Sharmaji

by

Anjana Appachana

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Sharmaji Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Sharma, a worker in the purchase department, is late for work. As he signs his name in the attendance register, Mahesh, a personnel department clerk, expresses his disapproval. This is the 14th time Sharma has been late this month. Sharma responds angrily, questioning Mahesh’s authority to comment on his lateness (both as his colleague and someone 25 years younger than him). Sharma tells Mahesh to keep quiet. As Sharma raises his voice criticizing Mahesh, a small crowd grows around them in the personnel department.
This opening scene sets the story in an office, beginning in the personnel department, where workers sign in at the start of the day. Sharma’s consistent lateness is also made clear; it is the first characteristic of his about which the reader learns. This shows that Sharma’s relationship to his employer is not a positive one, hinting at his deep disillusion with his work. Sharma’s angry reaction to Mahesh’s criticism suggests the significance his traditional views about deference to elders (or, at least, deference to him) will play, too.
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Gupta, a clerk in the accounts department and a friend of Sharma, joins in and starts to make fun of Mahesh too. The crowd is laughing when, suddenly, Miss Das, a personnel officer (and part of company management, walks into the room. When she asks them what is going on, Sharma tells her that he is simply trying to sign the attendance register, and Gupta sneaks out of the room. Miss Das questions why Sharma is signing in 45 minutes late, and he tells her that his daughter is sick. She retorts by asking if his daughter has been sick 14 times this month, and Sharma tells her that all three of his daughters have been sick this month, one after the other, before walking out of the room.
Sharma and Gupta’s mockery of Mahesh—and the willingness of other workers to join in—suggests that the workers are somewhat creative and clever despite their apparent laziness, even if this is a rather mean-spirited expression of such creativity and wit. Presented with an opportunity to express themselves, something their work does not permit, the workers quickly seize the chance. Miss Das also enters the story, hinting at the importance of gender roles within the tension between tradition and modernity. Sharma also displays his willingness to lie, or at least exaggerate, for the first time.
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In the hallway, Sharma meets Gupta, who is smoking a cigarette. Sharma asks Gupta why he left him alone with Miss Das, and Gupta replies that he is already in trouble with her, offering Sharma one of his cigarettes. As they smoke, they discuss Gupta’s plans to get married; his parents have consulted an astrologer who told them it is urgent, as after the coming December there will be two inauspicious years for marriage. Unfortunately, Gupta and his family do not have much money and also need to pay for a dowry for his sister, who is getting married next month. Sharma reassures Gupta he will find a suitable bride, and they head to the canteen for some chai.
The first of Sharma and Gupta’s many smoke breaks introduces the symbol of the cigarette, a charged but somewhat ambiguous expression of modernity. This is contrasted by the highly traditional attitude Gupta and his family are taking in his search for a bride—an attitude that Sharma encourages.
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In the canteen, Sharma and Gupta complain about the quality of the tea and what they see as generally poor treatment of the workers by their company and its managers. While they both express their frustration at the company’s drive for profit above all else, they feel trapped in their positions, concluding their thoughts by saying, “This is life.” They smoke more cigarettes and discuss Sharma’s family; his wife is about to have a fourth daughter. Gupta expresses concern about the financial difficulties this will pose, but Sharma is unfazed. On the one hand, he loves his wife and daughters, and on the other he feels resigned to his fate in this regard too.
Sharma and Gupta’s expressions of discontent with the company highlight a real sense of mistreatment on the part of the workers while also striking an ironic note, as they complain about company food while shirking their work. The attitude they both share indicates both how deep-rooted the conflict between workers and management is at the company and the lack of opportunities for a productive resolution. This can also be understood as expressing disillusionment with society more broadly. At the same time, Sharma’s surprisingly nontraditional views on gender roles are revealed, suggesting that he is not as firm of a traditionalist as he may appear.
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As Sharma and Gupta continue to drink tea and smoke, Gupta asks if Sharma has heard the latest office gossip: that Miss Das also smokes cigarettes, which Gupta suggests is a highly unusual activity for a woman. Moreover, she has a boyfriend. Sharma doubts the veracity of Gupta stories; the source, another clerk named Rahul, talks too much, gossiping rather than working. Sharma says he will find out the truth for himself. Gupta is about to leave for his work, but Sharma convinces him to stay for more tea. He reasons that, as it is only an hour until lunchtime, there is no point in working until after they eat.
