Maa Tujhe Salaam: Retd soldier dies during stage performance

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 31

A yoga event in Indore turned tragic on Friday after a retired soldier collapsed on stage, clutching the National Flag, while delivering a spirited performance on a patriotic song. Thinking that the fall was part of the act, the audience kept clapping for a few minutes.

The retired Army officer, Balwinder Singh Chhabra (73), suffered a heart attack and he died on the spot. A video shows Chhabra performing on song “Maa Tujhe Salaam” before a gathering during a yoga camp organised by Aastha Yoga Kranti Abhiyan in Indore.

Few minutes into the performance, he falls on to the stage, with enthused crowds continuing to clap thinking the fall is part of his performance.

Not just that, after Chhabra’s fall, a local organiser is seen standing up and waving the Tricolour to fill in for Chhabra for whom everyone waited to get up and conclude the performance. But that was not to be.

It was only about three minutes after his collapse that the gathering realised he has died.

Pankaj Kshirsagar, who was OSD to former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, confirmed Chhabra’s demise. “What’s most touching is that the soldier died waving the Tricolour. He lived and died by the National Flag,” he said.

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