्यधिक निराश था और उसकी अंतरआत्मा गहरे अवसाद (सदमा) से भर गयी।
Textbook Pg. No. 6
Q1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in ? What did hedo?
लैंचो को किसमें आस्था थी? उसने क्या किया ?
Ans. Lencho had faith in God. He believed that God’s eyes see everything. He decided to write a letter to God conveying his grievances and asking for 100 pesos for his crops and his family.
लैंचो को ईश्वर पर गहरी आस्था थी। उसे विश्वास था कि ईश्वर सब कुछ देख सकते हैं। उसने ईश्वर को पत्र लिखने का निर्णय लिया। पत्र के माध्यम से अपना दुख (शिकायतें) बताया और ईश्वर से अपनी फसल और अपने परिवार के लिए 100 पीसो भेजने को कहा।
Q2. Who read the letter?
पत्र किसने पढ़ा?
Ans. The postmaster read the letter.
पोस्टमास्टर ने पत्र पढ़ा।
Q3. What did the postmaster do then ?
फिर पोस्टमास्टर ने क्या किया?
Ans. The postmaster first laughed but then he became serious. He was deeply moved by Lencho’s faith in God. He did not want to shake his faith so he decided to collect the money for him from his friends and colleagues.
पहले तो पोस्टमास्टर हँसा फिर वह गम्भीर हो गया। लैंचो की ईश्वर में इतनी आस्था देखकर वह द्रवित हो गया। वह नहीं चाहता था कि लैंचो का ईश्वर पर से विश्वास टूटे अतः उसने निर्णय लिया कि वह उसके लिए अपने मित्रों व सहकर्मियों से पैसे जमा करेगा।
Textbook Pg. No.7
Q1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it ?
क्या लैंचो को पैसों के साथ अपने लिए पत्र पाकर आश्चर्य हुआ?
Ans. No loncho was not at all surprised to see the letter tiom God with money inside it His confidence and faith in Clod was such that he had expected that reply from God.
नहीं. लैंचो को पैसों के साथ पार पाकर ज़रा भी आश्चर्य उसका भात्मविश्वास और ईश्वर की प्रति इतनी आस्था थी कि उसे ईश्वर से ऐसे ही उत्तर की आशा थी।
Q2. What made him angry?
किस बात से वह (लैंचो) नाराज हो गया ?
Ans. Lencho was angry when he found that the money in the envelope was less than what he had asked for.
लैंचो ने जब देखा कि जितने पैसे उसने माँगे थे लिफाफे में उससे कम थे, वह बहुत नाराज़ हो गया।
Thinking about the Text
Q1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in ? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
लैंचो को किस पर पूर्ण विश्वास था ? इस कहानी में कौन से वाक्य इस बात को दर्शाते हैं ?
Ans. Lencho has complete faith in God. These lines in the story are evident to this fact :
(1) But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope : help from God.
(2) All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope : the help of god.
(3) “God,” he wrote, If you dont help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.
(4) God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.
लैंचो को ईश्वर पर पूरा विश्वास है। कहानी की निम्न पंक्तियों से इसका प्रमाण मिलता है।
(1) पर जितने भी लोग घाटी के बीच में बने इकलौते घर में रहते थे, उनके दिलों में एक उम्मीद थी : ईश्वर से मदद।
(2) रात भर लैंचो अपनी एक ही उम्मीद के बारे में सोचता रहा-ईश्वर से मदद।
(3) उसने लिखा “ईश्वर अगर आप मेरी मदद नहीं करते तो मेरा परिवार और मैं इस साल भूखे ही रहेंगे।
(4) ईश्वर कभी गलती कर ही नहीं सकते, न ही वो भी मना कर सकते न ही वो लैंचो को मना कर सकते हैं जो उसने निवेदन किया था।
2. Why does the postmaster send money toLencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
पोस्टमास्टर लैंचो को पैसे क्यों भेजता है ? वह ‘ईश्वर’ लिखकर हस्ताक्षर क्यों करता है ?
Ans. Postmaster was moved by Lencho’s faith in God. So he decided to send money to Lencho. Moreover the postmaster did not want to shake Lencho’s faith in God. So he signed the letter in the name of God’. It was a good play to convey a message that God himself had written the letter.
पोस्टमास्टर लैंचो की ईश्वर के प्रति आस्था को देखकरद्रवित था तो उसने लैंचो को पैसे भेजने का निर्णय लिया। साथ ही
पोस्टमास्टर नहीं चाहता था कि लैंचो का ईश्वर के प्रति विश्वासटूटे इसलिए उसने पत्र पर ईश्वर लिखकर हस्ताक्षर कर दिये। येउसकी तरफ से अच्छा काम था जिससे लैंचो को लगे कि ईश्वर ने खुद ही पत्र लिखा है।
3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him Why/Why not?
क्या लैंचो ने पता करने की कोशिश की कि उसको किसने पैसे भेजे थे? क्यों क्यों नहीं?
Ans. No, Lencho did not try to find out this because he had great faith is God and he never suspected that it could be someone else other than God who would send him money. This faith in God was so strong that he believed that God had sent him the money.
