Coachman Ali regularly visited the village post office for five years waiting for a letter from his daughter Miriam, despite being teased by post office officials. After stopping his visits due to poor health, Ali's final visit was to beg the clerk to deliver any letter to his grave should he die without receiving it. Ali was later found dead, and a letter from Miriam was discovered. Feeling guilty for his past rude treatment of Ali, the postmaster personally delivered the long-awaited letter to Ali's grave, realizing he should have empathized more with Ali's pain of separation from his daughter.

1. A PPT Presentation by Mrinal Ghosh
PGT English.

2.  Coachman Ali is a regular visitor of the village Post
Office.

4.  For the last five years, he is waiting for his
daughter Miriam’s letter. He visits the local
post office, expecting to get the letter.
 He is teased by the Post office Officials,
they call him ‘Mad’.
 Once, he was a clever hunter. But he left
hunting after the marriage of his daughter.
 The Post Office is a place of pilgrimage for
him.
 But suddenly, he stopped coming to the
Post Office.

5.  One day, he finally came. He could barely walk with
his poor health.
 He went straight to the Post master.

6.  Ali asked the Postmaster if there was a letter of his
daughter Miriam. The Postmaster behaved rudely.
 Ali had tears in his eyes, when he came out.

7.  Before departure, he came to a Clerk, offered him
five gold guineas and implored that he should
bring Miriam’s letter & place it on his grave, if he
dies.
 He was very sure, it was his last day.
 Sure enough, Ali was never seen after that day.
 The Postmaster’s daughter who lived in another
town, was sick and he was worried.
 As he couldn’t sleep in tension, he came to the
Post office & started sorting letters.
 Suddenly he had found a letter, addressed to Ali,
written by his daughter, Miriam.

8.  When he saw the letter, he called out “Ali” as usual.
 A soft knock at the door startled him. He found Ali
at the doorstep. His ghostly appearance scared
him. But within a second, he disappeared.
 The Clerk told him that Ali was dead long ago. He
was bewildered.

9.  In the evening, he walked down with the clerk
Lakshmi Das to Ali’s grave.
 He delivered the letter to the place, where Ali was
laid.


11. Some sample questions with answers…
 1. The postmaster says to Ali, “What a pest you are brother.” Do you agree? Give
reason. [C.B.S.E. 2011 (T-1)]
Ans. The postmaster got irritated with Ali’s perservance and tenacity. Mindlessly
he called Ali a pest. He was unjustified because till then he had not been exposed
to any separation of a child from his parents. He appeared
to be cruel and inhuman. As he hadn’t undergone the emotional pangs of a
grieving father so he failed to gauge
Ali’s misery.
 2. Why did the postmaster want to deliver the letter personally to Ali?
Ans : The postmaster realised the pangs of separation from one’s child, when his
own daughter did not respond.
He feels guilty maltreating and humiliating Ali. So to compensate for his
behaviour, he wished to handover Miriam’s letter personally to Ali.
 3. How did post master’s attitude towards Ali eventually change? [C.B.S.E. 2011
(T-1)]
Ans : Ali had become fixture at the post office. All the clerks as well as the Post-
master were irritated with Ali’s
perserverance and tenacity. The post master even insulted him and called him a
pest. But now when he himself was
worried for his daughter, he realised Ali’s misery. He regretted his behaviour and
went to lay Miriam’s letter on Ali’s grave.