Short Story / Film : Smriti 🌱

Work in progress

Scene 1: Meeting Room – Late Afternoon

Half a dozen corporate employees sit around a sleek conference table in a meeting room, the dull hum of an air conditioner overhead. Everyone’s in formal attire—blue shirts, black trousers, the standard corporate uniform. A Zoom call is projected on the big screen, with faces from across time zones arranged in neat boxes.

From the screen, Dan, a senior manager with a clipped British accent, addresses the room.

“And so overall, although we’ve made some decent progress, we’re heading into a very aggressive quarter. Everyone needs to stay sharp and give their 200% to meet our commitments. No room for slippage. Are we clear?”

A few heads nod. The responses are a scattered chorus of weak “Yup,” “Yes, sir,” with a few quiet grunts from the back.

Another voice chimes in from the Zoom window. “Okay then, let’s win this together, guys!”

Dan concludes with a smile. “Have a good day ahead. Nishant—we assume you’ll take it from here.”

“For sure, Dan. Thanks for joining in,” Nishant says, already moving to end the call.

The moment the screen goes dark, chairs scrape back and the room begins to empty. Nishant raises a hand.

“Kunal, Smriti—stay back for a few minutes, please.”

The two exchange a glance but remain seated. The room quietens up. Nishant leans on the table, arms crossed.

“Smriti, I’ll come to the point. You’ve been doing a decent job. You’ve clearly become one of the key contributors but your deliverables are stagnated as of late.”

Smriti shifts in her seat, eyes slowly raised to meet Nishant.

“But sir, I have been doing all the assigned tasks within the sprint”

“Yes you are.. Which is commendable. But at your level, there should be a hunger for more. A growth mindset! Look I don’t ask this to others who I know are not capable of doing it. For someone with your skillset, I expect more.”Her fingers tighten around the edge of her notepad.

“We pushed to get you a laptop instead of the usual desktop that other junior programmers get. That’s because we believe in your potential. And while HR policies respect that you need to head home at a safe hour, that doesn’t mean you can’t push yourself further.”

Nishant gestures toward Kunal.

“Just look at Kunal. I haven’t seen him leave before 8 p.m. in weeks. He’s always up for night deployments, volunteering where needed. That kind of commitment counts.”

Smriti looks up, meeting Kunal’s gaze for a second, then quickly away.

“So here’s what we’ll do,” Nishant continues. “Kunal will be your shadow buddy under the office’s mentoring program. Learn from him. Observe how he handles pressure.”

A pause. Smriti hesitates, biting her lip, clearly wanting to object—but no words come.

“Okay, sir. I’ll try my best to improve,” she says quietly.

She rises, clutching her laptop, and walks out of the room.

Nishant exhales, then looks over at Kunal with a half-smile.

“Sutta break?”

Scene 2: Tea Shop – Dusk

Outside the IT park, the sun casts long shadows across the pavement. A small tea stall bustles with activity—plastic cups clinking, the scent of masala chai in the air. Nishant lights a cigarette, offers one to Kunal, who declines.

“I need you to inspire her, man,” Nishant says. “She’s got talent, but she’s underdelivering. You two are the strongest devs we have. If we’re going to make a lead this quarter, I need her operating at your level.”

Kunal leans against the railing, arms crossed.

“Look Nishant, I appreciate what you said in the cabin but I’ve got enough on my plate. I’m focused on my promotion case right now. I can’t afford to be slowed down.”

Nishant raises an eyebrow.

“Mentorship is part of your promotion metrics. You know that. Leadership isn’t just about finishing your own tasks—it’s about lifting the team. And this is the opportunity to lead by example! You already know her. She’s from your college right? Talk it out with her. Do pair programming. I’m pretty sure within a week, she will adapt to our way of working.”

Kunal exhales through his nose, annoyed but cornered.

“Okay. I will try to push her and obviously I would not be babysitting her.”

“Don’t. Just lead. She’ll follow if she’s got what we think she has.”

