Ours was an aging gated community in the outskirts of the town. Gone are the days when owning a flat in the complex was a matter of prestige. A couple of decades ago, the complex—with its well-groomed gardens, swimming pool of clear blue water, a clubhouse with brand new gym gadgets, dedicated generators for power backup, children’s playground and a lush green nana–nani park—was a neighbour’s envy. Even today, by and large, a dedicated residents’ committee manages our society well.
However, efficiency in management is limited to a few members who have years of experience in software applications, finance management and legal aspects of property registration. But few have the technical know-how with regard to day-to-day affairs like managing generator failures, operation of pump sets and attending to lift malfunctions. Paid service providers are unavailable in the vicinity and aging lifts in several buildings of the complex are a perennial source of headache.
Ramanujam is the one and only guy who can fix any faulty lift in a jiffy. There is no certified proof that he has the qualification for the job. Yet he has that Midas touch that make him the most sought-after guy in the complex. But Ramanujam was a busy fellow, with his own agenda of frequenting movie houses and other questionable recreational centres, and was often unavailable when we needed him most.
One day a resident, trapped inside a lift cage, frantically banged the door for over half an hour. Every possible hideout of Ramanujam within a radius of a kilometre and a half was searched and all our earnest efforts to locate the man came to naught.
The burden of managing to open the lift and liberating the hapless soul inside it fell on my weak inexperienced shoulders, which the residents considered a poor substitute to Ramanujam’s. I started using all available tools and sweated for nearly half an hour with everyone around giving me assorted unworkable suggestions. At last when we all almost lost any hope of rescuing the poor resident in distress, the door miraculously opened out to our great relief. And out of the lift came a highly inebriated, unsteady Ramanujam.