All collaborations with generative AI start with a prompt. For our Dad Jokes and Generative AI series, we used punny jokes. For this short story series I have dusted off a previously shelved project of mine that is loosely based off my own travels around India. At its heart, this short story is a parable that emphasises the power of the journey rather than the destination - a fitting tale as we trek through the mountains of creativity with generative AI.
The Story
Our protagonist is Pandi ( a Wunambal language word meaning “head” ) who is travelling around India on her first overseas trip.
Intending to travel to Alappuzha railway station in the state of Kerala, Pandi arrives at Aluva railway station after purchasing a ticket for the wrong train. This was part of a journey which would ultimately see her travelling to Uttiramerur - a small village in Tamil Nadu. Why she was travelling here, is a story for another time!
Desperately low on cash, she attempts to withdrawal money from an ATM at Aluva railway station but her card doesn’t work.
Worriedly sitting down in the passenger waiting area wondering what to do next, Pandi is approached by an optometrist - running a pop up clinic for the local Lion’s Club as part of World Sight Day - who asks if they can help. Explaining the situation, the optometrist says they would be happy to drive Pandi to Alappuzha but only at the end of the day, and in the meantime Pandi could help out by handing out leaflets and promoting the pop up clinic in front of the train station. Pandi agrees.
Just as she is finishing up, Pandi meets a group of British tourists who say they are travelling to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, on a tour bus via Munnar where a tea making contest is being held. The Brits say that Pandi can join the tour bus if she doesn’t mind the stop. Jumping at the opportunity, Pandi thanks the optometrist and boards the bus to Munnar, quickly falling asleep on the bumpy journey.
Arriving at the tea plantation, Pandi’s new British friends are quickly absorbed into the festivities of the competition. Meanwhile Pandi sits in front of the assembled competition stage, herself absorbed at the makeup of the different teams and their preparations. There are the British contingent of course, but also teams of scientists, university entries, Indian Aunties with their special masala chai etc.
An elderly person sits down next to Pandi and asks if she would like to try to make her own tea while they wait for the competition to start. While haphazardly making the tea, Pandi enthusiastically talks about her home town, growing up with her best friend Tili, how she came to be in India in the first place and her recent misadventure on the Indian train network.
The poorly made tea now prepared, the two then move back toward the stage where the teams are now ready. Trying Pandi’s tea, the elderly person’s facial expressions make it clear it isn’t very good, but thanks Pandi for the fascinating conversation.
The competition begins and it is revealed that the elderly person Pandi has been chatting with is the tea plantation owner and sole judge of the contest.
A drawn out judgement process ends with the winners being announced, and at the end of the ceremony, the judge awards a special prize to Pandi - who may not have made the best tea, but was certainly the best company. The judge hands Pandi an envelope with some cash and just as Pandi is beginning to say thank you, the judge introduces Pandi to Aatma, the judges son who is instructed to drive and accompany Pandi on the 10 hour drive to Uttiramerur…
Why This Story
In addition to checking off the personal goal of turning an incomplete shelved project into a completed work, this story evokes some interesting elements that will put generative AI’s creative effort to the test.
It will be interesting what this collaboration with Generative AI can make of the different environments, characters, a plot twist and a subtle moral lesson
Thanks
At the end of each article in this series, we’ll call out which GenAI Tools were most useful in its creation. In this case, it is Grok, X’s large language model.
Even though this is only the synopsis, but we can already see how useful a partner Generative AI can be when telling a story:
