In March 1994, the the commissioning of the first unit of Talcher Super Thermal Power Project got underway. Commissioning of power plants is rather a complex, and lengthy procedure. But this story belongs to the beginning of this complex process, where the water system of the plant gets ready leading to hydro test of the boiler. The technical name of the water system is "de-mineralization system" or DM system in short. DM plant is that building of a power plant where water from local source is purified so that it becomes suitable for use in the boiler.

It was the fall of 2002. I was at Talcher-Kaniha, Orissa and was working as a Control & Instrumentation (C&I) engineer at the 6X500 MW coal based super thermal power plant of NTPC. The day ahead was either a Sunday or some holiday. I clearly remember the quiet time that I had planned that evening and the day following with my family. Aroma of Mughlai chicken filled the house while I was busy playing with my three-year-old daughter. It was about half-past seven in the evening.