Mumbai Mike

(Jackson and dancers parade the India flag in Mumbai - 1996)

India’s love for MJ lives through his memorable Mumbai performance 13 years ago

I tried avoiding writing about Michael Jackson but it’s rather hard when people around you are mourning him. My landlord, just moments after I came out of the gym saw me across the road and held the paper near me and said “Michael Jaaaaaackson is dead huh?” (he extends his “A’s”).

It was around 2:38am on Friday morning (around Thursday, 10pm GMT) that I got a text from my best and closest friend Kunal in London. He tried to be smooth and calm when informing me of the death of Michael Jackson in true Mafia style. My phone went off and I scrambled to find it, hidden somewhere between my futon and the pillow I had decided to throw on the floor. I opened the message, eyes squirming, only to read “Jacko sleeps with the fishes! I can’t believe it! It’s the biggest thing ever!”

At first I felt like cursing him for waking me up, but as the morning drew in and I heard the tomato hawker screaming about his fresh tomatoes, I turned my laptop on to see news coverage all over the net. “World mourns King of Pop’s death” was the BBC headline. I couldn’t believe it and I felt that rather strange feeling in my stomach. As with any Jacko fan, hearing something like this is easier to reject than accept. It’s like selective hearing you see.

So on my way to school (I work 5 hours a day at a Montessori for 2-6 year olds) I blasted MJ on my iPod and felt as though the King of Pop was very much alive until I walked past my hairdresser. He came running out of his shop and shouted “MJ finished. Expired”. It sounded more like he was talking about some product that was past its sell by date or something. You only had to see the many twitter updates to see that many felt Jackson’s career ended in 2001.

Sitting in the auto reading the paper, my auto driver turned to me and said “Jackson khatham hogay ai” (Jackson is finished). I looked up at him and we started a small conversation about the King of Pop and he described how Jackson’s dancing had influenced many South Indian movie stars like Chiranjeevi and Rajnikanth, who have used depictions of MJ dancing themselves in many of their movies.

Even when I had reached the school, one of the children came up to me and said “Michael Jackson died”. I looked at her and wondered how a 4 year old even knew about MJ, even when he had been out of much of the media limelight for so many years. When he had been, well, that was all negative publicity wasn’t it? “Who told you this?” I asked. “My father. He likes his music. I saw videos of him too and I listened sometimes”, she replied. This only made me think that Jacko was for all ages – not just those from his generation.

Open this morning papers and Nokia has decided to pay a fitting tribute to Michael Jackson by having a banner placed under the Times of India logo stating “Michael, Your Music Will Play On”. I turn to the DNA newspaper, and again Nokia has decided to put the ad there too. The reaction in India has been very emotional because he had a big impact on music lovers here. A lot of Indian bars that I have frequented since my year here often played Michael Jackson tunes, and sometimes inbetween a Bollywood track and a hip hop track, the DJ would just randomly throw in Billie Jean when it had no significance at all! But that is the beauty of Billie Jean – it can be played anytime, regardless of the place.

(This mornings Times of India)

MJ in India was a big phenomenon, known as the “Maharaja (King) of Pop”. One of my co-workers told me accounts of the reaction to Jackson when he first arrived in India in 1996 and performed at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai. Traffic jams, too many people and lots of screaming and whistling (the usual chaos) ensued, as Jackson arrived at Mumbai airport to be greeted by Bollywood star Sonali Bendre, clad in traditional Maharashtrian (Indian State – Maharashtra) nine yard saree, performing the aarti and tilak for Michael at the airport, where he was quite taken up by the entire ceremony. When he was being driven out of the airport in his 20-car motorcade, he stopped his Toyota, got rid of his security guards and stepped out to meet the urchins lined up along the highway to catch a glimpse of him. He picked up several children and hugged and kissed them. He then spent a few minutes with them before he proceeded to the now infamous and instigator of much political violence in Mumbai, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s residence in Bandra East. I don’t know what Thackeray’s moral position was then, but the fact Jackson went to meet him only makes one think of how strong “connections” are in India. Shobha De (a writer) once claimed to the media that “Shaking hands with him [Jackson not Thackeray] was like an orgasm” as Jackson met Bollywood A-listers in the Oberoi hotel (most recently famous for the 26/11 attacks). Even now, my friend can recall that they could hear Jackson’s concert some kms’ away, and of course they would, for wherever Jackson went, noise was sure to follow by the thousands who paid to see him. Memories of Mumbai ’96 are plastered all over the net and it seems as though his visit to Mumbai was for ALL of India, not just that city as my next door neighbour recalls his own town of Mangalore going crazy with Jackson’s arrival in a city far away.

(Brothers in Arms - Jackson with Bal Thackeray)

The whole day, radio stations changed their playlists and played MJ songs in between other regular tracks. Bangalore’s Radio Indigo even managed to slip in “Knockin on Heaven’s Door” for a tribute to the King.

I wonder if MJ is in a better place now. The world has reacted very emotionally, and only yesterday Amazon.co.uk recorded the highest sales for the “Off the Wall” album, making it the most bought album online. The iStore too claimed that Jackson song sales had increased dramatically following the news of his death.

(Thackeray gifts Jackson)

The world reaction to Jackson’s death has seen an outpouring of grief and tears at the drama behind the King of Pop’s final demise. Even though questions are still being asked about his “doctor”, one mustn’t forget the impact Jackson had on the music world. Obviously there has been a mixed reaction to the death, and yesterdays World HaveYourSay programme on the BBC World Service showed this mixture of feelings. Some callers cried and claimed that listening to Jackson had given them hope and opportunity to listen to music that was banned in their country so many years ago (most notably the Arab world). Others claimed listening to Jackson had given them the most pleasurable music experience, but quite a few claimed they neither cared of his death or his music and instead too much attention was given to MJ’s last moments. Unfortunately, I’m in the camp where I feel we should celebrate his music. I grew up listening to MJ and even when I listened on my iPod to Billie Jean on my way to work on Friday morning, that starting beat which gives you that image in your mind of Michael lifting his hips up and down still sent a smile to my face.

(Jackson through the streets of Mumbai)

The King may be gone, but I realise in India his soul lives on in the dance moves of Bollywood actors and local actors like Chiranjeevi. Much of the local admi get their inspiration from regional stars like these, and one mustn’t forget that these stars got their inspirations from one of the greatest performers, musicians and dancers of all time.

Whether you loved him or loathed him, nothing takes away the fact that his music was legendary; it broke boundaries; it bought the world together.

MJ may be gone, but his music will make sure he lives on.

Ravin :)

Pictures courtesy of clubmj.com - official Michael Jackson fan club of India

Some famous MJ quotes courtesy of http://www.goaltribe.com/blog/2009/10-best-michael-jackson-quotes/:

My goal in life is to give to the world what I was lucky to receive: the ecstasy of divine union through my music and my dance.
- Michael Jackson

If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with. - Michael Jackson

In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. – Michael Jackson

The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation.
- Michael Jackson

Contact Me

Twitter - Follow Ravin @ http://twitter.com/ravinsampat

Email @ sampat.ravin@gmail.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/ravinsampat