Sharmaji

by

Anjana Appachana

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Loyalty and Disillusion Theme Analysis

Themes and Colors
Tradition, Modernity, and Gender Roles Theme Icon
Labor and Creativity Theme Icon
Loyalty and Disillusion Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Sharmaji, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Loyalty and Disillusion Theme Icon

The characters in “Sharmaji” are heavily influenced by either loyalty to or disillusionment with their company. Providing another prism through which readers can understand Sharma’s resentment, the story shows that a sense of unrewarded loyalty can lead to deep disillusionment. At the same time, though,  expecting rewards for such loyalty can also be selfish and unreasonable. Having worked at the company for 25 years, Sharma feels that he has been unfairly maligned and passed over for promotions, which have been given to less deserving, even unworthy candidates. As he tells it to Miss Das, his unrequited loyalty to the company is the primary source of his poor performance and his avoidance of his duties. Whether this is true or not remains unclear, but the fact that Sharma received a reward for excellence in his work 25 years ago suggests that he was not always the lazy employee readers come to know, and this lends credibility to his story. Sharma adds that his jaded attitude is not only the result of his treatment by the company but also a consequence of the dishonest and inappropriate behavior he has seen others get away with or even be rewarded for—behavior he sees as far worse than his own shirking of labor. According to Sharma, Mahesh and others withhold information from Miss Das to protect their friends and punish their enemies. What’s more, other managers have advanced their careers through personal favors, and, until Miss Das’s arrival, there was a widespread culture of sexual abuse in the company. The fact that these iniquities are left unaddressed while Sharma is punished gives credence to his feeling that he has been unfairly persecuted—perhaps he really would work harder if he felt he would be rewarded for it. Sharma’s sense of unrewarded loyalty can also be interpreted as a result of societal change. As modernization privileges efficiency and results, loyalty and consistency become less and less valued. And the story implies that the less valued people feel, the less likely they are to devote themselves to their jobs.

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Loyalty and Disillusion ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Loyalty and Disillusion appears in each chapter of Sharmaji. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Loyalty and Disillusion Quotes in Sharmaji

Below you will find the important quotes in Sharmaji related to the theme of Loyalty and Disillusion.
Sharmaji Quotes

Sharma was late for work. When he signed his name in the attendance register, the clerk in the personnel department shook his head disapprovingly.

‘Very bad, very bad, Sharmaji,’ he said, clicking his tongue. ‘This is the fourteenth time you are late this month.’

Sharma’s brow darkened. ‘You keep quiet, Mahesh,’ he replied. ‘Who are you to tell me I’m late? You are a clerk, I am a clerk. You don’t have the authority to tell me anything. Understood?’

Mahesh retreated behind his desk. He said, ‘What I am telling you, I am telling you for your own good. Why you must take it in the wrong spirit I do not understand.’

‘You don’t tell me what is good for me,’ Sharma said. He raised his voice. ‘I am twenty-five years older than you.’

Related Characters: Sharma (speaker), Mahesh (speaker)
Page Number: 367
Explanation and Analysis:

‘Oh, sit down,’ said Sharma. ‘Even my boss is after my life. They are all like that, these managers. They think that only they work. Just because they stay here after office hours they expect people to believe that they work. Ha! All that is to impress the general manager. How else can they get their promotions? All maska.’

Gupta sat down.

‘Jagdish,’ called Sharma. ‘More chai.’

The third round of tea arrived.

The electricity went off.

‘Bas,’ said Sharma. ‘Now who can work? These power cuts will kill us all.’ He sat back in his chair.

‘My boss says that it is no excuse,’ said Gupta gloomily. ‘He says that if a power cut lasts three hours it doesn’t mean that we don’t work for three hours. He says that we are here to work.’

‘He can keep saying that,’ said Sharma contemptuously. ‘Does he think we’re animals? They all think that we have no feelings. Work all day, work when the electricity goes off, work without increments, work without promotions, work, work, work. That is all they care about. No concern for us as human beings.’

Related Characters: Sharma (speaker), Gupta (speaker)
Page Number: 370-371
Explanation and Analysis:

Sharma was silent. He shook his head. He looked sadly at Mr Borwankar. He said, ‘Borwankar sahib, why are you taking this tone with me? You ask me questions as though you have no faith in me. This is not a detective agency. Why must you interrogate me in this manner? All right, I was not in my department, but that was because I had work in other departments. Still, if it is your wish, I will not go to other departments even if I have work there. I will sit at my desk and work only at my desk. Yes, yes I will do that. The company does not want me to consult other departments. All right, I will not consult other departments. You will see, work will suffer, but why should I care when you do not? I have been in this company for twenty-five years, but no one cares. For twenty-five years the company has bled me, sucked me dry. What do you know? You have been here only two years. You know nothing. Twenty-five years ago I joined as a clerk. Today I am still a clerk. Why should I work?’

Related Characters: Sharma (speaker), Borwankar
Page Number: 373-374
Explanation and Analysis:

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.’

Related Characters: Adesh Singh (speaker), Sharma, Adesh’s Supervisor
Related Symbols: Cold Water
Page Number: 375
Explanation and Analysis:

They ordered tea. Sharma lit a cigarette and smoked sadly.

‘Sharmaji, said Adesh deliberately, ‘you had better mend your ways. I can’t help you out next time.’

The tea arrived.

‘What do you mean, mend my ways?’ asked Sharma sulkily.

‘You know what I mean. You don’t seem to know your limits.’

‘Don’t lecture me. You are the general secretary of the union. Your duty is to get me out of this, not give me speeches.’

‘You keep quiet. If you want me to help you, hold your tongue.’

Sharma simmered. Again, insults from someone so much younger.

Related Characters: Sharma (speaker), Adesh Singh (speaker)
Related Symbols: Cigarettes
Page Number: 376
Explanation and Analysis:

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.’

Related Characters: Sharma (speaker), Miss Das (speaker)
Related Symbols: Cold Water
Page Number: 376
Explanation and Analysis:

‘They say I do not work. They say people should not mix with me. I, who was one of the first people to join the company twenty-five years ago. If I did not work, why did the company give me a special award for excellent work twenty years ago? You look surprised. You do not know. Of course, they will not tell you. They know you are intelligent. They know you will ask, what has happened to this man? You wish to know madam, yes?’

Related Characters: Sharma (speaker), Miss Das
Page Number: 378
Explanation and Analysis: