Stampede

Window Seat 

Three persons, two of them women, died and 10 others were injured in a stampede early 29^th June morning in Puri, Odisha. The incident took place when devotees had been waiting to have Darshan of Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra on chariots during the RathYatra festival.

Stampedes can happen when a large number of people gather at one place. Since India's independence, numerous stampedes at religious gatherings and other crowded events have resulted in significant loss of life. Some of the deadliest incidents include the 1954 KumbhMela stampede (with estimates ranging from 316 to over 800 deaths) and the 2008 Chamunda Devi temple stampede, which killed approximately 250 people. More recently, stampedes at the Vaishno Devi shrine in 2022 and a religious event in Hathras in 2024 resulted in 12 and 116 deaths respectively.

There can be many reasons for stampede- from structural failures to poor crowd control, from unruly crowd behaviour to making them stand stationary at one place for a long time without giving them any valid reason to inadequate communication.

Puri is an ancient temple town. However, it does not have the carrying capacity to accommodate a million plus people, many of whom are aged coming from outside of Puri town. The crowd size is increasing by the year, thanks to improved road and rail communication and sustained promotion to 'eventivise' Puri RathYatra as a must-visit spectacle.

As such as a nation we are not disciplined and socially empathetic like, say the Japanese. And to add to the misery, we have a terrible and obnoxious VIP culture, which has scant regard for the convenience, even safety for the common masses. All these together creates a situation in which stampede is just waiting to happen at any large congregation.

A stampede is not God's will, as some people would like us to believe. God is not a cruel being who wants people to die at the feet of a crowd. It is our failure. Let us admit our failure, and take steps to pre-empt such tragic mishaps.

Shubhanshu Shukla

India's Shubhanshu Shukla travelled to the International Space Station on an American commercial mission with three other astronauts, carrying the dreams of 1.4 billion Indians to send a second 'Gaganyatri' to space after a gap of over 40 years.

Shukla, who is the mission pilot, is India's second astronaut going into space - four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma made history in 1984. The 39-year-old fighter pilot was chosen by ISRO as the prime astronaut for this historic flight.

Caricature: Debasish Singh

Where is MonalisaBhonsle?

Remember MonalisaBhonsle? The wide eyed 16 years old dusky girl, who came to Mahakumbh at Prayag Raj to sell rudraksha beads and garlands and became Internet Sensation for her grace and beauty.

If you do not remember, here is a quick recap:   MonalisaBhonsle, a 16-year-old girl from Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, went to the Mahakumbh 2025 with her family to sell garlands. Some visitors at the Mahakumbh took her pictures and shared them on social media. Her simplicity and graceful looks captured people's attention, and soon, she became the centre of attraction.

As her fame skyrocketed, managing the overwhelming crowd became a challenge. To ensure her safety and privacy, Monalisa's father decided to take her back home.

Following her viral fame, filmmaker Sanoj Mishra offered Monalisa a lead role in his upcoming movie, "The Diary of Manipur." It was reported in the media that she would portray the daughter of a retired army officer. Before filming, she would receive three months of acting training in Mumbai.

Six months after she was at the peak of public attention, where is Monalisa in public memory? She is hardly there.

That is the transience of sudden, digital platform driven fame.

Tailpiece-1

O God, make my Salary like Petrol.

Every morning I wake up and say, wow, it has increased again

Tailpiece-2

Half a year has passed. What have I gained and what have I lost.

Final conclusion: gained fat, lost hair.