Larger in death

The King has gone but has left his riches in plenty.   
He moonwalked right into heaven.

These were some messages posted by the fans of Michael Jackson on the Internet after his death. Albums were sold out before they reached the racks and tributes to the artiste continue to pour in.

Be it institutes offering moonwalking classes, virtual MJ gloves being gifted on Facebook or MJ-themed fashion shows, people are thanking the artiste for his contributions, more than a month after he passed away. Singer Jerusha Varghese, who performed at the Michael Jackson tribute at Kyra, has grown up listening to MJ. “This show was planned much before MJ’s death. It was supposed to be a build-up to his comeback tour,” says the singer who performed Will You Be There. She even has MJ’s wallpaper on her desktop and his theme on her cellphone. “Michael was to pop, what Elvis was to rock n’ roll. His music will be passed on from generation to generation,” she sums up.

Navaneeta, a student of second PUC, has been watching MJ’s videos and listening to his music all the more now. “I cry every time I watch or listen to Heal The World,” she says. Like everyone else, Navaneeta too, loves Michael’s fluid dance movements. “I have imitated him many times,” she laughs. “My wallpaper at present is the one of him standing on his toes.”

Says Meghala from Alliance Francaise, which held two tributes to the legend, “As a cultural centre associated with music, we had paid our homage to the man.” Recollecting the second tribute, which consisted of a Black Or White themed fashion show and a dance performance, she says, “There was a power-point presentation on his life.”  She adds, “During the candle-lighting session, sheets containing the lyrics of Heal The World were passed around and people of all ages sang the song.”

MJ’s albums have been selling at a staggering pace too. “From 400 albums a day, the sales have increased to 4,000,” says Subir Ghosh, the CEO of Planet M. “The numbers may even reach 5,000.” Even the store paid a tribute to Jackson by organising an exclusive MJ corner which highlighted his achievements. “We are also planning on introducing some MJ merchandise soon,” he informs.

The moment he heard about Michael’s death, Sandeep wanted to listen to his music. “But I realised with regret that I didn’t have any of his songs. So I started downloading them,” he says. Sandeep is now making a video on the artiste portraying the different stages of his life. He plans to upload it on Youtube soon. “It will also contain the names of my friends, who are great fans of his.” Sandeep is also proud of his Thriller ring tone and the MJ theme on his cellphone. Unable to watch MJ’s memorial when it was held due to work commitments, he even downloaded the entire memorial video which was around 2 GB in size.

Music-lovers of all ages are missing MJ more than ever. Arjun William has spent more time listening to Jackson of late, than he has in the past five years. “It’s only after his death that people have realised that he truly was an icon.” He has also been downloading MJ’s videos. “We all have our favourites. Mine are Beat It, Thriller and Billy Jean,” he laughs.
Rachel has been playing Heal The World for her seven-year-old son Bradlee without fail everyday. “He is hooked to MJ’s music and it’s the first time he has had such a major exposure to Jackson, pity it had to be on his death,” she feels. Rachel has also been looking for a CD with the best of MJ. “Every time I listen to his music, I don’t feel like he is gone. But when reality dawns, it’s a depressing feeling. We truly miss him,” she says.