WHERE WERE YOU?

There was a football game on TV the previous night after which I went straight to bed. My morning habits when there is no one in the waiting lounge was to check my emails as a foremost activity at my then work place. And there it was on my homepage that morning: Michael Jackson, the king of pop was dead. He had apparently died the previous night (my local time zone) at age 50 following the events that we are all now too familiar with. The first thing I remember doing was jumping out of my consulting room to practically announce to my front desk staff what I had just read (alas, they all knew about it before I did).


The above-narrative occurred exactly a year ago to this day and the memory of it has been said over and again. This is because the death of MJ is one of those events of life that is easily drawn in day-to-day conversations and for first time acquaintances; it is commonly asked “where were you when you heard about MJ’s death?”

Much mystery surrounded the life and times of Michael Jackson, with many a question yet unanswered one year after his death. However, it is unanimous that he represented a great talent who toed a path unheard of and rose above the restrictions that held sway in his society. These are universal marks of greatness and MJ has his place in the history of humanity, his flaws not withstanding.

Indeed a part of being human is being flawed .While this is certainly not an excuse for bad behaviour, in my opinion no flaw is less “evil” in itself. We all have our struggles in life, most of which is unseen to the world around us. A look at the facial expressions in the latter life of MJ seem to express this inner turmoil of being a mortal; someone with wishes and regrets. And yes, if we did not agree to the things about him that commanded negative comments, we can at least learn from them rather than spite the man.

I am proud to say MJ lived in my generation. He may not have had the entire juicy PR we would prefer him to but he was outstanding in his field. This made him an icon and enlists his name in the annals of mankind.