Sharma’s unexpectedly progressive views on women are further hinted at as Gupta relates the latest gossip about Miss Das. Dismissing these rumors and resolving to find out for himself, Sharma demonstrates a respect for both Miss Das and her private life that strikes the reader as surprising, given his resentment of management more broadly. While Sharma does not condone her hypothetical behavior, he finds Rahul’s gossiping a more objectionable offense and clearly feels positively toward her—positively enough, that is, to give her the benefit of the doubt.
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Gupta is worried, as his manager has been after him lately, but Sharma dismisses the managers’ threats and other employees’ attempts to appease them as maska. They drink a third round of tea, and the power goes off. Frequent power cuts provide another justification, to Sharma, for avoiding their work. Miss Das passes through the canteen, spotting both of them, but she does not stop to say anything. Gupta becomes more nervous, but Sharma points out that their union will protect them from retaliation. This isn’t enough to convince Gupta, who leaves for his office.
The hold that fear of punishment has over Gupta, and other workers who are less willful than Sharma, is introduced, showing how the company has to incentivize its workers through coercion rather than any positive attitude toward their labor. Sharma also hints at the degree of corruption in the office for the first time, suggesting that perhaps he is on the outs with the company not just because he is lazy but because of his refusal to participate in office politics. The frequent power cuts also place the story in a broader social context of economic difficulties. Sharma also references the union for the first time, foreshadowing the role it will play later on.
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Sharma sits and considers his situation. From his point of view, the fear Gupta and the other workers have of management is exactly the problem. He flips through a newspaper, thinking that, just like at working, nothing in the news seems to ever change. Harish, a peon from Sharma’s department, comes to tell him that his manager, Borwankar, wants to see him in his office. Sharma says he will come by after lunch, ignoring Harish’s warnings about Borwankar’s temper and dismissing him.
Sharma’s sense of malaise isn’t limited to the workplace—rather, it’s an expression of discontent with the world at large. His desire for change forms a curious contrast with his firm belief in traditions of seniority and deference, as he angrily reacts to a peon like Harish giving him orders, even if Harish is just passing them on. The reader can intuit from Sharma’s worldview that he takes great pride in confronting management head-on and is perhaps unable to stop himself.
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Sharma is still sitting in the same place when Gupta returns for lunch. Sharma explains that he doesn’t have any lunch of his own, as his wife and daughters left last week to visit his mother-in-law for a month. Gupta offers him half of his lunch and promises to ask his mother to pack him an extra lunch for Sharma for the next month. Sharma tells Gupta that he is a “true friend.” After splitting Gupta’s lunch, they go next door to a food stand for more to eat, leaving them full and drowsy in the summer heat, and they complain about the lack of a break room where they could rest in their workplace.
Sharma and Gupta’s reliance on their wife and mother, respectively, to make lunch for them once again highlights the persistence of patriarchal traditions, even in their modernizing society. On another note, the complaints Sharma and Gupta share about their workplace, even if they are somewhat ridiculous in nature, continue to make clear how deeply disillusioned they are with the company.
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Finally on their way back to the office, Sharma insists they stop once again for more paan. When they return, the power is still out, and Sharma complains at length about having to take the stairs instead of the elevator, which he sees as more evidence of the workers’ mistreatment by management. His difficulties are mocked by Mohan, another peon, which Sharma takes as more proof of rampant disrespect toward him in the company. Sharma is preparing to go to the canteen again for more tea, which he claims is the only way to address his post-lunch exhaustion, when he is stopped by Borwankar, who asks him to come to his office immediately.
Sharma’s dependence on paan emphasizes the persistence of traditional habits and their coexistence with more modern kinds of consumption, such as smoking. While the lack of a room to nap in may not seem like the most legitimate grievance, the lack of power is a serious problem in the office, one that lends credibility to Sharma’s frustration with the company. Mohan’s mockery strikes a nerve with Sharma, as he is once again disrespected despite his seniority. This forms an ironic, illustrative contrast by the lack of respect in Sharma’s attitude to Borwankar, who is his direct supervisor.
