I heard the news early today from my wife, Manju. As a big fan of Michael Jackson when I grew up, I am sharing my virtual experiences (we never met), of Michael Jackson and his music.
One of the first tapes I ever owned was "Bad". I still have the CBS audio cassette with me. I have bought all his albums since then. I am a natural smooth mover (really!) and love to dance, though i never learnt dancing or pursued it on a professional scale. Me and my sister used to dance MJ steps pretty well, we would go on for hours! I am a bit sad with my shape today, but with a little bit of effort, I think I can manage a few of his trademark moves even today! Save the zipper ones ;-). This continued for quite a while. I had a black cap (during college) on which I had "Bad" written in gold - in the same style as in the album.(We didnt have Myntras and Printos then!). I would frequently wear black leather shoes and white socks. I have graduated to color co-ordinating them with my shirts now!
And then, It was amazing luck to get premium front row tickets for the only MJ concert that took place in India, this was in Mumbai in 1995/96 (not sure of the year). Its amazing how things fall in place. A close friend, Iona Stanley, got me free passes as she worked with Wizcraft, the organizers of the event. That was 90 minutes of non-stop electrifying magic. He didnt take a break thru it at all! Full of goose bumps and the occassional tear. (Big men do cry!). Thank you Sabi (Iona). Atleast, I could see him live in concert!
Michael Jackson connected with his dance, his music and his fans in a way that is very intense & magical. I recall reading a quote of his, in the jacket of one of his tapes, where he talks about how he feels when he dances. He felt connected with a divine force, with the universe around him, it is like ecstacy for lesser mortals like us, and nirvana for the gurus!
I believe this is true for anything one does. And when people show that intensity in whatever they do - they connect with some force that drives them to create magic. Success just has to come to them. Some part of this phenomenon is covered in books like Blink. Sports, music, business - whatever. It is about passion, about super devotion to what you do. You enter so deep that it gets magical. MJ felt that in his dance and his music. And it is that power that connected him to his fans wherever they were. One of them, like me, in a small town in India!
Incidently I just spent a few hours watching some of his videos last sunday. Was it just a coincidence? I just get carried away with these small things. There are too many, and too often! BTW, heres' a killer one, I just got a call from Manju - as I write this, and I just realize that her name has the letters, M and J in them, don't laff folks, everything is connected. If you like stuff like this, you will enjoy Steve Jobs' Connecting The Dots speech at Stanford and Dr Jill Bolte Taylors' experiences following a brain injury. There's the scientific explanation for sceptics!
Dear Michael Jackson, Rest in Peace, you will continue to live in my heart through your music. Thank you for being part of my ride through the universe!
Back to deep dive into Position2, thats' my dance!
4 comments:
heartfelt tribute!
wow vinod, never knew this side to you...
And era is over with his death..
Jyoti.
Thanks Jyoti.
Vinod, great tribute. I didn't know you were such a big fan of Michael Jackson. I own a number of his albums. I remember how huge the Thriller video was. He defined the MTV generation
People like him only come once in a generation.
That's a very nice tribute to the "King of Pop".
He also defined moon walk. Interestingly, not many people can do it the same way MJ used to it.
His album "history' was my favorite. Its sad that he is history now.
Sanjeev
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