We see him every day.

We press the button.

We reach our floor.

And we walk away.

This episode of Ant Shant Podcast is about a man we notice —

but rarely listen to.

He is a lift man.

Not just someone who operates an elevator,

but someone who carries responsibility, time, and people’s lives

— silently.

He calls himself a “Lift Pilot.”

Because just like a pilot,

his job is to take people safely from one point to another.

And in all his years, he says,

no one was ever late because of him.

He chose this job because his mother wanted him close.

Because dreams needed to stay near home.

Because sometimes, choices are made between love and survival.

His father’s reaction came on a night he still remembers.

Drunk. Proud. Emotional.

A phone call.

A hospital job.

A first salary that disappeared the same night —

but stayed in memory forever.

Then came automation.

Glass lifts.

Machines that don’t need hands, voices, or human presence.

And with them came regret, fear, and a question about the future.

But among all this, there was one moment he will never forget.

A school child.

A simple “Thank you, Lift Man.”

And for a second, he felt like a superhero.

This episode is fictional,

but the emotions are painfully real.

It’s about dignity.

About invisible jobs.

About parents, pride, regret, and respect.

And about the people who keep our lives moving — quietly.

At the end, the host realises something important.

And offers an apology.

The lift man excuses himself.

Because someone needs to operate the lift.