Remembering the Time

Question: What is left behind when a great gift to the world of music is lost?
Answer: Everything but silence.

It is true that I haven't heard a song of Michael Jackson's in a few years, and lyrics that were earlier rattled off in a breath are now a struggle to retrieve. Regardless, childhood memories flood my mind as it immerses in fond remembrance.

Back in the day, when TV channels were limited, music was hard to come by on Doordarshan. Still, DD would screen the Grammy Awards, and my sister would record and watch these keenly. Hence, year after year, I would run these tapes on repeat until I knew the songs (and often, their videos) by heart. The first few memories of Michael, thus, come from the Grammy Awards of '88, when Bad was released. I was an ardent admirer in no time - I loved the video, I loved his dance, I loved his singing, and I loved that he was such a sensation. I soon knew the lyrics by heart, though I didn't understand a word... Man in the Mirror was also part of this album, and the image of it still rings clear in memory. I was of the age where I needed a favorite singer - one I could sing incessantly with abandon, and Michael smoothly took that spot. The joy of discovering Thriller, an even greater sensation, definitely helped.

In sixth grade, I remember the usual Friday afternoon "Activity" period we'd have where each Friday would include a different competition between our three sections - sometimes poetry recitation, sometimes singing, sometimes dance, a play etc. I also remember the week we were preparing for the singing competition, when S had asked me (in full faith) to sing the lead for I Just Can't Stop Loving You (and I had thought she was crazy - me? sing? lead?). In those days, Archie's Gallery had begun to carry books of lyrics for a few popular singers (I had Wham!'s, I remember) and she taught me to sing the song from her book of Michael Jackson's lyrics from Bad and Thriller. (I also remember being rather scandalized to discover the first line of Bad, then!)

Dangerous was released that year, and it was gifted to me by a cousin soon after. I suppose my love for Michael had spread its wings wide by then. I loved the album, and listened to it religiously, singing along with every song, writing down the lyrics in my song diary, just truly relishing the experience. This was in the winter break of '91-'92.

And a year later, cable TV made its appearance. We finally got it at home, and I was hooked to MTV - in its clean, pre-controversy days. Remember the Time was one of the first videos I discovered on the channel, and thank goodness it showed umpteen times in a day. I loved it - the song, the video, the drama (on-screen and off). The video of Black and White - with the kid in the beginning and the (phenomenally) transforming faces at the end, also reminds me of the carefree days of growing up. Isn't it wonderful how such associations are born? Music is especially adept at it, somehow, isn't it?

Heal the World was always a special favorite, close to heart. I remember we sang it for our assembly in 8th grade, as G played the piano for it (we were so elated to have accompaniment - otherwise unheard of in morning assemblies). This was duly memorized as well, with a million repeats. And then there was Will You Be There? which took my breath away... indeed, the list is endless, and I shall quit trying to bind his music into a finite set of paragraphs.

Michael Jackson was a legend, and brought much into my world that I shall carry with me forever. After all, I have but one childhood to reminisce over. And then again, like mine, no doubt he touched many, many more lives. For all that he added to the world of music (and dance), and for the joy he added to the lives I have known, and those I haven't, I will be ever grateful. That his music lives on brings me great joy, with the reminder that death does not destroy everything, that art lives on... it has its ways.

Thank you, Michael! May your soul rest in peace. And as long as I live, you will too - this, I promise.