THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL JACKSON

As he strided gracefully with people gaping at the analog fluidity of his legs , Michael Jackson not only ‘moonwalked’ into our hearts but he also made us wonder whether such talent was human. Thus now, to hear about his death at UCLA medical centre in LA ,it almost feels like a lie, a dirty lie. Welcome to the world of Michael Jackson , where every passing moment never failed to enchant you , either in ecstasy or in bewilderment. Perhaps that was the greatest trouble with his life. As long as he lived he was never allowed to be a common human being.

Born on 29^th August 1958 , Michael was the second youngest of six brothers. As a child he suffered incessant abuse from a demanding father and was beaten up and molested. Infact in one of his interviews to Oprah Winfrey MJ admitted that even as an adult his childhood memories continued to haunt him.

Michael Jackson began his career as a lead vocalist of his family group ‘Jackson 5ive’. But soon the king was to rise from the mob. In 1969 MJ debuted with ‘I want you back’ for Motown records and it became the fastest selling record for the company. He followed it up with a string of hits , including his first No.1 ‘ Ben’ and the album’ Off the wall “ with producer Quincy Jones.

But it was November 1982 that changed the course of music history. ‘Thriller’ became Jackson’s biggest triumph with over a 100 million records being sold worldwide and it was No. 1 for a record 37 weeks. It was proclaimed the Best Selling Album Of all times by the Guinness Book of Records in 1985 . As a music critic rightly observed “ After Thriller MJ ceased to be a phenomenon infact he went beyond phenomenon.” In 1984 he won 8 Grammy awards following it up with 3 more in 1985. As time passed by he continued to release chart topping albums( Bad(1987) ,Dangerous(1991), HIStory (1995)). Channels like MTV were born because of his songs. His dressing sense including his red jacket and his white gloves became the talk of the town. Every thing that he did was now dissected and scrutinized by the media. MJ sold, and the paparazzi knew that. By 1995 he had become a legend , a one man industry.

Even as his musical career soared high on the personal front he did not meet with much success. Two failed marriages and his behaviour towards his children became the talking point in the media. Then in September 1993 he was accused of sexual abuse by a 13 year old. Several such allegations followed. His out of court settlements and his shopping sprees landed him into deep financial troubles. In January 2005 , he was acquitted of all charges. MJ’s last album , ‘Invincible’ sold 2.1 million copies and was probably his first critical flop. In March 2009 he announced his final tour ,” This is it” to be held across London. As destiny would have it, it was never to be।

Whatever the accusations, however eccentric he might have been , one cannot forget the cheer Michael Jackson brought to his fans. With chart topping , heart rendering numbers like ‘Beat it’, ’They don’t really care about us’ , ‘ We are the world’, MJ proved to the world that music could unify souls trespassing all barriers .

In India itself Michael Jackson inspired an entire generation , from music director Bappi Lahiri , to choreographers like Farah Khan. Mithun Chakrobarty’s steps in the superhit ‘DiscoDancer’ were inspired from MJ.

The entire world is shocked at his untimely death. There are reports that he was being administered morphine by his coterie of doctors , that he was being put under tremendous pressure from his sponsors for the last tour. Agreed that Michael Jackson had his faults . He may not have been the perfect father or the perfect human being but when it came to music and dance he always was and always will be ‘ THE KING’.

As his last words I put before you Michael Jackson’s letter to his Indian fans (during his 1996 tour )

“India

All my life I have longed to see your face. I met you and your people and I fell in love with you. Now my heart is filled with sorrow and despair for I have to leave you. But I promise that I shall return to love you and caress you again. Your kindness has overwhelmed me your children have truly touched my heart . I truly love and adore you India. Forever continue to love lead and educate the children, the future shines on them.

You are my special love India. Forever may God always bless you

Michael Jackson”

I only hope that in heaven his soul receives what his mortal body could never find on this earth……….PEACE.

We love you MJ।

MICHAEL JACKSON

August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

Where Mr. Sibal has got it wrong?

Dear Mr. Sibal, Date : 26:06:09

Let me first congratulate you on becoming the new HRD minister. Arjun Singh our EX HRD minister was the worst thing that happened to India. I hope you don’t repeat the mistakes he did. Its nice to see that you have been very proactive in the last few days. Based on the Yashpal Committee report you have proposed a few changes to our ailing education system. But there are a few flaws in your approach that I need to point out.

First let me just point out the three major ideas that you have proposed.

1) The scrapping of class X board exams.

2) Grading system(or a percentile system ) instead of percentage system in class XII and a common national board.

3) Formation of an autonomous authority for higher education system and research .

The first point about scrapping the class X board exams ,well sir you have hit the nail on the head when you say that the children go through intense trauma due to these exams. But have you tried to understand why. The reason is simple. Getting good marks alone helps you to get into a good higher secondary school. Will the trauma end if the board exams are scrapped. I think not . The same problems regarding admissions will prevail. Infact this will lead to more chaos on the parameters on which student admission to class XI should take place. The real problem is there are not enough seats in good institutions . That is probably the basic reason why a prospective C.V Raman eventually becomes a Tom Dick and Harry as he grows up. What you really need to do is that ensure that all the schools that are springing up like mushrooms get affiliation only when they offer quality education. Moreover you need to increase the number of seats in these institutes.

Coming to your second point about introducing grading or a national percentile system . Will it really help? The only visible change it will bring is that the cutoff for a Shri Ram College Of Commerce or a St.Stephen will be 99.99 percentile instead of 98 percent. No sir , it will serve no other purpose than creating confusion. However your idea of a single board deserves merit because there is a huge difference in the marking patterns of state boards and C.B.S.E / I.S.C. No wonder we have ridiculous cutoffs for graduation courses.( 98% for economics ! Give me a break.). If you really want to solve the problems that students face after passing class XII you must ask universities to look into other facets of a child personality and not merely his/her academics before admitting him/her. Moreover these universities need to introduce more vocational courses.

Your third point about an autonomous body for higher education and research is , I must say, the need of the hour. UGC needs to be renamed Useless Governing Council. And one more thing Mr. Sibal , please see to it that apartment with three rooms are not given university status.

I hope that you achieve all that you have set out to in the coming 100 days . I wish you all the success.

Regards

Pranay Tiwari

( A product of the great Indian education system)

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