Life has landed blow after blow on A. Narayanan, lift operator at a posh apartment complex in south Chennai. Hailing from a backward district in Tamil Nadu, Narayanan, 52, moved to Chennai in search of a job at the age of 12. Since then, it has been a daily struggle to meet expenses. He began as a helper at a small roadside restaurant. After six years, he moved to a hotel close to Meenambakkam airport. His earnings—Rs4,200 a month—were more than sufficient, and he could not have been happier when the restaurant owner made him the supervisor.
But his happiness was short-lived as a fall at work led to partial paralysis. He was admitted to the government general hospital for more than four months. Over the years, his wife, who works as a domestic help, managed to raise their three children—a son and two daughters.
But life had to move on. After the accident, Narayanan could not return to his job at the restaurant. He soon got a job as a watchman at an apartment complex in T. Nagar. But night shifts and irregular timings cut short his time there. He then went to work on contract as a lift operator at a government building. But the contractor refused to renew his contract once it expired, and he was once again on the hunt for a job.
“It was a good job, and I was drawing a salary of Rs6,000 a month,” says Narayanan. “But the lift got stuck many times, and I could not handle the service part like others.”
A few months before the pandemic began, a friend got him his current job, where he earns Rs5,500 a month and an additional Rs500 as tip. “It is only a four-storied building and there is not much work,” he says. “I am making little money to support the family.” Even as his work ‘lifts’ him up, his troubles weigh him down. In that in-between zone, Narayanan lives his life.