Me ThInKs

Laying an idol to rest

Michael Jackson is dead. Buried. No more. Wont moon walk again. Ever.

If you ask people, almost everybody will claim to be influenced by a great person in some way or the other. Maybe it was a quote that somebody said, maybe something great that he/she did, or what that person stood for. For me, MJ wasnt God. Not even close to it. But I cant deny that he was such an important link for different reason throughout the years.

It all started when a family member played the Thriller song, and then Beat it. Well, as a fussy two year old who needed inspiration as a mere reason for swallowing healthy yucky food, Beat It proved to be just that. A great inspiration for my mouth to mechanically move and open on its own. Mom says it was the music. I know better than that. It was a sheer expression of awe, ( open and close mouth), which mom took advantage of. Even as a toddler, MJ's moonwalk and moved totally had me gaping. Nothing has changed even now. Eventually my grandpa got so fed up with my MJ fixation ( considering that the Beat IT and Thriller video HAD to play during my feeding time), that he gave my dad the video to take with him. "You will need this, Bobby' he told my grateful dad. Right he was. Many years later, as a child, I discovered the video lying forgotten in a heap of other videos ( back then , video cassettes ruled entertainment). As I put it on, there it was, the same moves and me still standing with my mouth open, eyes fixed on the screen. No, I never tried to imitate him. While I like to think Iam good at different things, I am only too aware of my limited dance movements. ( the better the dance of people around me, the better I ape).

So, I watched with amusement as MJ's skin turned from black to white. He wants to be white like the rest of America, hence the transfiguration, people said. Nobody ever spoke of the white blotches that had broken out on his skin, hence the need for a colour change. He married Lisa Presley. So, now he became a family man. Till he had a fling with his nurse, became a father and then fathered two more kids. He thought of himself as Peter Pan and built Neverland replete with its boudoir of animals including a cute chimp called Bubbles. His music was still sensational. The dance moves only got better. His concerts had fans crying, screaming and fainting.

Then came the shocker. MJ charged in a paedophile case. More followed. I tried on my part to hate the man. But I couldnt. His music had such a hold on me. How can a guy who makes such great music, be such a horrible character? I chose not to read the news about him anymore. I couldnt bear to see an idol being torn to bits that way.

He went into seclusion and he didnt really matter anymore. His latest album was just ok. Nothing that had his earlier punch I felt. People were more interested in his new monkey face and his latest nose job in a long series of surgeries. Recently he was supposed to go on tour again. Good for him I thought, Till I read that one line headliner in the paper- MJ no more.

Suddenly I am overflowing with sympathy for the man. I want to forget all his crimes and sins and remember only his energy, his good humanitarian works and his music. I have been a fan of his for the last 25 years. And yet I am just one his many fans who invited his music to be a part of their childhoods, parties, ipods and discmans. He was a fantastic entertainer. And an awesome musician. I can imagine my grand children, still gyrating to his beats and words years from now. Because in the end, whatever else went on in his personal life, he left his enriching legacy for the world- a new sound in music. And not everybody leaves a legacy.

Michael Jackson- May you live on , as before, and in many more ways. Rest in peace.

Your lifelong fan.