Pop icon Michael Jacksons sudden demise has left millions across the globe heartbroken. Jagdish Dusara (34),a schoolvan driver from Vadodara,counts himself among them. He would dress up as the late icon,and even his van has a poster of Jackson. But there is something about him that puts him in a different league altogether. Jagdish,who is also known as Michael in the Wadi area,has suddenly caught the public eye after Jacksons untimely death. Everyones been asking Michael to hold besna in honour of the pop star,even schoolchildren,who address him as Michael kaka, said Narendra Dusara,Jagdishs elder brother. In school,Jagdish used to collect tapes of Jacksons hits. A friend from school had promised to get me tapes of Jackson from Mumbai. When he returned,I had the first tape with his picture. We did not have television to watch him but someone told us that Bal Thackeray has called him to Mumbai. I just wanted to see him once, said Jagdish,whose face lights up on being asked about his favourite Jackson numbers,although he does not understand a single lyric of the songs. His music was for dancing and he always performed very well on stage. Bad is my favourite,but I also like Beat It. said Jagdish,who is now married,with a wife and two children. Jagdish was once famous for his long hair a la Jackson,but he had to cut it short when he lost his driving licence last month and a policeman at the police station told him so. Once upon a time,Jagdish had been approached by various show organisers to perform as a Michael Jackson lookalike. His father had then advised him to earn his bread through hard work. But I did not listen to him and went for a break dance performance. I was not ready for it,as I could not dance like Jackson. I was there for three days and bid adieu to the world of entertainment. But my respect for Jackson was always there. I worked as a driver ever since and this van bears testimony to my admiration for him, Jagdish added.
