Lencho’s house and crop:
Lencho had his lonely house in the valley. It was situated on the top of a low hill. From there one could see the river and the fields. Lencho had a good crop. But it needed rains badly.
It starts raining:
Lencho saw the sky in the north. It had rain clouds. His wife was preparing the dinner. He told her that God willing it would rain. Soon big drops of rain began to fall. Lencho went out to feel the rain on his body. He was very glad. He said that the drops of rain were new coins.
Hailstorm and loss therefrom:
But soon the hail rained on everywhere. The fields became white as if covered with salt. The crop was totally destroyed. Lencho became sad. He felt that they would go hungry that year. Also they would have no seeds for the next crop.
Lencho writes to God:
But Lencho had a single hope : help from God. He was sure that no one dies of hunger. He had a great belief in God. The following Sunday he went to the post office. He wrote a letter to God to send him one hundred pesos. He wrote ‘God’ as the address.
Postmaster collects money for Lencho:
An employee of the post office showed this letter to the postmaster. The postmaster laughed seeing the address. He wished to have such a faith in God. He had had an idea answer the letter. But reading it he found that the writer needed money. It was to keep the faith of the writer. So he asked all his friends and employees to give some money.
Money sent to Lencho:
The postmaster could collect only seventy pesos this way put the money in an envelope and addressed it to Lencho. He wrote a single word on it ‘God’ as a signature.
Lencho receives the money:
The following Sunday Lencho came to the post office. He asked if there was any letter for him. He was given that letter. Lencho did not show any surprise on seeing the money. He got angry when he counted the money. He felt that God could’not have made a mistake.
Lencho’s letter to God, calls post office employees crooks:
Immediately Lencho wrote another letter to God. He put it into the mailbox. The postmaster opened it. Lencho had written in that letter that he had received only seventy pesos. But he had asked for one hundred pesos. He asked God to send him the rest. But God should not send it through the mail. It was because the post office employees were crooks.
A Letter to God Summary In Hindi
लैंचो का घर और फसल
लैंचो का अकेला घर घाटी में था। यह एक नीची पहाड़ी की चोटी पर था। वहाँ से व्यक्ति नदी और खेतों को देख सकता था। लैंचो की अच्छी फसल थी। परन्तु इसे वर्षा की अत्यधिक आवश्यकता
वर्षा का आना
लैंचो ने आकाश को उत्तर दिशा में देखा। उस तरफ वर्षा के बादल थे। उसकी पत्नी शाम को खाना बना रही थी। उसने उसे बताया कि परमात्मा ने चाहा तो वर्षा होगी। शीघ्र ही वर्षा की बड़ी-बड़ी बूंदें गिरने लगीं। लैंचो वर्षा का अपने शरीर पर अनुभव करने के लिए बाहर गया। वह काफी खुश था। उसने कहा कि वर्षा की बूंदें नये सिक्के थे।
ओले और उनके कारण विनाश
परन्तु शीघ्र ही ओले हरेक स्थान पर गिरने लगे। खेत सफेद हो गये जैसे नमक से ढके हों। फसल पूर्ण रूप से नष्ट हो गई। लैंचों उदास हो गया। उसने महसूस किया कि उस वर्ष वे भूखे रहेंगे। उनके पास अगली फसल के लिए बीज भी नहीं होगा।
परमात्मा को लैंचो का पत्र
परन्तु लैंचो को अकेली एक आशा थी : परमात्मा से सहायता। उसे विश्वास था कि कोई भी भूख से नहीं मरता। उसे परमात्मा में बहुत विश्वास था। अगले रविवार वह डाकखाने गया। उसने परमात्मा को उसके पास सौ पीसो भेजने के लिए एक पत्र लिखा। उसने पते के रूप में ‘परमात्मा’ लिखा।
पोस्टमास्टर द्वारा लैंचो के लिये पैसे इकट्ठा करना
डाकखाने के एक कर्मचारी ने इस पत्र को पोस्टमास्टर को दिखाया। पोस्टमास्टर पते को देख कर हँसा। उसने इच्छा की कि अच्छा होता उसका भी परमात्मा में ऐसा ही विश्वास होता। उसके मन में एक विचार आया : पत्र का उत्तर दिया जाये। परन्तु उसे पढ़ने के बाद उसने पाया कि लेखक को पैसे चाहिएँ। यह लेखक का विश्वास रखने के लिए था। इसलिए उसने अपने सभी मित्रों और कर्मचारियों को कुछ (थोड़ा-थोड़ा) पैसा देने के लिए कहा।
लैंचो के पास पैसे भेजना
इस प्रकार पोस्टमास्टर सिर्फ सत्तर पीसो ही इकट्ठे कर सका। उसने पैसे को एक लिफाफे में डाला और उसके ऊपर लैंचो का पता लिख दिया। उसने हस्ताक्षर के रूप में इस पर सिर्फ एक शब्द ‘परमात्मा’ लिख दिया।
लैंचो द्वारा पैसों की प्राप्ति
अगले रविवार लैंचो डाकखाने आया। उसने पूछा कि उसके लिए क्या कोई पत्र है। उसे वह पत्र दिया गया। लैंचो ने पैसा देखकर कोई आश्चर्य नहीं दिखाया। जब उसने पैसे गिने तो उसे गुस्सा आया। उसने महसूस किया कि परमात्मा कोई गलती नहीं कर सकता था।
परमात्मा को लैंचो का पत्र-डाकखाने के कर्मचारियों को धोखेबाज कहना
तुरन्त ही लैंचों ने परमात्मा को दूसरा पत्र लिखा। उसने इसे लैटरबॉक्स में डाल दिया। पोस्टमास्टर ने इसे खोला। लैचों ने उस पत्र में लिखा था कि उसे केवल सत्तर पीसो मिल गए हैं। परन्तु उसने तो एक सौ पीसो के लिए कहा था। उसने परमात्मा को बाकी के पैसे उसके पास भेजने के लिए कहा। परन्तु परमात्मा को वे पैसे डाक द्वारा नहीं भेजने चाहिएँ। यह इसलिए था क्योंकि डाकखाने के कर्मचारी धोखेबाज हैं।
Character Sketch
Lencho: Lencho is a poor, hardworking farmer who has an unwavering, childlike faith in God. He is naive yet determined, believing that God will directly provide for his family's needs. His faith is so absolute that he cannot conceive of human corruption, leading him to blame the post office employees for stealing part of "God's money." He represents pure, simple faith but also a lack of understanding of the human world.
