Its not Ricky, but Kelly at Taj

Vijay Upadhyay
Agra. March twentyfifth has come and gone without the arrival of the latino pop-star Ricky Martin. In his stead Kelly Rowland shall perform at a later date.

After being postponed twice in the past two months, the Eighth Wonder of the World concert, against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal at Agra ,shall now be held on April 12th, if the organisers manage to get their act right this time, and instead of Ricky Martin, the star of the show shall be Kelly Rowland, a member of the rock band Destiny's Child.

According to the show organisers, the concert, that was to be first held on 25th February and then postponed to 25th March has again been shifted, now to be held on 12th April, though no reason was given for the postponements. Other artistes who have been signed up for the concert are 13-year-old rap artist Lil J Xavier, Pakistani sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and also the rock band Strings.

But while the show organisers are still not willing to come forth with the real reason for the repeated postponements after declaring the dates in advance, Agra administrative sources claim that it was the organisers' adamance to hold the show behind the Taj Mahal that was to blame for the rescheduling.

According to Mr. D.K. Burman, Jt. Director, UP Tourism, there was no way that such a concert could be permitted to be held behind the Taj Mahal by the Supreme Court, due to its serious repercussions on the environment and the "closest" point that could be allotted for the show was the hillock of hotel Taj Khema about 500 meters away from the Taj Mahal, which the UP Tourism department had already agreed to lease to the show organisers but they had not agreed claiming that it was too small and would not hold the crowds that were expected for a Ricky Martin concert.

However , since the revised star cast was not expected to draw as large a crowd as Ricky Martin , the show could easily be organised at the hillock if the organisers agreed .

The Eighth Wonder of the World concert in Agra was scheduled to be the first of a series of semi-annual concerts to be held till the year 2010 in the backdrop of the "Wonders" all over the world, but the restriction on holding any activity that might upset the eco-balance and the Taj Mahal has so far thwarted the organisers' plans to make this show a grand success.

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