Sharmaji Summary

“Sharmaji” is set in and around an office in urban India where the protagonist, Sharma, works. Sharma arrives 45 minutes late for work; it is the 14th time he has been late this month. An argument breaks out when he is reprimanded, as Sharma is quick to be offended by criticism, especially from those younger than him. Afterwards, Sharma and his friend Gupta shirk their duties to drink tea and smoke cigarettes in the canteen. Gupta is searching for a wife, whereas Sharma is about to have a fourth daughter. Future dowry payments pose a significant financial burden to Sharma’s family. Sharma and Gupta complain about the company and discuss rumors about their highly modern, nontraditional manager, Miss Das. While Sharma does his utmost to avoid his work, Gupta is afraid of the consequences he will face and eventually returns to his desk.

Sharma is told that his supervisor, Borwankar, wants to see him immediately, but Sharma refuses to go until after his lunch. He and Gupta eat a heavy meal, smoke, and chew paan. When they return to the office, the power has gone out. Borwankar finds Sharma and takes him to his office, where he starts to question him about where he has been all day. Sharma finds increasingly elaborate ways to either lie or avoid answering directly and begins to accuse Borwankar and the company of treating him poorly. Miss Das joins them, and Sharma is given an official charge-sheet, which he refuses to sign, storming out to speak with the general secretary of the workers’ union, Adesh Singh.

After an explosive argument with his own supervisor, who does not want to let him leave his work to help Sharma, Adesh joins Sharma, Borwankar, and Miss Das, and he successfully negotiates an agreement: Sharma will accept the charges and be let off with a warning on the condition that he provides a written apology. Miss Das then asks to speak with Sharma in her office. Drinking glass after glass of her cold water, Sharma tells Miss Das about his depression and his mistreatment, revealing that he once won an award for excellent work but has been passed over for promotions because he refuses to participate in petty office politics and maska. Finally having a genuine listener, Sharma agrees to commit to coming to work on time, and he reveals he used to write poetry, which he will show Miss Das the next day. Feeling reinvigorated, Sharma finally sits down at his desk half an hour before the end of the workday and begins to write a new poem.