Balussery (Kozhikode, Kerala): “My dearest father... I believe you are in heaven now, so this is a letter to heaven. Are you happy there? I cannot forget you. When will you come back? I will wait for that day...”

Even though young Sreenanda now knows her wait for her father will remain unfulfilled, she wrote these heartfelt words straight from the heart — a letter to her father who will never return.

As part of the Reading Month celebrations, Panangad North AUP School’s Vidyarangam Kala Sahithya Vedi organised a letter-writing competition titled ‘Write a letter and win a prize’. When the teachers opened the postbox to select the winning entry, they were moved to tears upon reading Sreenanda’s letter.

While most students wrote letters to friends, teachers, or writers, Sreenanda chose to write to her father, who passed away in a bike accident last year. She began her letter with the words ‘A Letter to Heaven’, and every line was filled with love and longing for her father. Each line in the letter opened her emotions to him, leaving not only the teachers but everyone who read it in tears.

Sreenanda’s father, Baiju — whose sudden demise in the accident devastated not just the family but the entire village — was the family’s sole breadwinner. Now, Sreenanda’s mother, Dhanya, supports the family by working at a bakery.

Sreenanda, a seventh standard student, is just twelve years old. She ended her letter with these touching lines: “Someday, I will see you again, Dad. I am studying well, Dad... And Mum is taking good care of us. A thousand kisses for you, Dad. Always yours, Sreemol.”

Out of nearly a hundred entries, this heartfelt ‘Letter to Heaven’ won first prize. “Beyond its deep emotion, the letter’s language and content are incredibly strong and moving,” said Anamika, teacher and convenor of the Vidyarangam Kala Sahithya Vedi.