The Hindu Business Line : An alarming tale

Recently in London It was half-past ten in the night. An ear-piercing alarm frightened me as I tried to switch on the TV in the hotel room. I thought I might have pressed a wrong switch by mistake, in panic I turned off all the switches in the room. As the alarm continued, I rushed to the main door and opened it. “It is a fire alarm, you have to vacate the hotel immediately,” shouted a hotel staff standing at the other end of the lobby.

I took my passport, mobile and purse and ran down the stairs from the second floor of the hotel, where a media group from India was staying for three days.

This was just after we were back in our rooms at Holiday Inn, Kensington, London, after a sumptuous dinner at Bombay Brasserie, the nearby Indian restaurant. We had decided to retire early that evening, as everyone was tired after a long day of meetings, presentations and press conferences.

The ground floor lobby was packed with people in their nightgowns, and the hotel security was clearing them. I met some of my colleagues who were staying on other floors.

By then, a fire engine arrived and the firemen rushed into the hotel. The hotel staff suggested that all guests could move into another hotel across the road.

Our PR man was making sure all of us were safe and together.

Everyone, except our friend Anil Patel of Ahmedabad, was there. This middle-aged reporter from a vernacular paper had come back with us after the dinner. Someone said he would have gone to sleep, but I thought it was too early for him to go to bed.

The firemen continued their inspection, and allowed no one to go into the hotel.

We were worried. Our friend from Gujarat was still ‘missing’.

Five anxious minutes passed.

Yes, there he is, coming down the steps, a bit tense and embarrassed. “Hey, Where were you?” all of us asked in unison.

This was his sorry tale:

When the fire alarm rang he was in the loo. He rushed out of the room without taking the key. He was locked out. But then he realised that he was wearing only a T-shirt and a Jockey, Nothing more. He had to get the duplicate key. His room was on the 15th floor. He looked around. There was no one around. He ran down all the floors and was headed for the reception.

“Ma’am, I am locked out, I need the duplicate key,” he told the charming English lady at the reception counter.

“Are you mad, can’t you hear the fire alarm?” she asked

“But ma’am, I need the key.” No, you can’t go to the room until the fireman gives the clearance.

“But ma’am …..,

What?

“I was in the bathroom when the alarm rang, I ran out of the room. I have nothing on down below,” he said.

“Oh, God,” she said and asked, “What is your Room Number?”

“ 1525, ma’am".

“Here is the key, do what do you want, but mind you, you are taking a risk,” she said.

“I ran up all the 15 floors, opened the door and put on my trouser, took my passport and came down at the same speed.”

We couldn’t stop laughing.

By then came the announcement: “Ladies and gentleman, it is now safe to go back to your rooms, it was a false alarm.”

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