The Postmaster: The postmaster is a kind, empathetic, and generous man. Initially amused by Lencho's letter, he is moved by the farmer's profound faith and decides to help. He collects money from his employees and friends to send to Lencho, not to disappoint his faith. He represents the goodness in humanity—the willingness to act as an instrument of God to preserve another's hope and belief.
10 Previous Year Questions & Solutions
1. Who was Lencho? What was his main problem? (2019)
Answer: Lencho was a hardworking farmer who lived in a solitary house on the crest of a low hill. His main problem was that a devastating hailstorm had completely destroyed his year's crop, leaving his family with no harvest and facing the prospect of starvation for the rest of the year.
2. Why did Lencho write a letter to God? What did he ask for? (2020)
Answer: Lencho wrote to God because of his unshakable faith that God would see his family's plight and provide for them. He asked God for a hundred pesos to sow his field again and to survive until the next crop, promising to pay it back and learn to read and write himself to avoid future trouble.
3. How did the postmaster and his employees help Lencho? Why did they do so? (2022)
Answer: The postmaster, deeply moved by Lencho's faith, decided to answer the letter himself. To preserve Lencho's belief in God, he collected money from his employees and friends, contributing part of his own salary. They managed to collect only seventy pesos, which they sent to Lencho anonymously. They did this to avoid shattering the farmer's innocent faith in divine help.
4. Why did Lencho call the post office employees "a bunch of crooks"? (2023)
Answer: Lencho called the post office employees "a bunch of crooks" because when he received the money, it was only seventy pesos. He believed with absolute certainty that God could not have made a mistake nor denied his full request. Therefore, he concluded that the post office staff must have stolen the remaining thirty pesos, showing his naive inability to suspect the very people who helped him.
5. What does Lencho's unshakable faith in God tell us about his character? (2018)
Answer: Lencho's unshakable faith reveals him to be a deeply religious, simple, and naive man. His faith is pure and literal; he believes God reads letters and sends money directly. This faith gives him hope in despair but also blinds him to human kindness, making him quick to accuse the postmen. It shows a character grounded in spiritual certainty but disconnected from the complexities of human nature.
6. "The postmaster was a kind-hearted man." Give examples from the text. (2021)
Answer: The postmaster's kindness is evident in his actions. First, he laughs at the letter but immediately becomes serious, wishing he had the faith of the writer. He doesn't dismiss it; instead, he decides to help. He goes out of his way to collect money from others and himself. He doesn't seek credit, sending the money anonymously to uphold Lencho's belief in God. His entire effort is an act of pure generosity.
7. What is the irony in the story 'A Letter to God'? (2019)
Answer: The central irony is that Lencho's immense faith is answered by human goodness (the postmaster and employees), but he remains completely unaware of it. He thanks God for the help but vilifies the humans who actually provided it. The story is ironically titled—the "letter to God" is actually answered by men, and the real "crooks" in Lencho's eyes are the story's true benefactors.
8. What is the main theme of the story? (2020)
Answer: The main theme is the conflict between blind faith and human reality. It explores the power of naive belief to inspire goodness in others. The story also highlights human compassion and the ironic gap between perception and reality—how the divine intervention Lencho prays for manifests through ordinary human beings whose kindness goes unrecognized and is even scorned.
9. Do you think Lencho's faith was justified in the end? Give reasons. (2022)
Answer: Yes, Lencho's faith was justified in a practical sense because he received the help he needed to survive. However, it was not justified in the way he understood it. His faith led to a positive outcome, but the agent was human compassion, not divine intervention. The story suggests that faith can move people to act kindly, making it a powerful, if misunderstood, force in the world.
10. If you were the postmaster, how would you have handled Lencho's letter? (2023)
Answer: If I were the postmaster, I would likely have acted similarly, as the story presents the most humane response. Preserving a poor man's faith in the face of disaster is a noble act. However, I might have also included a simple note saying "From a friend" to gently introduce the idea that God sometimes works through people, perhaps planting a seed of awareness about human kindness without destroying his core belief.
