But, all these events took place two score years ago on a theatre stage in Calcutta in a political drama on the plight of poor coal-miners in India. Dr. Biswajit Mukherjee, a prominent immigrant scientist still remembers that last scene vividly from his youth. It was brought to life by the stage-lighting wizard Mr. Tapas Sen from that period. He had done it with a combination of light and shadow, creating that special effect to show the slow rise of the water-level in the cave. The effect was also augmented by the brilliant acting by the trapped miners in their desperate attempt to escape from the death.
On a recent evening, Dr. Mukherjee was watching a popular TV show. Suddenly, there was a “Breaking News” displaying the live footage from the collision of a modern warship, belonging to his current country of residence with a larger merchant ship of a smaller nation. Most damage was done to the warship, especially near the section of the sailors’ living quarters. Dr. Mukherjee’s heart sank. In his mind’s eyes, two frames appeared side by side. In the left, those miners being trapped in that flooded cave in that historical play, while in the right, the real-life sailors, trapped in their flooded quarters, had been attempting to escape the death. As he closed his both eyes, two frames started to juxtapose sending a shiver through his spine. Still, he held the hope that being trained in warfare, all the sailors would be able to rescue themselves.
Next morning, the headline in the local newspaper announced the tragedy. As he gleaned through the article, Dr. Mukherjee learned that majority of the sailors were found alive, except a few that perished. And that number was a total of seven!