The Story Behind The Story

“What should you do when you feel lost and don’t know what to do next?”

When the professor in our Writing 420 class asked us to submit a proposal for the project that you are currently reading, they asked us to try and include a central question or an idea that our project will revolve around. With this being the capstone project for my Minor in Writing, I was instantly under pressure to come up with something really interesting - something extremely meaningful. After all, this project was going to be the crowning jewel of my time at the University of Michigan. Add to that that this, in all likelihood, is my final school project ever? Some might say the stakes have never been higher.

Stories have a unique power to incite change and impact people’s lives on a level very few things can reach. Ever since I realized just how transformative the experience of storytelling can be, I have lost the ability to interact with anything or anyone without thinking about it or their story. As you browse this website, my aim is for you to see multiple stories intertwine. This project isn’t just the script for a movie, but it is an organized mess of the screenplay, the backstories of each character, my very personal narrative and, hopefully, a satisfactory depiction of the lived experiences of millions across the world. At its heart, this project is a reflection of real human relationships and a commentary on what it takes to build community.

So, Welcome to Average Chokra. A screenplay that follows the story of a 25-year old Indian man, named Kunal, who, after graduating from college in the United States, mysteriously returns to his hometown, Mumbai, and takes up a job as the computer science teacher at his old high school. That is where this story begins.

While I think the central question of this project has changed since I submitted the proposal, I don’t think it would be right to discard the one at the top of this page completely. Beyond the class I wrote this for and the ideas I hope to convey through it, this project came to me at a time when I felt exactly like that: aimless, without purpose and very, very scared. Did writing the screenplay fix all those issues? No, but it allowed me to think deeply and honestly about the world we live in. It gave me perspective, and often, all it takes, is seeing things from a slightly different point of view. Most of all, this project allowed me to remind myself of the values and beliefs that I aim to live by.

For any of you that have made it this far, thank you for going on this journey with me, I really appreciate it. For those of you that are planning on sticking around for the ride, I promise to make your time worthwhile.