Kunal sips his chai silently, staring out at the busy road.

Scene 4: Office workspace - late evening

Kunal approaches Smriti’s workstation, where she is already packing up. "Hey… leaving already?"

She nods and gently replies “It is the usual working hours’ end you see”

"I was hoping we could extend today and finish the my-accounts screens."

"I actually have a class, Kunal," she replies with a mild agitation.

"Ah! AI/ML or Yoga? Although, you don’t need the latter, if you ask me," he responds in a cheerful tone.

She responds with a smirky smile, "Not everyone can be intelligent like you, na, to pursue heavy topics like AI/ML."

"Okay, let’s do one thing then. You heard Dan and Nishant! This week, we have to finish at least 3 modules. Why don’t we meet after your classes and extend till 8? You choose the place. I can drop you to your PG after that. Deal?"

She responds with a yes.

Scene 5: Deserted bus stop - late evening

The bus stop stands alone under a flickering sodium-vapor light, its plastic roof streaked with grime. Beyond it, an open gutter exhales the sour tang of sewage into the humid air. Kunal leans against his parked bike, checking his watch for the third time in five minutes. His phone buzzes in his hand. 

Kunal: (into phone)  "Hey, I’m at the godforsaken bus stop you picked. Where are you?"  

Through the phone, children’s laughter bubbles beneath Smriti’s voice—bright, unfamiliar.  

Smriti sounding slightly breathless answers "Sorry, just wrapping up. Two minutes."  

Kunal turns around and squints at the gutter behind the bus stop.

"Wrapping up what? There’s nothing here but a—" 

Suddenly he catches a flash of movement beyond the sewage line "Wait. Are you past the gutter?"  

A silent beat. The phone crackles.

Smriti (quietly)  : "Uhh.. okay do one thing.. Lock your bike. Jump the drain and follow the dirt path."  

The call ends. Kunal mutters something about "ridiculous promotion tasks" as he picks his way across the gutter, dress shoes sinking into mud. The dirt path weaves between leaning tin huts, clotheslines strung with faded saris brushing his shoulders. The hum of the city fades, replaced by the sizzle of oil in a pan, a woman scolding a child in local language. Then—a clearing.

Under a frayed blue plastic tarp, Smriti kneels on a plastic mat, surrounded by five children. A cracked slate rests against her knees. She guides a little girl’s hand to trace the Hindi letter ‘क’. Her usual office kurta is rumpled, a streak of chalk dust on her sleeve. The girl beams up at her.

The little girl announces "Didi, I did it!"  

Smriti softly replies  

"Shabash, Priya." She glances up, spotting Kunal. Her smile doesn’t falter, but her shoulders tense. "One minute, beta."  

She rises, smoothing her kurta as she approaches Kunal. The children whisper, eyeing his crisp shirt and leather shoes.  

Kunal (low voice)  "Let me guess. Corporate CSR initiative?"  

Smriti plucks a chalk piece from her pocket, rolling it between her fingers. A boy tugs her other hand. 

"Didi, Golu took my slate!"  

Smriti without looking responds in a grim raised voice

"Golu, return it!."

Her tone leaves no room for debate. The boy pouts but obeys. She turns back to Kunal "They’re ragpickers’ kids. The NGO here lost its teacher last month."  

Kunal raising an eyebrow questions "And you just… volunteered?"  

A toddler wobbles over, pressing a pebble into Smriti’s palm like an offering. She pockets it absently. 

Smriti responds "I leave at 5:30 because their parents only allow lessons before dark." She meets his gaze. "The API docs and the screens’ work WILL get done. Just not at the cost of this." 

Kunal facepalms and replies in a light tone “the things I do to get things done.” He turns to Smriti and speaks in a louder tone “Okay you win! We have to finish the modules this week and if you can’t compromise on this samaj seva, I will pick you up for the next few days at 6:30 sharp this week. Then we sit and focus on finishing off modules till dinner. Deal?”

