The Lift

Good Morning.Welcome to Sizza plaza,You are on Ground Floor

                           Gengu pressed on button 12 and as the lift door was closing ,his taste for design made him wonder, at the alternate possibilities of arranging the lift button panel.

 Why is it not outside the lift?
 Could there be a better design for this?
He mentally calculated the pluses and minuses of different arrangements.


Gengu works in an advertising agency.His job is to woo customers through his creative ads and make them want things whether they really want it or not.Despite the creative nature of his job, he felt it monotonus.It didnot satify his creative spirits. He wants to be an artist and create things in his own way.

His corporate life started everyday in this lift. The eerie silence in the small metal room , the possibility of strangers standing together ,something  impossible for the major part of human life time, triggered his curios mind and tickled it with wonder. He always preferred to stand right in front of the button panel , partly because of his restlessness and partly because he was a control freak.

On his extreme left and diagonally opposite to him stands his crush, an intelligent and strikingly attractive lady, the very combination which seduced him.Megna, who was also his team lead, completely ignored his proposal 2 years back,a proposal for which he took 2 months for designing, yet appreciated his creativity. He proposed in this very lift at 12/12/12 at 12 pm at 12 th floor and "I love you" was the 12 th phrase he spoke to her. He gave her 11 gifts that day before the proposal and gave his heart as the 12 th gift. He was heartbroken and depressed at the rejection and ever since then they remained strangers, another stranger on the lift.

Third Floor.

                          
Third floor always sent a scary wave amongst anyone who had worked in Sizza plaza for more than 6 months.6 months back a young disturbed employee committed suicide owing to loneliness and extreme pressure of his daily corporate life.He worked in an IT Company in this floor.He committed suicide on this very lift on a midnight when he was on production support alone and left a note inside reading
"WORK TO LIVE. DONT LIVE TO WORK.I AM A LESSON"
with a philosophical addition
"LIFE IS A LIFT. EVERYONE HAS TO LEAVE OUT ONE DAY"
His philosophy ended with the lift.He probably had a bad boss or a bad client or likely both.

 Fourth floor

   The lift door opens.No one is leaving out . The lift is already full.Nobody is entering either. This floor has a news cum entertainment media company, Galatta Corner. Any one who comes from this floor is always on his/her feet. The entire lift vibrates on a higher frequency with new energy. This lift has seen many hot discussions, those left overs from the discussion desk. It has seen a few celebrities too. Priyanka Chopra once got stuck in this lift while she came for an interview. The lift resumed in seconds though. Gengu closed the close button to speed the closing doors though he was aware that those buttons were just placed for placebo effect.They never really speeded the doors.

  Seventh floor

               
"Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention please.There is an emergency situation in the building.Please evacuate the building using the nearest exit. Please do not panic"

Another test fire alarm, Gengu chided at the poor design. The very purpose of fire alarm is defeated by the test alarm. The lift doors closed and Gengu could see panic in the face of his fellow travellers.He consoled them telling them it was very likely a test alarm.It was.They remained inside for 15 minutes.

      Tenth floor

  Gengu made a lift friend in this floor one evening as he was leaving home. The lift friend, Renuka from another IT Company poured coffee on his shirt as she entered the lift chatting over the phone, drinking coffee and finding a place inside the lift. They had been friends ever since then, just friends, Gengu wouldn't fall in love for another few years. Their friendship in fact was limited to the lift , started with a Hi, ended with a Bye and filled with 12 minutes chat in between , the time it took for them to get from tenth floor to the building exit. She probably was already in her cubicle today,he thought.

      Twelfth floor

 Gengu felt a slight headache. As the door opened, he walked to his ODC,swiped his ID card , logged into his system, opened his email and saw a new proposal from his manager.

Hi Gengunathan,

We have a new proposal from a company which makes lifts. They want a creative ad. A short story centered around their lift would be really good. Let me know your thoughts.I will catch you in the lift today evening, when we leave.

Regards,
Neeraj


             

Image source:
http://www.everestelevators.com/F34769/lift_installation.html