A Letter to God

 

A Letter to God

Key Facts

Author: Gregorio López y Fuentes

Setting:

• Rural Mexico
• Small house on a hill in a valley
• Fields of corn and farm surroundings

Main Characters:

1. Lencho – A poor, hardworking farmer, optimistic, strong faith in God.
2. Lencho’s wife – Supportive, practical.
3. Lencho’s children – Playful, obedient.
4. Postmaster – Kind, thoughtful, helps Lencho indirectly.
5. Post office employees – Contribute to help Lencho.

Themes:

1. Faith in God – Lencho’s unwavering trust in divine help.
2. Hope and Optimism – Despite loss, hope remains.
3. Human Kindness – Postmaster and employees show generosity.
4. Irony – Lencho trusts God completely but suspects humans (post office employees) of dishonesty.

Moral / Message:

• Faith and hope are powerful, even in difficult times.
• Human compassion can be a channel for God’s help.
• Irony can highlight human nature and misunderstandings.

Important Symbols:

• Rain / Hail – Nature’s dual power to give and take.
• Letter to God – Faith, innocence, and hope.
• Money sent by post office – Human kindness and generosity.

Main Text with Phrasewise Translation

THE house —
ghar —

the only one
ekamaatra

in the entire valley —
poori ghaati mein —

sat
baitha tha

on the crest
choti par

of a low hill.
ek neechee pahaadi ki.

From this height
is oonchai se

one could see
koee dekh sakta tha

the river
nadi

and the field
aur khet

of ripe corn
pakke makke ka

dotted with the flowers
phoolon se bikhra hua

that always promised
jo hamesha vadaa karta tha

a good harvest.
acchi fasal ka.

The only thing
sirf ek cheez

the earth needed
dharti ko chahiye thi

was a downpour
wo thi ek tez barish

or at least a shower.
ya kam se kam ek halki barish.

Throughout the morning
poori subah bhar

Lencho —
Lencho —

who knew his fields intimately —
jo apne khet achchhi tarah jaanta tha —

had done nothing else
aur kuch bhi nahi kiya tha

but see the sky
sirf aasman dekhta raha tha

towards the north-east.
uttar-poorv ki taraf.

“Now we’re really
“ab hum waastav mein

going to get some water, woman.”
thoda paani paane waale hain, aurat.”

The woman
aurat

who was preparing supper,
jo raat ka khana bana rahi thi,

replied,
jawab diya,

“Yes, God willing”.
“haan, agar bhagwan chahe.”

The older boys
bade ladke

were working in the field,
khet mein kaam kar rahe the,

while the smaller ones
jabki chhote bachche

were playing near the house
ghar ke paas khel rahe the

until the woman called to them all,
jab tak aurat ne sabko pukara,

“Come for dinner”.
“raat ke khane ke liye aao.”

It was during the meal
yeh bhojan ke dauraan tha

that, just as Lencho had predicted,
ki, bilkul jaise Lencho ne bhavishyavaani ki thi,

big drops of rain
badi boonden barish ki

began to fall.
girne lagi.

In the north-east
uttar-poorv mein

huge mountains of clouds
baaree-baaree badalon ke pahaad

could be seen approaching.
nazdeek aate hue dikh rahe the.

The air
hawa

was fresh and sweet.
taazgi bhari aur meethi thi.

The man went out
aadmi bahar gaya

for no other reason
kisi aur wajah se nahi

than to have the pleasure
balki sirf yeh anand lene ke liye

of feeling the rain on his body,
ki barish apne sharir par mehsoos kare,

and when he returned
aur jab wapas aaya

he exclaimed,
toh usne kaha,

“These aren’t raindrops falling from the sky,
“yeh to barish ki boonden nahi jo aasman se gir rahi hain,

they are new coins.
yeh nayi sikke hain.

The big drops
badi boonden

are ten cent pieces
das cent ke sikke hain

and the little ones
aur chhoti boonden

are fives.”
paanch cent ke hain.”

With a satisfied expression
ek santusht chehre ke saath

he regarded the field of ripe corn with its flowers,
usne pake makke ke khet ko phoolon ke saath dekha,

draped in a curtain of rain.
jo barish ki parde se dhaaka hua tha.

But suddenly
par achaanak

a strong wind
ek tez hawa

began to blow
chalne lagi

and along with the rain
aur barish ke saath-saath

very large hailstones
bahut bade olle

began to fall.
girne lage.

These truly did resemble
yeh waastav mein lag rahe the

new silver coins.
jaise naye chandi ke sikke.

The boys,
ladke,

exposing themselves to the rain,
jo apne aapko barish mein bheegne de rahe the,

ran out
doudh kar bahar nikle

to collect the frozen pearls.
jam jaaye motiyon (olle) ko ikattha karne.

