The cold glasses of water—which are only available in managers’ offices and the workers’ canteen—symbolize the company’s tendency to strictly control resources as a way of maintaining power. Working in the heat of summer and through recurring power cuts, the entire staff of the company is thirsty, hot, and drenched in sweat. That the managers have their own water, unlike the workers, therefore immediately establishes one of the most obvious power imbalances in the workplace. This division comes to a head when Sharma goes to Adesh for help. Told by his supervisor that he cannot step away from his work for union activities, Adesh asks to go to the canteen for some water and is told that he is “not thirsty.” Adesh is incensed, giving an angry, passionate speech and disrupting his entire unit’s work until he is permitted to leave. In this particularly explicit instance, cold water clearly comes to represent agency and power, which the company holds over the workers, giving the latter access only sparingly and begrudgingly.
When Sharma speaks to Miss Das in her office, however, water comes to symbolize the value of transcending power dynamics that otherwise alienate managers and employees from each other. For the first time in a long while, someone in management is willing to listen to Sharma, and he drinks glass after glass of the cold water Miss Das offers him as he tells her about both his own malaise and his history of perceived mistreatment at the company. In this case, the cold water symbolizes a genuine understanding between the two of them, or at least the beginning of an honest, open conversation, even if it is a conversation heavily weighted toward Sharma’s lengthy monologues.
Cold Water Quotes in Sharmaji
The other workers listened, rapt.
With his hand on his chest, Adesh said, ‘Madam, what you have said has hurt me here . . . right here.’ He drew a shuddering breath. ‘You think we have no feelings, no hearts. You think that only officers have feelings. But madam, believe me, our hearts are more vulnerable than ours. We feel . . . we feel. Sharmaji, chalo.’
Sharma sighed and sat. He passed his hand over his brow. ‘It is so hot, he said. ‘How do you expect us to work in these power cuts, Miss Das?’
‘What to do, Sharmaji? That is how life is in Delhi. Would you like a glass of cold water?’
‘Certainly.’ He gulped down the water. ‘What advantages there are to being an officer! You have flasks of cold water in your room. We poor workers have to go to the canteen to drink water. And when we go there and someone sees that we are not at our workplace, we are accused of shirking work.’ He returned the glass. ‘Thank you, madam.’
‘You’re welcome.’
Cold Water Symbol Timeline in Sharmaji
