Popularly known as KMJ, Kasturi Michael Jackson is drawing attention of MJ fans in Singapore.[break] Not only her performance, but her home ambiance is also a little Jackson spot.
KMJ’s grandparents came from India, and became Singaporeans. The Nair family’s home keeps only two icons: paintings and statues of Hindu gods, and pictures of MJ, both creating oxymoron images. And the family home is a miniature MJ museum.
Kasturi showed her MJ talents as a child. Whenever there were MJ performances on TV, she followed his steps. Though himself an MJ fan, her father Shanjey Nair, didn’t think about his girl’s interests. The time came in Kasturi’s life when MJ died.
She remembers the night she watched MJ’s memorial service with her father.
“The family members were asleep,” she recalls. “Until six o’clock the next morning, my father and I watched the memorial coverage. My father was very sad.”
Shanjey Nair, 39, himself an MJ fan, couldn’t remain without crying that morning. Then he asked his daughter, “Can you dance MJ?”
“Yes, I can,” said Kasturi.
When MJ was alive, there was no need for anyone to dance like him. However, in the hollowness created by his departure, Shanjey looked for it in his daughter. He could’ve also asked his other daughters, Vanetha, 15, and Ahreni, 9, but he chose Kasturi because he knew her interests and talents. The other two girls are also talented. In fact, the youngest one behaves like KMJ’s personal manager. But since her childhood, it was Kasturi who followed MJ’s moonwalk and stage styles.
However, during MJ’s lifetime, the father hadn’t bothered to notice the talents in his own home. Now, his own unfulfilled dream to be a performer was coming true through with his daughter. In this, even Sumanthi, 37, his wife, saw their girl’s interests and passion and became Kasturi’s makeup artist, which incidentally is her own profession. Kasturi also makes up herself as MJ.
On February 14, 2010, I first saw Kasturi performing at Little India where the Singaporean Indian community organized a program with Tamil artistes to celebrate the Chinese New Year coinciding with Valentine’s Day. Kasturi presented two MJ items, and the audience applauded her with enthusiasm. The girl looked like a young MJ on stage.
KMJ was spotted by Hong Kong journalist Agnes Lam while she was on Orchard Road. After seeing her perform, we met Kasturi and her family at their Seng Kang apartment. The home pulsates with MJ’s music.
In his real life, MJ was charged of child molestation. American crime writer Aphrodite Jones wrote a book, “Michael Jackson Conspiracy,” explaining the unruly behavior of the Western media. So it was difficult for her to find a publisher in America. No publisher was ready to publish a pro-MJ book. The book was finally published two years after Jackson’s 2005 child molestation trial. After his death, the book has drawn considerable interest in Europe and Asia.
“Book deals rolled in and translations of Conspiracy in various European languages are available,” Agnes writes in an article, which appeared in the South China Morning Post of December 9, 2009. “In Taiwan, Leeds Publishing released the Chinese translation last month to coincide with the cinematic run of This is It, the documentary of Jackson’s rehearsals for his planned London concerts. On the mainland, China Translation and Publishing Corporation issued a version in simplified characters last week.”
Unlike in the West, Asians admire MJ. The proof is Shanjey’s house. There are also many MJ performers in Asia who love to remain as MJ artists. There are a couple of MJ performers in Singapore.
But being an MJ performer or a fan isn’t easy. If you follow art, you should be generous to shine the original artist with your performance. Shanjey never spoke against MJ and taught his daughters about his good things.
“He loves children,” the father said to his kids. MJ also loved animals. To reflect his fondness for tigers, the Nair home has a tiger replica. Above the tiger, a huge portrait of MJ smiles with unconditional love.
MJ performance is also not easy. The Nairs must select the perfect MJ costumes, shoes, jackets, and hats. Shanjey gets foreign materials and stitches them for KMJ. He made an MJ glove for her with stones, and it took two days to finish it. The glittering glove gives a perfect image of MJ during Kasturi’s performances.
As a perfect Michael Jackson ambassador and a passionate artist, KMJ goes to parks and public places in the city to play with kids. She dances for their happiness, distributes lollypops, and poses for snaps with kids and their parents. Her parents and sisters also accompany her. The family loves children. In these many ways, Kasturi and her family send a strong signal to the world that MJ wasn’t a child molester.
They’ve adopted MJ as family member. The little girls are planning MJ’s birthday at home. And the father says, pointing at MJ’s portrait, “He’s my god-brother!”
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