NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 1 - A Letter to God

Oral Comprehension - Page 5

Q1. What did Lencho hope for? 
Ans: Lencho wasa farmer. He hoped for rain as the only thing that his field of ripe corn needed was a shower. Without rain, the crops would die, and he would suffer a big loss.

Q2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Ans: Lencho’s crops were ready to be harvested. Raindrops would have helped in getting a better harvest, resulting in more prosperity. So Lencho compared them with ‘new coins’. He imagined big drops as ten cents and smaller ones as five cents. 

Q3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Ans: The rain started pouring down. But suddenly, a strong wind blew, and very large hailstones, like frozen pearls, began to fall along with the rain. The hailstorm continued for an hour, destroying Lencho’s corn fields and washing away the flowers from the plants.

Lencho After Rain

Q4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Ans: Lencho watched as the hailstorm ruined his ripe harvest right before his eyes. After the hail stopped, Lencho's soul was filled with sadness. He could see a bleak future for him and his family. He was worried about the lack of food for the coming year.

Oral Comprehension - Page 6

Q1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Ans: Lencho had faith in God. He believed that God’s eyes see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience. He wrote a letter to God saying that he needed a hundred pesos (the monetary unit used in several countries) to sow his field again, because the previous crop was destroyed by the hailstorm. 

Q2. Who read the letter?
Ans: The Postmaster read the letter because the address on the letter was too absurd.

Q3. What did the postmaster do then?
Ans: When the postmaster first saw the address, he laughed at the sender's foolishness. But then, thinking it might be something serious, he curiously read the letter. After reading it, he was deeply moved by the writer's feelings and decided to help. He contributed part of his salary, gathered some money from his friends, acquaintances, and relatives, and sent it to the letter's writer.

Oral Comprehension - Page 7

Q1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Ans: No, Lencho was not at all surprised to see the letter from God with money inside it. His confidence and faith in God were such that he had expected that reply from God.

Q2. What made him angry?
Ans: When he finished counting the money, he found only seventy pesos. But he had demanded a hundred pesos. He was confident that God could neither make a mistake nor deny him what he had requested. Therefore, he concluded that the post office employees must have taken the remaining thirty pesos.

Thinking about the Text

Q1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this? 
Ans: Lencho had complete faith in God. The sentences in the story that show this are as follows:
(a) But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary (single) house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God.
(b) All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience (Inner sense of right or wrong).
(c) “God,” he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.”
(d) He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and, still troubled, went to town.
(e) God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.
(f) It said: “God: of the money that I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the rest, since I need it very much.”

Q2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Ans: The Postmaster was moved by Lencho’s complete 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 as ‘God’. It was a good ploy (plan or action) to convey a message that God had himself written the letter.

Q3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Ans: No, Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him. This is because he had great confidence in God and never suspected that it could be someone else other than God who would send him the money. His faith in God was so strong that he believed that God had sent him the money.

Q4. 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.]
Ans: Lencho thinks that the post office employees have taken the money. It is the post office employees who sent the money to Lencho. But, on the other hand, Lencho thinks they have stolen his money. The element of irony in this situation is that Lencho ends up suspecting those very people who helped him in his crisis in order to avoid shaking his faith in God. 

Q5. 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.
Ans: I don't think there can be any such people in the real world. Lencho was literate and yet he didn’t know how his letter would reach God without any address. He was a naive and stupid farmer with blind faith in God and his powers.

• The conflict between humans and nature is shown by the destruction of Lencho’s crops by the hailstorm (thunderstorm that produces hail). As the crops failed because of hail, Lencho started feeling sad and gloomy after the storm appropriately projected (predicted) the conflict (clash) between nature and man. 
• The story also shows another conflict among humans. 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. 
• Although they did a good deed, Lencho blamed them for taking some of the money. This shows that man does not have faith in his fellow humans, thereby giving rise to this conflict.

Thinking about the Language

Q1. 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.

(a) A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle: ____ c _____
(b) An extremely strong wind: _____ a _____
(c) A violent tropical storm with very strong winds: _____ p _____ 
(d) A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: _____ n _____
(e) A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic ocean: _____ r _____
(f) A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: _____ l _____
Ans:
(a) Cyclone

(b) Gale

(c) Typhoon

(d) Tornado

(e) Hurricane

(f) Whirlwind

Q2. Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B.

Ans:

Q3. Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which as suggested.
(a) I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. (which)
(b) My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)
(c) These sportspersons are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)
(d) Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds. (whose)
(e) This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)
Ans:

(a) I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.
(b) My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.
(c) These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.
(d) Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.
(e) This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.

Q4. Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically.
(a) The trees lost all their leaves.
_________________________________________
(b) The letter was addressed to God himself.
_________________________________________
(c) The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.
_________________________________________
Ans:

(a) The trees lost all their leaves.
Not a leaf remained on the trees.
(b) The letter was addressed to God himself.
It was nothing less than a letter to God.
(c) The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.
Never in his career as a postman had he seen that address.

Q5. 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. 

Ans:

Although they did a good deed, Lencho blamed them for taking some of the money.