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Borwankar angrily questions Sharma about why he didn’t come to his office earlier and is unsatisfied by Sharma’s excuse that it was lunchtime. Sharma once again explains that his daughters are sick and his wife isn’t home to pack lunch for him, leaving him hungry and weak and possibly sick himself. Borwankar is unsympathetic and asks where Sharma was all morning. Sharma replies that he “must have gone down to the personnel department or the accounts department for some work,” but he cannot specify what that work was.
Sharma once again spends an enormous amount of mental energy lying and creatively deflecting to avoid facing the consequences of shirking his work. This further supports the growing sense that Sharma is a tremendously sharp and capable individual and is avoiding his work not because he is unable to do it but for other reasons more closely related to his sense of resentment and insecurity.
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Sharma becomes indignant and begins to attack Borwankar for his questioning, reversing the situation. He questions Borwankar’s right to speak to him in such a suspicious, hostile manner, and claims that Borwankar’s demands are actually preventing him from working effectively. Sharma also emphasizes the 25 years he has spent working at the company, expressing his frustration with the lack of appreciation he receives for the years he has put in. He becomes increasingly angry, asking why he should work at all when the company has “bled [him], sucked [him] dry."
Sharma’s reversal of Borwankar’s attack proves what was hinted at earlier: that his attitude in the workplace is a reaction to perceived wrong he has been done, not an unthinking, total laziness. Sharma very elaborately takes apart Borwankar’s arguments and throws them back at him regardless of their merit, once again demonstrating his talent for both bluffing and wordplay. He also explicitly references for the first time just how long he has been at the company, without reward or recognition for his service, making clear the reason he is so resentful, as least in part.
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Borwankar is unfazed, telling Sharma that he still hasn’t answered his question and accusing him of avoiding his desk and loitering in the canteen not only on this particular day but on a regular basis. Sharma becomes resigned once more, asking Borwankar what the point of addressing his questions is, when nothing he does will satisfy him. Sharma accuses the personnel department of having nothing to do but target people like him for being late to work. As Miss Das enters, Borwankar gives Sharma a charge-sheet—an official reprimand accusing him of being late to work and absent from his desk. Faced with accepting or denying the charges, Sharma storms out to speak to a representative of the workers’ union.
When it becomes clear his words will have no effect on Borwankar, Sharma quickly loses his energy, demonstrating how powerless he feels in the workplace. Sharma continues to throw accusations around, but they have little effect on Borwankar, as he can see. While Sharma can tolerate Borwankar’s anger, as he already feels that he is unfairly maligned in the office, the official charge-sheet pushes him over the edge. According to Sharma, the company itself is responsible for a number of wrongs, so he’s particularly enraged by the idea of the company formally accusing him of wrongdoing. As a result, Sharma would rather escalate the situation by involving the union than accept responsibility for what he has done.
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Sharma goes to speak with Adesh Singh, the general secretary of the union. When Adesh asks to be excused, his supervisor refuses his request, as union activities are not permitted during office hours. Adesh asks instead to leave for a drink of water and is told by his supervisor that he is not thirsty. Adesh is incensed, implying discrimination on the part of his supervisor against him because of his affiliation with the union. He gives a rousing speech in front of the other workers until his supervisor agrees to let him leave.
Contrary to the prior worker-manager disagreement, Adesh’s conflict with his supervisor suggests that there is some truth to what Sharma has been saying: that management’s disciplining of the workers is arbitrary and unfair, and that discussions between them are not carried out in good faith. This is most powerfully symbolized by the cold water Adesh asks to go drink, which comes to represent the lack of understanding between the two groups.