Smriti nods.

(Kunal opens his mouth—a sarcastic remark about "priorities" ready—when his phone buzzes. Nishant’s caller ID. Smriti sees it. Her expression doesn’t change, but her fingers tighten around the chalk.)  

Kunal (after a beat)  

"Tell the brats to pack up. We’ve got work." (Turns away, silencing the call.) "And you’re explaining why my shoes smell like hell."  

(Smriti watches him stride off, then kneels to help Priya cap her marker. Behind her, Kunal pauses at the gutter, glancing back at the tarp, the chalkboard, the way Smriti’s stern "No, Golu—gentle* with the slate" carries the quiet authority of someone used to being heard.)*  

(Unrefined script : Work in progress)

Kunal and Smirit talk and grow fond of each other. Kunal is a pessimist and says these people don't really want help. They would still send their kids to be ragpicker or begger. They would collect some money per day so that their father can take a quarter before sleeping in night. Instead she should focus on her career. Smriti helps show Kunal that being a girl, her fare is sealed. No matter how much she excels., after marriage there's no guarantee how long her career would last. Hence she is taking out time to do what she really wanted to do as she grew up.

 Kunal is impressed but also dismisses her naivety. He starts to join her and wait for an hour as she teaches so that later they can still work on office tasks together till 8. He shares that he always like to do things that make a difference. Such small good deeds don't really change the problem in society., but Smriti says that sometimes doing small things may not do anything to society but it does give you peace of mind. “Well, My piece of mind would be in my future audi!” He says “And that would only happen by grinding and rising to the top in the company”. Kunal always notices that while returning towards the bus stop., Smriti always slowly drops some small black stones from her palm. He never asks as she would always try to be discreet while throwing.

The week passes by but next week Kunal notices Smriti has not joined. Due to heavy work, He is grilled by Nishant and works late till night to cover up for her. Even next day on tuesday she does not arrive and this time Nishant is furious but Kunal is worried. He tries to check for Smriti’s address but her door is locked. He goes to the slums to confirm but doesn't see kids coming today. He asks nearby ragpickers where those kids came from who came to study here. He then goes to a hut in which he sees a woman with a beaten black eye. She shares that her husband is taken away by police. She hesitatingly shared that Smriti didi came to our hut as she wanted to convince babu’s father to resume sending bittu (their elder daughter) for teaching lessons. Babu’s father was drunk and he swung a rod at her. Her body was taken away by her family. She starts breaking into tears. Kunal is devastated. As he walks with a shock he notices small saplings have sprouted on the mud in a straight line. He remembers Smriti’s conversation as she was dropping the seeds while heading back with him to the bus stop. “Sometimes doing small things that give you happiness is also good. Even if they may not change the society”

the final scene we see a few years later. Kunal is wrapping up calls with his reportees and bidding his team good night as he leaves. He takes his macbook from his personal cabin and heads to the parking lot. We see him walking towards a black audi. As he walks in, the Audi is unlocked. Few more steps and another person in suit pants opens audi’s door and sits in the audi. The Audi drives by and Kunal’s real car , a small Toyota hatchback is revealed which was parked behind the Audi. He watches the luxury car exit the gate as he steps in his toyota. He takes a deep breath and drives off. Next scene the car is stopped at a small one storey school like building. Atop The main door a hoarding that says “Smriti open school for financially challenged” Kunal enters the door and a volunteer comes up to greet him. “Namastey sir!”

Kunal nods with a gentle smile “How is it going Vishal?” 

“Pretty great sir! All the 6 kids batches are running smoothly” Kunal opens up a register kept at the table as Vishal continues “We saw a small reduction in the evening batch but I think the families have moved out of town due to change in construction site.”

Camera zooms out and shows the entire school premise as we hear Kunal’s voice (getting lower as the shot zooms out) “Good! But let's also keep our on site teaching drives active. Have you asked the colleges for volunteers...”

(credits start to roll)