Titanic Revisited

Author: Dr. Mandar V. Bichu

In 1985 the wrecked ship was finally found at the bottom of the sea and since then, numerous underwater explorers armed with their sophisticated equipment have kept visiting the wreckage, trying to unravel its mysteries. Discovery Channel’s DVD- Titanic presents two in-depth interesting documentaries based on two such missions. Using original black-and-white past films, 3D-computer graphics and reenacted dramatic scenes, these documentaries present in detail how Titanic met with its disastrous fate on its very first voyage from Southampton to New York.

Last Mysteries of Titanic presents celebrated director James Cameron’s high-tech submarine research tour to film the underwater remains of the wrecked ship and Titanic- The Untold Stories tries to piece together the tragic event through recollections of various passengers. Obviously these documentaries are quite different from Titanic - Cameron’s romanticized Oscar-winning Hollywood film on the same disaster. Watching these never-before footages of the interior structures of seaweed- strewn, silt-covered Titanic silently lying at the sea-bottom is an eerie experience. From swimming pools, Turkish baths, squash courts, state-of-the-art gymnasium, a grand staircase and a glass dome- Titanic had every possible luxury to offer to its passengers but the majority of its passengers were traveling in economy Third class lower deck.

In order to reach its attempt to cross Atlantic in fastest time, the owners-White Star Shipping Company had ignored iceberg warnings. The iceberg that finally spelt doom, hit the ship just before midnight from right side fracturing the steel exterior of 5 ship-chambers. Third class lower deck passengers were the first to experience the flooding waters and the top deck passengers- most of them in deep sleep were not even aware of the disturbance for quite some time. Thanks to the heroic deeds of Titanic’s staff- especially the wireless operators and the boiler-room men, many lives could finally be saved but still many were lost as there were not enough life-boats! The 12 member ship-orchestra gallantly played on music while the panicked passengers were in a mad scramble to get into the life-boats. As the flooding continued, the huge ship turned vertical and wrecked in two. The electricity was lost

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