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Adesh and Sharma leave to discuss Sharma’s situation. Adesh asks Sharma if the charges are true, to which Sharma asks if that matters, asking rhetorically, “What truth is there in this world?” Adesh tells Sharma to accept the charge-sheet but deny the charges themselves, as no worker will sign off as a witness to Sharma’s lateness and absenteeism. Sharma replies that Borwankar, Miss Das, and other managers will corroborate the charges. Adesh then says to accept the charges, as Sharma will likely be let off with a warning. Sharma is unconvinced and asks Adesh to come with him to speak to Borwankar. First they have tea and cigarettes together, and as they drink and smoke, Adesh tells Sharma to “mend his ways.” Sharma is insulted by advice from someone much younger than him and rebuffs Adesh, but Adesh tells him to keep quiet if he wants his support.
Adesh’s willingness to help Sharma regardless of his guilt emphasizes that the division between workers and management has reached such a degree that both sides view the conflict as a zero-sum game. While Adesh is sure that Sharma will be let off with a warning, Sharma’s concern shows that he is not as confident as his fiery rants make him seem. Sharma depends on Adesh’s help, but he is still resentful that Adesh does not respect him as an elder; as Adesh reminds him, however, those traditional social rules no longer apply. Adesh is the only one with the power to help Sharma now, and modern ideas of power override traditional ideas of respect in these circumstances.
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Adesh and Sharma go to speak with Borwankar and Miss Das. Borwankar questions why Adesh is there, and Adesh implies that management is making false accusations against Sharma. Adesh reads the charge-sheet and disputes its truthfulness, claiming that he saw Sharma at his desk all morning. When Borwankar questions this, Adesh threatens to get any number of other workers as witnesses to support his claim. At Adesh’s suggestion, Sharma signs the charge-sheet and leaves. Adesh advises the managers to change their attitude toward the workers, claiming that they have “broken” and “betrayed” Sharma. Adesh points out that Sharma’s family is away, inadvertently undermining Sharma’s story of his daughters’ illness, but he quickly covers this up. He convinces them to let Sharma off with a warning in exchange for a written apology. Miss Das asks him to tell Sharma to come speak with her personally.
In Adesh’s defense of Sharma, he mixes his passionate belief that Sharma is truly being mistreated with blatant lies, claiming he saw Sharma at his desk that morning. This shows the extreme degree of disillusionment the workers feel with the company, as they do not believe they can negotiate openly and truthfully. Adesh also flips the accusations on their head, placing the blame on management for Sharma’s attitude, which he claims is a product of the hostile atmosphere workers encounter on a regular basis. He succeeds in getting Sharma off with a warning, but it is left unclear if this is because of his speech or simply because of the power he holds as general secretary of the union. 
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Sharma goes to speak with Miss Das, who offers him a glass of cold water. The power is still out, and Sharma is sweating from the heat. Sharma points out that, as a manager, Miss Das has cold water in her office, while the workers must go to the canteen. Miss Das then asks Sharma if he is all right—she has noticed that lately he has seemed depressed. While Sharma points out the charge-sheet against him as an obvious reason, she explains that she has his general well-being in mind. Sharma then launches into an extended diatribe explaining his depression and lack of hope for the future. He points out that she is still young and encourages her to live her life, positioning her as an innocent figure and potential ally of his in the office, which is otherwise full of corrupt and mean-spirited individuals out to get him.
Miss Das’s request to speak with Sharma is an invitation to talk rather than another interrogation—and this, in turn, is the first genuine overture a manager has made to actually engage in a dialogue with him. The reader can see the significance of this move toward mutual understanding in the symbol of the cold water, which is suddenly available to Sharma. In actually asking Sharma how he feels, Miss Das gives him the first opportunity he has had to be heard in a long time, transcending both workplace and social divisions. Sharma now directly admits how depressed he feels, proving that there is a deeper reason for his avoidance of work than simple laziness.
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Continuing his monologue, pausing only to ask for more water, Sharma explains the source of his resentment. He has been at the company longer than nearly anyone else and once received an award for excellent work, but he has since been continually passed over for promotions. He warns Miss Das to watch out for Mahesh in particular and tells her not to be too trusting. He also reveals sordid histories of corruption, accusing some managers of currying favors and even of sexually abusing some of the women in the office. Miss Das is shocked and asks him to name names so she can put a stop to this behavior. Sharma refuses, saying that it is no longer necessary, as Miss Das’s presence has discouraged the offenders from continuing their acts. He then attempts to end the conversation, telling her, “All is well, now that you are here.”