नहीं, लैंचो ने पता करने की कोशिश नहीं की क्योंकि उसे ईश्वर पर अथाह विश्वास था। उसे कभी भी सन्देह नहीं हुआ कि ईश्वर की जगह कोई और भी हो सकता है जो उसको पैसे भेजेगा। उसकी ईश्वर पर इतनी पक्की आस्था थी कि उसे विश्वास था कि ईश्वर ने ही उसे पैसे भेजे थे।
4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money ? What is the irony in the situation ?
(Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.)
लैंचो क्या सोचता है किसने बाकी के पैसे लिए होंगे ? इस परिस्थिति में क्या व्यंग्यात्मक बात है ? याद रहे कि किसी
परिस्थिति में व्यंग्य उसका अप्रत्याशित पहलू होता है। कोई भी व्यंग्यात्मक परिस्थिति अजीब या हास्यास्पद हो सकती है क्योंकि जो हमने उम्मीद की हो वह उसकी विपरीत होती है।
Ans. Lencho thinks that the post office people have taken the rest of money. It is the post office people only who were giving money to Lencho but on the other hand Lencho thinks they have stolen the money. He calls them crooks. This is the element of irony in this situation.
लैंचो सोचता है कि पोस्ट ऑफिस (डाकखाने) के लोगों ने बाकी बचे हुए पैसे ले लिए। ये पोस्ट ऑफिस के लोग ही थे जो लैंचो को पैसे दे रहे थे पर लैंचो सोचता है कि इन्हीं लोगों ने उसके पैसे चुराये हैं। वो उन्हें धोखेबाज भी कहता है। इस परिस्थिति में यही हास्यास्पद बात है।
Page No 8:
Question 5:
Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.
| Greedy | Naïve | stupid | ungrateful |
| selfish | comical | unquestioning |
Answer:
There might be a few people like Lencho in the real world. He is an unquestioning, naïve kind of a person.
Question 6:
There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Answer:
The conflict between humans and nature is illustrated by the destruction of Lencho’s crops by the hailstorm. Lencho had worked really hard on his fields and the harvest was really important for him. He required the money to feed his family. However, the nature turned violent. The rains were accompanied by a hailstorm, which destroyed the crops. The story also illustrates another conflict, between humans themselves. The postmaster, along with the help of the other post office employees, sent Lencho the money that they could manage to collect. They were not related to Lencho in any manner. It was an act of kindness and selflessness on their part. Even though they did a good deed, Lencho blamed them for taking away some amount of money. He called them “a bunch of crooks”. This shows that man does not have faith in his fellow humans, thereby giving rise to this conflict.
Question 1:
There are different names in different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the blanks? You may use a dictionary to help you.
| gale, | whirlwind, | cyclone, |
| hurricane, | tornado, | typhoon |
1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle:
__ __ c __ __ __ __
2. An extremely strong wind: __ a __ __
3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds: __ __ p __ __ __ __
4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: __ __ __ n __ __ __
5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic ocean: __ __ r __ __ __ __ __ __
6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: __ __ __ __ l __ __ __ __
Answer:
1. Cyclone
2. Gale
3. Typhoon
4. Tornado
5. Hurricane
6. Whirlwind
Question 2:
Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B.
Answer:
| A | B | ||
| 1. | Will you get the subjects you want to study in college? I hope so. | − | wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible) |
| 2. | I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I don’t like the way you are arguing. | − | showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being polite |
| 3. | This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers. | − | a feeling that something good will probably happen |
| 4. | We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes. | − | wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely |
| 5. | I called early in the hope of speaking to her before she went to school. | − | thinking that this would happen (It may or may not have happened.) |
| 6. | Just when everybody had given up hope, the fisherman came back, seven days after the cyclone. | − | stopped believing that this good thing would happen |
Page No 9:
Question 3:
Relative Clauses
Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which as suggested.
1. I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. (which)
2. My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)
3. These sportspersons are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)
4. Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds. (whose)
5. This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)
Answer:
1. I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.
2. My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.
3. These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.
4. Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.
5. This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.
Page No 10:
Question 4:
Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically.
1. The trees lost all their leaves.
________________________________________________________
2. The letter was addressed to God himself.
________________________________________________________
3. The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.
________________________________________________________
Answer:
1. The trees lost all their leaves.
Not a leaf remained on the trees.
2. The letter was addressed to God himself.
It was nothing less than a letter to God.
3. The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.
Never in his career as a postman had he known that address.
Page No 11:
Question 5:
In pairs, find metaphors from the story to complete the table below. Try to say what qualities are being compared. One has been done for you.
| Object | Metaphor | Quality or Feature Compared |
| Cloud | Huge mountains of clouds | The mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains. |
| Raindrops | ||
| Hailstones | ||
| Locusts | ||
| An epidemic (a disease) that spreads very rapidly and leaves many people dead. | ||
| An ox of a man. |
Answer:
| Object | Metaphor | Quality or Feature Compared |
| Cloud | Huge mountains of clouds | The mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains |
| Raindrops | A curtain of rain | The draping or covering of an area by a curtain |
| Hailstones | The frozen pearls | The resemblance in colour and hardness of a pearl |
| Locusts | A plague of locusts | The consequences (destruction) of plague |
| Locusts | A plague of locusts | An epidemic (a disease) that spreads very rapidly and leaves many people dead |
| Man | An ox of a man | The working of an ox in the fields (hard work) |