“It’s really getting bad now,”
“ab toh waastav mein bura ho raha hai,”

exclaimed the man.
aadmi ne kaha.

“I hope it passes quickly.”
“mujhe ummeed hai yeh jaldi chala jaaye.”

It did not pass quickly.
yeh jaldi nahi guzra.

For an hour
ek ghante tak

the hail rained
olle baraste rahe

on the house,
ghar par,

the garden,
baag par,

the hillside,
pahaadi par,

the cornfield,
makke ke khet par,

on the whole valley.
poori ghaati par.

The field was white,
khet safed ho gaya tha,

as if covered with salt.
jaise namak se dhaak diya gaya ho.

Not a leaf remained on the trees.
pedon par ek bhi patta nahi bacha.

The corn was totally destroyed.
makka poori tarah se barbaad ho gaya tha.

The flowers were gone from the plants.
paudhon se phool gaayab ho gaye the.

Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness.
Lencho ka dil udaasi se bhar gaya.

When the storm had passed,
jab aandhi-tufaan beet gaya,

he stood in the middle of the field
woh khet ke beech khada hua

and said to his sons,
aur apne beton se bola,

“A plague of locusts
“tiddi-dal ki ek aafat

would have left more than this.
is se zyada chhod jaati.

The hail has left nothing.
olle ne kuch bhi nahi chhoda.

This year we will have no corn.”
is saal humein koi makka nahi milega.”

That night
us raat

was a sorrowful one.
bahut dukh bhari raat thi.

“All our work,
“hamari saari mehnat,

for nothing.”
bekaar gayi.”

“There’s no one
“koi bhi nahi hai

who can help us.”
jo humein madad kar sake.”

“We’ll all go hungry this year.”
“is saal hum sab bhookhe rahenge.”

But in the hearts
lekin dilon mein

of all who lived in that solitary house
un sab ke jo us akeli ghar mein rehte the

in the middle of the valley,
jo ghaati ke beech mein tha,

there was a single hope:
sirf ek aasha thi:

help from God.
bhagwan ki madad.

“Don’t be so upset,
“itna udaas mat ho,

even though this seems like a total loss.
chahe yeh poori tarah se nuksaan lagta ho.

Remember, no one dies of hunger.”
yaad rakho, bhookh se koi nahi marta.”

“That’s what they say:
“yeh hi kehte hain:

no one dies of hunger.”
bhookh se koi nahi marta.”

All through the night,
poori raat bhar,

Lencho thought only of his one hope:
Lencho ne sirf apni ek aasha ke baare mein socha:

the help of God,
bhagwan ki madad,

whose eyes,
jinki aankhen,

as he had been instructed,
jaise usse sikhaya gaya tha,

see everything,
sab kuch dekhti hain,

even what is deep in one’s conscience.
yahaan tak ki jo kisi ke antar-maan mein hai.

Lencho was an ox of a man,
Lencho ek bail jaisa aadmi tha,

working like an animal in the fields,
jo khet mein jaanwar ki tarah kaam karta tha,

but still he knew how to write.
lekin phir bhi usse likhna aata tha.

The following Sunday,
agle Ravivaar,

at daybreak,
subah ke ujaale mein,

he began to write a letter
usne ek patra likhna shuru kiya

which he himself would carry to town
jise woh khud sheher le jaayega

and place in the mail.
aur daak mein daal dega.

It was nothing less than
yeh kuch kam nahi tha

a letter to God.
bhagwan ko likha ek patra.

“God,” he wrote,
“Bhagwan,” usne likha,

“if you don’t help me,
“agar aap meri madad nahi karte,

my family and I will go hungry this year.
meri family aur main is saal bhookhe rahenge.

I need a hundred pesos
mujhe ek sau pesos chahiye

in order to sow my field again
taaki main apna khet dobara boya karun

and to live until the crop comes,
aur fasal aane tak jee sakun,

because the hailstorm....”
kyunki olle ki aandhi....”

He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope,
usne lifaafe par ‘Bhagwan ke liye’ likha,

put the letter inside
patra andar daala

and, still troubled,
aur, abhi bhi pareshan hote hue,

went to town.
sheher gaya.

At the post office,
daak ghar mein,

he placed a stamp on the letter
usne patr par ticket chipkaya

and dropped it into the mailbox.
aur usey mailbox mein daal diya.

One of the employees,
karmachariyon mein se ek,

who was a postman
jo ek daakiya tha

and also helped at the post office,
aur daak ghar mein madad bhi karta tha,

went to his boss laughing heartily
apne malik ke paas zor-zor se hansa hua gaya

and showed him the letter to God.
aur usse ‘Bhagwan ke liye’ likha patr dikhaya.

