Forget Taj Mahal, 65-year-old husband in Andhra builds desi escalators at home for wife suffering from severe knee pain

A 65-year-old mechanic in East Godavari district has skipped grand monuments and built something far more practical for his wife: a homemade escalator inside the house. Satti Siva Narayana Reddy of Arthamuru village designed the device to help his wife Satyaveni, 58, who suffers from severe knee pain, climb their home's 21 steps without struggle. He completed the project in just 20 days, spending only Rs 70,000, and the story is now winning hearts across social media.

Why He Built the escalators

Seeing his wife wince in pain every time she climbed the stairs spurred Reddy into action. Rather than go outside to find help or buy costly equipment from overseas, he decided to produce the solution in his own house, with his own skills and savings.

A Farmer Without an Engineering Degree

Reddy studied only up to Class 5 because his village had no school nearby. He has no formal engineering background. What he does have is decades of experience repairing tractors, rice mills, and farm machinery. He currently owns four tractors, runs a rice mill, and cultivates five acres of land in Arthamuru, a village near Mandapeta in the Godavari delta region. That practical know-how, built over a lifetime, is what made this project possible.

How The Desi Escalator Works

Reddy used a 1.5 horsepower motor and simple materials to build the escalator, completing it in around 20 days. The machine moves smoothly along all 21 steps, carries loads of up to 300 kg, and stops automatically for safety. It even switches to inverter backup during power cuts, a common issue in rural areas. Apart from helping Satyaveni, the family now uses it to carry heavy items like rice bags and groceries upstairs with ease.

The Internet Can't Stop Talking About It

Videos of Satyaveni smiling as she rides the escalator, and Reddy calmly explaining his invention, have spread rapidly online. Viewers have called it proof of real devotion, far removed from grand romantic gestures. One viewer summed it up: "It's not just stairs he fixed, it's the daily struggle he removed from her life."

Love, Built With Hands, Not Marble

While the Taj Mahal stands as history's most famous monument to love, Reddy's escalator tells a quieter, more personal story. Built with no formal training, limited resources, and a lot of patience, it does not seek admiration from the world. It simply makes one woman's daily life easier, proving that sometimes the truest expressions of love are the ones nobody expects.