Grew up with, forgot later ‘n now mourn for: MJ

I grew up in the 90s. And like most kids who grew up in 90s, Tom and Jerry, Magi Noodles and Michael Jackson were part of my life.

To tell I grew up singing Jackson’s songs everyday would be an exaggeration – being in Kerala. But as far as English songs went, MJ’s was the first name that every child got introduced to.

In those days… my bro would claim he knew exactly how to do the moonwalk and do what looked like Bugs Bunny trying to balance on Elmer’s head (that is a rabbit on a man’s head, for those unfamiliar with the cartoon). I believed him of course and did an even worse imitation, ending up crawling on and squishing the floor.

‘Dangerous’ was forever in our tape recorder and we’d sing ‘The girl is so dangerous’ on the top of our voice. Bro even had these special music quizzes with me scoring 10 on 10 cause Michael would inevitably be the answer to all his questions.
We are the world, Black or White, Heal the World were all part of our daily singing exercise that lasted an hour long. Thriller, Bad, Billy Joe, Annie are you ok would come too some days.

Years went by and the MJ glory began to fade. Maybe it was the controversies. Or maybe it was just that people do not stick to one thing for long. But to see the same guy who made his fans faint out of love and adoration at one time, now hated and condemned – well it makes you wonder about life: does anything last?

Yes it does. His music for one. His songs. His dance. His moonwalks.

Today morning a friend told me over phone Michael Jackson has died. For at least an hour I was in shock. I haven’t thought of this guy in years. I haven’t sung his songs or bothered of what he was up to. I opened my email and wrote to my bro “MJ :-(“. He wrote back “Yea… Pity”.

Stars like him do leave a mark, it may only be at the end that you realise how big the mark is. And then all that you forgot over the years, comes alive. RIP, MJ.

But let his music live forever.

“Heal the world, Make it a better place,
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying if you care enough for the living
Make a better place, for you and for me.”

Life

Night time. Well ok evening rather. Say 7-ish. It’s a calmer street, but if you walk a little you will end up in the buzz of the city. I plug music on ears. I walk. I find this new song ‘Sham Dale’. I slow down. And I keep walking. I find a new favorite road to walk. Well I have walked it for months now. But today I am alone and for the first time, I appreciate the ideal place it is in. You see it is the road from the calm street to the busy one.

I walk slow. I close my eyes in between. I open it again to watch the sky. It’s dark enough. People can’t see what you are upto but then there is enough light to see where you are going.

And on the side, there are small grills. You can touch them as you walk.

But let me tell you the magic. On my ears, there is music. And on my eyes are the sky and the trees and the world around me. It was beautiful. Don’t ask me why. But it was beautiful. I walked slow, I walked fast, I stopped at a place and stood there a bit. You see this was life. Life was out here. You had to live it. It was not just for going to places and then after doing your business, going back home. There was so much more… to take in. To feel. To merge with…

I don’t know how long I walked. But I realized I did circles when friends who said adieu saw me pass the way again a lot later. I loved it. Life was always offering you things, you just have to see it and take it. If you choose not to see, not to accept, you don’t have any idea what you are losing. So step out into the world, into nature, into life… and live it.