This article is part of https://jinkchak.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/the-penultimate-semester-anthology/ . Due to the fact that the aforementioned article was one of the longest that Jinkchak has ever published and knowing that a lot of RVCE students are hard-pressed for time, the Elevated Fun (An anecdote about the CS Department’s elevator) short story was separated from its parent article. So, if you haven’t read it yet, I urge you to continue reading the words that follow…
I guess most CS students would agree that the most useful, and hence, most used facility in their department is the elevator, which was installed a few months ago. Initially restricted to the college staff only, this beloved elevator was opened up to students after some patriot (who must have been a staunch believer in the philosophy – “Why climb up stairs when you can be lifted?”) protested against such discrimination by scratching away the notice that forbade students from using the lift. Even though a warning sign inside the lift 
states that it can support a maximum of 600 kg or thereabouts, there are many who wish to verify this claim by gathering as many people as they can find and stuffing them into the elevator together. The elevator also has a way of protesting against such outlandishness by going out of order at least three times a week. I know of one nincompoop whose main aim in life is to demonstrate Doppler’s effect to others – so, whenever he gets the opportunity of travelling in this contraption, he screams his head off. If you happen to be on the other side of the lift – in short, beside him inside the lift, then woe unto thee! Being called “shameless” by a teacher has done nothing to wither his spirit one bit! Now, even the staff members prefer using the staircase rather than this contraption, allowing students to avail of its facilities more often.
There are some troublemakers who are neither interested in using the lift themselves nor in the mood of permitting others to avail of this facility. Whenever they happen to catch a glimpse of any individuals attempting to use the lift, they hurry over to the elevator from wherever they chance to be, and wait outside the lift until their prey – the innocent victims – have entered the elevator and pressed the appropriate button for the particular floor they wish to reach. Then, as the elevator doors close shut, these good-for-nothing troublemakers press the external call button to re-call the lift. Their actions are so perfectly timed that the elevator doors open up a few seconds after, and the individuals inside the lift find themselves on the same floor they had started from. A few troublemakers cannot be bothered to make the effort of even pressing the external call button – instead, as the elevator doors close, they pass one of their feet through the gap between the doors, and the doors automatically slide open. This procedure is repeated an indefinite number of times until the innocent victims, conceding defeat, escape from the elevator and run down a flight of stairs. It wouldn’t be foolhardy to guess that these troublemakers are partly responsible for the elevator going out-of-order so frequently.
I do recall one incident particularly well. On one fine morning in the month of November, 2012 AD, six students were making their way to class. As usual, they were late and as usual, they decided to use the elevator which was already stationed on the ground floor, beckoning them with open doors. They entered the elevator and one of them pressed the button labeled “2”. No sooner had the doors closed than they opened again, and who should they see standing in front of them but Mr. Donald. And, believe it or not, they were still on the ground floor – What kind of sorcery was this?
Anyway, Mr. Donald, in a not-too-stern voice, said, “No…See…Why you want to go by lift when it is only for the staff memb.…” – the students didn’t hear the rest of that sentence because it was at that moment the lift doors sealed shut, and they lost sight (and sound) of Mr. Donald.. At first everyone thought that the elevator was blessed with magical powers, but their superstitions were soon laid to rest when they realized that one of them had pressed the button labeled “2” while the teacher was talking. Thanking their stars for such a close call, they breathed a sigh of relief. No sooner had they expelled the air from their lungs than the lift doors opened once again, and they found themselves face-to-face with Mr. Donald AGAIN!!! AND THEY WERE STILL ON THE GROUND FLOOR!!! No one waited for Mr. Donald’s words of wisdom. They made a run for it, and used the staircase to reach their destination – It was every man for himself!
Who knew that an elevator in RVCE could be the subject of so much amusement? Fascinating, ain’t it? 🙂
Jinkchak 
