Sharmaji 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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."

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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 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.