LOS ANGELES, CA - Just as Sonu Niigaam, Sunidhi Chauhan and Hard Kaur fans were getting prepared for the drive to the Shrine Auditorium on August 2, came the news that the much anticipated “ Explosion 2009” had been postponed because the group would not be arriving in town in time because of a flight cancellation.
Manoj Kaytee of Super Entertainment informed India Journal that on the morning of the show Air Trans informed them that the flight had been dropped and they were doing all they could to move the members of the group on different airlines. However all their efforts came to naught and the organizers were left with no option but to call off the show.
Reacting rapidly to the crises the presenters of the event got to work on two fronts, the first to inform fans of the unfortunate cancellation of the show and secondly to reschedule the concert. Fortunately, they were able to rebook both the show and the Shrine on August 16. A group got busy calling ticket holders through phone numbers obtained from checks and credit card records, another scoured the various outlets to stop the sale of any remaining tickets and to inform customers of the cancellation and revised date by distributing flyers which included a letter from the airline absolving the group or the organizers of any responsibility for the scrapping of “Explosion 2009” and that it had to cancel the flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles due to unavoidable reasons.
India Journal spoke to Niigaam in Philadelphia. He explained that on August 1 they had performed in Atlantic City, and the show had ended at the midnight hour. They had packed and rushed to Philadelphia immediately as the flight to the Southland was scheduled for 6.am the following morning. At 4 am they were informed the flight had been cancelled because of a “crew” issue and Air Trans was trying to get the group out on various airlines, a move which subsequently failed as they could not get sufficient seats. The scramble to get to L.A. continued way into the afternoon but by then the skies over Philadelphia had turned grey and not even the option of a charter remained and reluctantly the show had to be rescheduled.
The incident has only reaffirmed Sonu Niigaam’s total disillusionment with the American airline industry. Disappointed he is, but not down. Niigaam has a philosophical strain flowing through him and he said “there is an Almighty who decided the show was not to be today and is should happen on the 16th. What is beyond our control, we should surrender to and move on.” But if the already 4 sold out shows are any indication, he promised his fans in L.A. they are in for a real treat .
If nothing else, the unfortunate scrubbing of the mega event brings to light the extremely complicated and complex operational issues promoters and organizers have to deal with in arranging these ‘touch and go’ schedules. It would come as a surprise to many that this group comprises 45 members and it is no cake walk to reschedule these many passengers on a long coast to coast haul in a matter of hours. The logistics involved itself is astonishing and as much as they tried , the task to keep the show on proved to be a totally impossible which lead to the cancellation.
Needless to say , they have lost a bundle in terms of hall charges and staffing fees etc , but are determined to make good their promise to their loyal customers that “Explosion 2009” will be a spectacle they will never forget. The Shrine is now scheduled to “Explode” on August 16.
By K.B.NAIR
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