Kerala - Kochi   

Watch Titanic on the drawing board

The end of the maiden voyage of Titanic, a ship that sailed into disaster in 1912, is well known. But how was the beginning of Titanic the idea? The story behind conceptualisation of the magnificent ship till it rolled out into the sea is the focus of Discovery channel's programme Titanic: Birth of a Legend.

Ready for world premiere at 9 p.m. on Saturday, the programme highlights the trials and tribulations faced by a team of shipbuilders at various stages of constructing the gigantic floating structure that became part of history. The first episode, Titanic: Birth of a Legend, narrates the hardship undergone by the team in building the huge vessel.

But why was Kochi selected for the premiere? There is no other better location to tell the story of a ship, says Rajiv Bakshi, corporate communications manager of Discovery Networks India, his fingers pointing to the serene backwaters and the sea beyond where ships seem to kiss the sky. The shipbuilders went through a new experience altogether. At every stage, there were challenges. There were rival groups among the workers. The task was challenging and the hardship encountered by the workers was drowned in the spirit of making the biggest ship. More than a dozen workers lost their lives while shaping the high edges of the ship.

Interwoven with the tale are real-life stories of a few men who made up the Guarantee Group, the troubleshooting team on the maiden voyage of the ship.The second part of the Titanic story surrounds the journey of James Cameron, an Oscar-winning writer, director and producer of the blockbuster film Titanic, to the location of the shipwreck. The programme combines re-enactments, archival footage and the results of many dives into the deep sea. This episode, named Last Mysteries of the Titanic, will be aired at 8 p.m. on Sunday.

One thing that makes the Titanic so fascinating is that it represented the best technology when it set out on an ill-fated voyage, says Raja Balasubramanian, brand director of Discovery channel. "The name Titanic has become synonymous with tragedy, but it represents much more than disaster; the magnificent ship represents the hopes and dreams of an entire community," he says.

R. Ramabhadran Pillai

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

BSNL awards presented
Government directed to produce panel report on bus fare hike
GCDA panel meet put off
Watch Titanic on the drawing board
New entry to station to open tomorrow
Coast Guard to have 12 more ships
Taking words of the common man
Strength in numbers
St.Thomas Church to come up in Doha
CITU protest against Smart City
Around the City
In Kochi Today

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu