"Post Office" is a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

short story written by Indian writer Dhumketu (1892–1965). It was first published in 1923 and is considered Dhumketu's most famous and frequently anthologized short story. The story is about a father's affection for his daughter, and the apathetic bureaucracy of the local

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

. It is notable for its description, narrative, and dialogues.

Publication

"Post Office" was first published in the literary journal ''

Sahitya Sahitya literally means literature in Sanskrit. Sahitya may also refer to: * Dasa sahitya, genre of literature of the bhakti movement composed by devotees in honor of Vishnu or one of his avatars * Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, I ...

'' in 1923. It was later published in Dhumketu's first short story collection, ''Tankha'' () Vol. 1, in 1926.

Plot

The story takes place during wartime. The protagonist, Ali Coachman, was a legendary hunter in his early life, but he gives up hunting after his daughter Mariyam marries a soldier. Mariyam leaves her father and moves to Punjab with her husband. After that, Ali waits for a letter from Mariam and goes to the local post office every day before sunrise for five years. One day, when he realizes that he might die soon, he gives five gold coins to the post office clerk Lakshmi Das and asks him to deliver Mariyam's letter to his grave if it comes after his death. The postmaster and his staff make fun of Ali's daily routine. One day Ali stops coming to the post office, and the postmaster starts waiting for his daughter's letter. One day he notices a letter from Mariyam addressed to Ali. He goes to Ali's grave with Lakshmi Das and places Mariam's letter on it.

Reception

Considered to be a landmark in Gujarati literature, "Post Office" is notable for its description, narrative and dialogues. It is the most famous and frequently anthologised short story of Dhumketu. The story was first translated into English by Dhumketu himself under the title "The Letter". Another English translation was done by Mira Naik under the title "Miriam's Letter".

References

{{reflist

External links

Post Office
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

(from ''Tanakha'', Vol 1)
English translation
by Jenny Bhatt
A poem about 'Post Office'
by Kamal Vora 1923 short stories Gujarati literature Indian short stories Short stories set in India