It was on Pravin’s fortieth birthday that he was handed a letter to him by his father. The letter was written by his great great grandfather.
“How exactly did he write it for me?” asked Pravin to his father
“Well, it was to be given to my next generation and since I am a single child and so are you, hence you got it,” replied Pravin’s father
“But why at forty?” asked Pravin
“No reason for that, I just forgot to give it to you earlier. I was just clearing some things out and found it”
Pravin didn’t think much of it and forgot about it later, but he came across it again one day as his daughter Nayana brought the open letter to him.
“Have you read this?” asked Nayana
Pravin looked at the letter in Nayana’s hand and said, “No I haven’t. Anything interesting?”
“First tell me about the person who has written it,” said Nayana
“My great great grandfather. There, that guy on the wall”
Nayana turned to look at the small painting on the wall amongst other paintings because that painting was the only one which had a man.
“I just thought the painting was like the rest. I have heard the stories about him, he is quite famous in the family,” said Nayana
“Yes, he was adventurous, had been to all kinds of places, had seen and done many great things. The kind of life you hear about and think could this be real, but he did it,” said Pravin
“Except it was not real,” said Nayana
“Maybe, but it doesn’t matter now does it,” said Pravin thinking when he could go back to reading the book he had been reading before
“It was actually not real, it’s all written here in this letter. He was a storyteller and was pretty good at it and people had mistaken it for this life full of adventure and all the experiences and he just let people believe it. This letter is a confession,” said Nayana handing it to her father
Pravin read through the words and said, “He could write well, he could have become a writer. But why confess to me?”
“He might have felt guilty about it and thought by this time it wouldn’t matter as much,” said Nayana
“Oh, this will certainly be an interesting conversation with your grandfather,” said Pravin as he put the letter back in its envelope where it wouldn’t be forgotten for a long time now
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 
One response to “The letter of Past”
What a beautifully intriguing narrative! 🌟
The way the story unfolds around the mysterious letter creates such a sense of curiosity and suspense. I especially loved the generational connection—how an adventurous great-great-grandfather’s presence lingers in both memory and painting, only to be questioned by Nayana in the end. That final line, “Except it was not real,” is so powerful—it flips the entire story on its head and leaves the reader eager to know more.
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