Never in his career as a postman
apne daakiya ke jeevan mein kabhi bhi

had he known that address.
usne aisa pata nahi dekha tha.

The postmaster —
daak master —

a fat, amiable fellow —
ek mota, pyara sa aadmi —

also broke out laughing,
woh bhi zor se hans pada,

but almost immediately
lekin lagbhag turant hi

he turned serious
woh gambheer ho gaya

and, tapping the letter on his desk,
aur patr ko apni desk par thap-thapate hue,

commented,
bola,

“What faith!
“kya vishwas hai!

I wish I had the faith
kaash mujhe bhi aisa vishwas hota

of the man who wrote this letter.
us aadmi jaisa jisne yeh patr likha.

Starting up a correspondence with God!”
“bhagwan ke saath patra-vartaalap shuru karna!”

So, in order not to shake
toh, taaki hila na dein

the writer’s faith in God,
likhne wale ka bhagwan par vishwas,

the postmaster came up with an idea:
daak master ke dimaag mein ek vichar aaya:

answer the letter.
patra ka jawab dena.

But when he opened it,
lekin jab usne ise khola,

it was evident that to answer it
toh saaf tha ki iska jawab dene ke liye

he needed something more
ussey kuch aur chahiye tha

than goodwill, ink and paper.
sirf achchi niyat, syahi aur kagaz se zyada.

But he stuck to his resolution:
lekin usne apne iraade ko banaye rakha:

he asked for money from his employees,
apne karmachariyon se paise maange,

he himself gave part of his salary,
apni salary ka ek hissa diya,

and several friends of his
aur uske kai dost

were obliged to give something
majburan kuch dene pade

‘for an act of charity’.
‘ek daya ke kaam ke liye’.

It was impossible for him
uske liye yeh asambhav tha

to gather together the hundred pesos,
poore sau pesos ikattha karna,

so he was able to send the farmer
isliye woh kisan ko bhej paaya

only a little more than half.
sirf aadhe se thoda zyada.

He put the money in an envelope
usne paise ek lifaafe mein daale

addressed to Lencho
jo Lencho ke naam par tha

and with it a letter containing
aur uske saath ek patr diya

only a single word as a signature: God.
jisme sirf ek shabd tha sign ke roop mein: Bhagwan.

The following Sunday
agle Ravivaar

Lencho came a bit earlier than usual
Lencho thoda jaldi aaya

to ask if there was a letter for him.
poochhne ke liye ki kya uske liye koi patr hai.

It was the postman himself
yeh khud daakiya tha

who handed the letter to him
jisne patr usko diya

while the postmaster,
jab daak master,

experiencing the contentment
khushi ka anubhav karte hue

of a man who has performed a good deed,
ek aadmi jo achha kaam kar chuka tha,

looked on from his office.
apne daftar se dekhta raha.

Lencho showed not the slightest surprise
Lencho ne thoda bhi surprise nahi dikhaya

on seeing the money;
jab usne paise dekhe;

such was his confidence —
aisa tha uska vishwas —

but he became angry
lekin wo gussa ho gaya

when he counted the money.
jab usne paise ginne.

God could not have made a mistake,
Bhagwan galti nahi kar sakte the,

nor could he have denied Lencho
aur na hi unhone Lencho ko

what he had requested.
jo usne maanga tha, deny kiya hota.

Immediately, Lencho went up to the window
turant, Lencho khidki ke paas gaya

to ask for paper and ink.
kagaz aur syahi maangne ke liye.

On the public writing-table,
saarvajanik likhne ki table par,

he started to write,
usne likhna shuru kiya,

with much wrinkling of his brow,
bahut mathay par jhuri daalte hue,

caused by the effort
jo koshish ki wajah se

he had to make
jo usse karni thi

to express his ideas.
apne vichaar vyakt karne ke liye.

When he finished,
jab usne khatam kiya,

he went to the window
woh khidki ke paas gaya

to buy a stamp
ek ticket kharidne ke liye

which he licked
jo usne chaat liya

and then affixed to the envelope
aur fir lifaafe par chipka diya

with a blow of his fist.
apni mutthi se thapka maarte hue.

The moment the letter fell into the mailbox
jaise hi patr mailbox mein gir gaya

the postmaster went to open it.
daak master ne use kholne gaya.

It said:
usme likha tha:

“God: Of the money that I asked for,
“Bhagwan: Jo paisa maanga tha,

only seventy pesos reached me.
sirf sattar pesos mujhe mile.

Send me the rest,
baaki mujhe bhej do,

since I need it very much.
kyunki mujhe bahut zaroorat hai.

But don’t send it to me through the mail
lekin mujhe daak ke through mat bhejna

because the post office employees are a bunch of crooks.
kyunki daak ghar ke karmachari sab dhokebaaz hain.

Lencho.”
Lencho.”