As Sharma continues, the reader learns that he did not always find his work so creatively unfulfilling. In fact, his reward for excellent service suggests the opposite. That Sharma used to be a hard worker indicates there must have been some kind of change, either in Sharma’s personal life or in the office; the abuses he lists indicate that the latter is more likely. Sharma’s curious views on gender roles reemerge here too, as he furiously denounces the past treatment of women in the office and praises Miss Das for her leadership, striking a strange contrast with his more traditional views.
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Miss Das, however, will not give up the subject of Sharma’s depression and the poor performance at work it causes. Sharma enigmatically responds by quoting a poem, seemingly gesturing toward the lack of meaning in his life. He asks Miss Das for water once more, and she asks him to commit to coming to work on time in the future. Sharma then asks if he can make a request as well, to which Miss Das agrees. He asks her to tell Borwankar that he once received an award, and that his promotion is long overdue. Sharma then offers Miss Das discounted cosmetic products, which he has access to through the purchase department. She refuses his offer, however, and he tells her she is right to do so. He then gives her the signed charge-sheet and his apology before getting up to leave, refusing her offer of more water.
Sharma’s reciting of the poem demonstrates his latent creativity, which has been blocked by his time at the company. With Miss Das willing to listen to him, however, something seems to open up inside him, suggesting that a positive, creatively fulfilling relationship to his work is still possible. Sharma’s request that she speak with Borwankar also suggests that he does feel a sense of loyalty to the company, even if he also feels bitter and resentful about his treatment throughout his career. Despite this shift in Sharma’s outlook, he doesn’t entirely quit his old tricks, hinting at bribery to Miss Das.
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Before Sharma departs, however, he asks if he can ask Miss Das a personal question. He urges her to get married, and wonders if she is engaged yet. To Sharma’s surprise, Miss Das says she has already been married for two months and has chosen to keep her maiden name. Sharma is confused by her “very modern” lack of fanfare regarding her wedding, but he accepts that “things are changing” and congratulates her. He leaves but then quickly returns, offering to show her his own poems, which he wrote years ago. She insists on reading them during their lunch break instead of during work, which Sharma reluctantly accepts.
Learning the truth about Miss Das’s romantic life, Sharma responds with deference and acceptance, perhaps surprisingly. This does not contradict his views on gender roles, however, even though this openness of his may not quite fit with his firm belief in deference to seniority. Sharma’s contradictory mix of traditionalist and modernist positions most explicitly personifies the ambiguous nature of change, as he himself alludes to. In offering to show Miss Das his poems, Sharma seems to make good on the promise of a new relationship between his labor and his creativity, now that he has finally found someone who recognizes the latter quality in him.
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It is already five o’clock (half an hour before closing) as Sharma leaves Miss Das’s office, suddenly reliving memories of past loves. He meets Gupta, who invites him to the canteen now that his boss has left, but Sharma responds that he has some work to do. Gupta is dumbfounded, and before he can respond, Sharma also tells him that Miss Das does not have a boyfriend and is already married, and that he should not believe the rumors spread about her in the office.
Sharma’s powerful nostalgic visions make clear that the creativity his years at the company have suppressed is very much alive and reawakened. This radical change in his mood prompts an equally radical change in his behavior, as he declines Gupta’s invitation and heads to his desk instead. Sharma also reaffirms his progressive views on gender roles, telling Gupta the truth about Miss Das and reaffirming his distaste for the rumors spread about her.
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Sharma then finally walks into his office for the first time that day, surprising his fellow clerks. Rahul asks him where he has been all day, to which Sharma responds that there were many things to do, and many more that are yet to be done. Sharma then sits down at his desk and starts to chew on another piece of paan. Instead of typing, however, he takes out a pencil and a sheet of paper and starts to work on a new poem.
His creativity reignited, Sharma is finally willing and able to return to his desk. While this suggests that a new symbiotic relationship between his labor and his creativity has been made possible, the fact that he sits down and begins to write a poem, not to work, adds an ironic twist. Perhaps things will be different for Sharma, but he has still successfully avoided doing any work whatsoever all day.
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