Everyone has something or the other to say about him. Good and bad comments keep flowing in. I was a little kid when this man came to India to perform. I was too little to understand the hoopla behind it all.
I personally enjoyed all his songs and was delighted every time they played the video of”THRILLER" on TV (which was rare with all the new artists bombarding us with their "Talent”). I was introduced to his music by my dad who still has a video cassette of The Jackson 5 safely kept in the drawer.
It was just another day in June and I was getting ready for another day at my internship when I read on a Hindi news channel something about the King of Pop. I didn't pay any heed to it and was too worried about missing my bus to notice.
An hour at the workplace and I am greeted with a message from a friend saying” HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY, KING OF POP RIP". I am shell shocked and frantically text my friend back asking for an explanation, only to get a rude awakening in the form of a confirmation of MJ's death.
Unable to believe my eyes, I log onto my most trusted website Google and see exactly what I was so afraid of. My mind tells me” Yes, HE IS DEAD." My work is a blur, my mind is cluttered and my ears can hear a medley of "Heal the world, Thriller, Bad, Smooth Criminal..." I wanted to cry but tears never came, not then at least.
The days after saw me reading articles after articles on him. TV channels had unending tribute messages and celebrities talking endlessly about Michael "The Phenomenon, The Man, The Legend". Then came his memorial service, it did to me what the news channels couldn’t. It made me realize that even though I didn’t know this man personally there was something about him that made him CONNECT. Connect not only to me but also to so many millions the world over. It also made me feel for his family and most of all, it made me cry. I wept bitterly; there was a sense of void which couldn’t be filled.
I then became obsessed with everything related to him. I had to read every article having his name, every music video that was aired, every MJ special I watched with the enthusiasm and obedience of a 7 yr old, even to the point that I tried my very best on contests by an RJ friend and won one contest. I jumped up and down when I came to know I won, I shook my mom from her sleep. I went berserk.
One evening there was a Top 40 MJ Videos Special on VH1 on account of Micheal's birth anniversary and David Gest was the presenter. I saw all those videos that I knew by heart all over again only to remind myself how ahead of his times Michael Jackson was. I mean look at "EARTH SONG" the video is a reminder to Save Our PLANET and NOW is the time.
I am not going to delve into his personal life because too much has been said already. My heart refuses to believe that a man who had so much love for everyone (parents, friends and his children) would do horrid things to someone else’s kid.
He was a benevolent personality is what I believe. I guess I will never fully know how much he meant to people, most of all his family and kids. I m not even sure if I will ever truly understand how he has impacted me. His songs have been an emotional rollercoaster; they do to me what Indian family dramas fail to. They make me feel. Make me feel every emotion that there is.
MICHAEL JACKSON always makes me want to be a better human being.
Guess Michael that's THE WAY YOU MAKE ME and many others FEEL.
