The King of Pop is no more...

Anything connected with Hollywood or English music is generally not my cup of tea. That said, I make it a point to understand what exactly is going on in the West and generally respect pioneers in any field of activity there. And thats precisely the reason why I thought I should write a few lines about Michael Jackson- the iconic King of Pop whose fall from superstardom to disgrace is fodder enough to write 500 page novels!

My earliest memory of Michael Jackson was his poster adorning the walls of my father's cousin (in his 20's then) as early as mid- to- late 1980's. It might not sound like a big deal for anyone but the fact is that this cousin of mine was a resident of the then small town of Aluva in Ernakulam District and you do not generally expect a 20 something Tam- Brahm from a town like that to adore MJ at those times. That precisely tells us the kind of influence that MJ and his music had on us, ordinary souls.

And this could be the reason I remember only 2 of his albums- "BAD" and "DANGEROUS" which were out almost at that time. There is no denying the fact that he was a big influence on Indian youth. The hysteria that his concert in Mumbai created a decade ago is testimony to that. Look at the number of mainstream Indian dancers who were influenced by his style- Prabhudeva, Javed Jaffery, Govinda- the trend continues even to this date. It was not uncommon to see Bollywood songs choreographed and picturized a-la Jackson style in the 80's and the 90's.

While the entire world acknowledges the magnificent talent that was MJ, the controversies in his personal life brought its fair share of disgrace too- the multiple cosmetic surgeries he underwent, constant use of drugs and most importantly, sexual abuse of children which he used to indulge in filled up newspapers and tabloids like anything. MJ had this knack of creating controversies one after the other- when you thought it was all over, he would come up with something new (Remember how he was holding his kid on the balcony of his room in a Hotel!). All through his career, he did live his life king size and made significant contributions to charity- something which no one can forget.

MJ had hit rock bottom with all controversies in his personal and professional lives and kinda withdrew from public attention after the not so good performance of his album "Invincibles" in the early part of this decade. The star singer was in the midst of collecting himself and giving his life and career another shot with a planned European tour in the latter part of this year when this catastrophe took place. While the entire World is creating controversies on what could have been the exact cause of MJ's death, for music lovers across the world, the iconic crotch grabbing superstar would not appear on stage once again, singing "Just Beat It" anymore...

MJ will always be remembered for having carved a niche for himself through his unique singing style and for inspiring generations of music lovers, musicians and dancers. The king of music and controversies has left for his heavenly abode and while we settle down to that fact, we also realize that the void that he has left is something that cannot be filled by anyone else. Yes, there just cannot be another MJ...