Michael Jackson – Poesy of Innocence
The news of Michael Jackson’s death struck me like a bolt of lightning. To many, the happening has been a virtual non-event; but somehow, the whole journey of the enigmatic personality from his death to his funeral has been one fraught with poignancy for me. As stories of Jackson’s life flashed incessantly on television, I wallowed in a pleasurable wave of nostalgia. Images of Michael Jackson’s dominance of the 1984 Grammy Awards flashed across my mind. I recalled my brother and I watching the nominations of the awards on Doordarshan late into the night on our portable black-and-white TV. At that time, music in video form was at its infancy and watching Michael Jackson performing in “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” on video was a heady visual delight. Memories of pavement slabs getting illuminated at his every step in the video “Billie Jean” remain etched in my mind to this day. We were truly fascinated by this slightly built, cute Black boy with his natural dance movements setting the scre...