Asian OTIS Elevators and how it got me accused.... Review on Overall Health & Safety in Asia

Well, i'm posting this review under the head ''Overall health and safety in Asia'' but my topic is more of related to the of Safety features of the low-end OTIS elevators which are available in India (and India as you know is in Asia....heh heh) and how it creates a lot of problems for innocent people like me.

What can I say about OTIS elevators......they company itself is constantly moving 'higher and higher' in contrast to its elevators which move up....but do come back down again unless ofcourse you were in an Elevator of the movie Speed-1.

Since I was a child, I had a fascination for elevators. I just couldn't comprehend how just by depressing a button, you could elevate yourself a mile high. OTIS has probably even got its own song now....Elevation by U2 which is sung marvelously by Bono and his gang on top of a high cliff.

Anyhow....coming back to OTIS, it sells about 1 lakh elevators annually and the company always strives for excellence. Making an elevator is a highly complex process where you have to comply with the exact and precise safety standards. The better your safety and backup measures, the more your elevators will sell.....even if its speed is less than the competition. After all nobody wants a retake of Speed-1, do we.....No telling if Keanu Reeves will show up on time or not.

The difference between OTIS elevators and the competition is safety features. They have got hydraulic jumpers, hydraulic brakes.....and even the doors are more often than not hydraulic operated. All this hydraulic stuff does is that it really removes jerks (not jerks like me) but rather body jerks you get....and makes your ascent and descent very smooth and safe.

I believe they were the first company to introduce emergency lights in their elevators. One thing I dislike about OTIS is the fact.....that in the low-end elevators.....what they have done is....they have attached a manual switch for the Emergency lights.....

Now if the lights go out in the elevator....to switch on the Emergency light....we have to manually flick the switch up.....But hey....if the lights are out....how am I suppossed to find the light switch in the pitch darkness. Kind of annihilates the whole point of the emergency light dont you think....

An emergency light is something which should switch itself on incase the normal lights go out....but here....we manually have to switch them on......go on....feel the four walls of the elevators for the light switch....God forbid....by mistake you dont touch a girl/woman in the wrong place in the darkness......cause then....you'll definitely see some stars in the darkness when her sandal lands on your head.

Let me tell u what happened once when I couldnt find the switch of the emergency light and was stuck in an elevator. (This is the one of the reasons why I am writing this review

Once I was at my friend Nikki's place with a stupid project. Anyways I finally got my work over with and was descending in the elevator (which was coincidentally OTIS-manufactured) from 9th floor. On the 6th floor.....another friend of mine Ankita got into the lift. As luck would have it.....there was nobody else in the elevator.....not even the guy who operated the elevator.

So then when we reached the 4th floor....i presume....the electricity went out......and the apartments generator wasnt working (or so I thought at that time) and here we were.....in the total darkness....not knowing whether anybody outside even knew whether we were in the elevator or not.

So anyways....we didnt say anything for a couple of seconds.....after which I said....''Anks......what do you wanna do''......She said ''I dunno.....lets wait a while.....'' So we talked about this and that, that and this. Finally it got very hot in there......so I said....''i think we should probably shout......we dont even know if somebody knows we are here or not.'' She agreed....and I started shouting ''hey hey anybody there........''. But nobody answered. Then I remembered....that the female larynx is much more powerful than the male. That is....a female can scream louder than a male......So I asked Ankita to have a go. And so she did....without giving a second thought....and it didnt even strike me at that time......she started shouting ''help help''.....Now there is something very discerning about a girl shouting ''help help'' in a dark elevator when there is only a guy with her. Immediately (in 2 min) a crowd gathered outside.....and somebody finally fired up the generator. Finally the lift doors opened at the 3rd floor. (Another safety feature....the hydraulic doors only open if there is electricity.....they can be opened manually too....but then you have to open the crankshaft screw in the lift maintainence shack and what not)

Finally when I emerged first.....Everybody is lookin at me....with this glare in their eyes.....which screamed ''did u try any moves on that girl....did u touch her.....did u do any hanky-panky''. And then Ankita emerges after me happy and cheerful at being released from her descending jail.

The watchman asked her in proper gujju ''aa bhai e kai karyu to nathi ne'' (this guy didnt try anything did he....) To which she replied ''na''. Still nobody believed her completely (or was it just my personality). Another soul thought maybe I threatened her or something that if she opened her mouth.....blah blah blah. I was stuck in the lift for 25 min.....but I had a hard time explaining my position after I got released from the elevator...and this took an immense 35 min. I'd rather have been stuck in the elevator then.....

Moral of the Story -

(For Girls) Never shout ''help help'' in a dark elevator when a guy is with you and no liftman is present.

(For Guys) If a girl shouts ''help help'' in the above mentioned circumstances......wise up.....and shout for her to stop. Naito you will get killed by her mom, dad, watchman uncle and other innocent bystanders.

Oh...and...i forgot to mention. Nikki was also there in the crowd of innocent bystanders.....and after everything was over she understood what happened.....but she still looks at me in a weired way which says something iike ''did u or did u not''.....and oh....we never now ride in the elevator alone....she makes sure of that.....One time we did.....she had her eyes closed....and I think she was praying that the lights wont go out......and I was praying....that they would.

But anyways....comming back to the Elevators....Its time OTIS removed this manual emergency light from the cheaper elevatos....Thats something that should be made mandatory in all the elevators....from elevators costing Rs 10000 to the maximum amount. Its like brakes on a car.....Its okay if you dont have ABS and EBD brakes......but you gotta have brakes man!!!

All in all....apart fromt this emergency light fiasco....A great company which makes the finest elevators i've ever seen.

Enjoy ascending!!!

P.S- Moral of the Story for OTIS- Install the automatic emergency lights in each of your elevators no matter how much expensive or cheap the elevators are. Its a compulsion guys.........or it leaves permanant stain on the character of innocent guys like me ;)

Please leave a comment on my character...err I meant my review........heh heh