Live Earth is doubtful; Stella McCartney cancels her tour; and even Pakistani band Strings will not fly in

Just gunshots ricochet. Pop and prêt have given way to panic — and in no small measure. A nation looking with glazed eyes at body bags coming out of Mumbai hotels and the Operation Black Tornado raging within does not have patience with pastimes now. Elsewhere, there is paranoia, and from London to Lahore to Los Angeles, people are cancelling their India trips.

Live Earth India, which boasts a huge cache of participating artists like Jon Bon Jovi, Will.i.am and Roger Waters, was scheduled to take place at Mumbai’s Andheri Sports Complex on December 7. But the authorities are yet to decide on whether to go ahead with the concert, considering that the city will take time to recover. “We’ll decide by December 4, depending on how things stand then,” says a source.

Fashion designer Stella McCartney, who was scheduled to be in Delhi next week to meet with Charu and Priya Sachdev and explore her options in India, has cancelled her visit. The International Herald Tribune’s luxury conference, scheduled at the Hotel Imperial from December 2 to 4, too has been put off. Stephen Dunbar Johnson, publisher of the IHT, has said in a statement, “We had already put in place security measures, but we are, of course, sensitive to the safety concerns of all our conference participants following the terrorist attack on Mumbai. While reluctant to postpone the event, we felt it was inappropriate to hold this conference at such a difficult time for India — but we plan to be back as soon as the situation is stabilised.”

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