Yesterday morning we all woke to the news of the untimely demise of the soulful melodious singer Krishnakumar Kunath better known as KK to the lovers of voice and songs that have the power to touch the emotional chords of us all.
We all grieved his death. We pitied the way he left for his heavenly abode. How could he die of a cardiac arrest? He wasn’t that old, he was energetic, he was healthy then how could he?
Then came videos of the auditorium where his last performance was going on. The hall was packed more than twice the capacity, the air-conditioning system wasn’t functional, the lights were glowing bright and hot right on his head, CO2 was released many times to create an atmosphere.
Moreover, some maniacs were so elated to be a witness to his live performance that they couldn’t control their adrenaline rush, and finding nothing else to release their energy on, they took the fire extinguishers placed all around the auditorium and released the gas in the atmosphere to express their happiness and excitement of being there.
The event was spread over two days and the day before also, the ill-fated singer had complained about the mismanagement to the organizers but no one paid heed to get the faults rectified.
Even that night as the show was progressing, he complained so many times about the mismanaged state of affairs and that he wasn’t feeling well. He even requested to at least switch off the lights so that some heat would reduce and not to release CO2.
Here I remember an incident where another king of soulful melodies, Sonu Nigam was performing live in Ahmedabad, and there in the middle of the show, he had requested the organizers not release this gas on stage because though this CO2 creates an aura for the audience but it is difficult for a singer to sing when the gas-filled the stage. He had clearly stated that it literally chokes their throat. And then it was his luck, I presume that the organizers were kind enough to pay heed to his request because Kolkata’s incident is revealing a totally different story.
In that ill-fated auditorium in Kolkata, KK had even expressed his helplessness in continuing with the show as he was over exhausted but he was convinced by the organizers to come back on stage and complete the show till the end.
After all, he had been paid for the show. How could he backtrack?
Even his enervated, out-of-breath face which has gained sympathy from one and all after his death, couldn’t melt their hearts.
In this case, I also feel that if he would have been alive then the same video might have been trolled saying what is the hype all about.
Oh! he didn’t even care to address the media or paparazzi. So what if he was tired. After that’s a part and parcel of their life. After all, he was paid for that. Wasn’t he ?????
People kept on trying to get clicked with him but no one tried to look into his worn-out eyes.
The mass was hooting for more but there was not one amongst them who had the guts to say that let’s end it. He might be tired.
After all, he’s been performing at the top of his voice under such adverse and unpleasant circumstances for a long time now.
Let’s end our greed to get everything out of him today itself.
But no, how can the aam janta leave him or for that matter any other star just like that. After all, they are bound to satiate our souls. We pay for the tickets with our hard-earned money. Isn’t it ????
About attending their shows, requesting them the once more, and enjoying them to our hearts’ content it’s still fine but invading their lives as if they were not some public figures but a category of slaves who are bound to adjust to our feelings and serve us as if we were some Akbar The great, and they, our Navratnas who would dance to our tunes every time we want them to, irrespective of whether they like it or not.
A sight of a star at the airport or at the shopping mall and we all rush as if some clown or some rare animal has lost his way out of the jungle and accidentally entered our cities and we kind of frighten them back into their cocoons.
Here if they surrender before us, make funny faces and get clicked as per our choice and sign autographs on all the stupid things that we produce, it’s fine and if they are reluctant to bow down to our desires then they are harshly termed as being airy and haughty.
And we guys so well know that
“Pal ye hain bade khaas pal” and assuming that
“Ye log…… ye rahe ya na rahen kal“, we all, like bees surround them thinking,
“chal aaj hi click karaa len inke sang“, “kyunki choti si…… hai zindagi“.
(These moments are precious when these stars are around us, so why wait for tomorrow, why care about their emotions, let’s get clicked today for tomorrow may never arrive as life’s too short). (And in this case, tomorrow is not ours but theirs). After all, stars are bound to fade and then.
Who cares ?????
We just need our page 3 completely loaded with their sizzling pictures and their stories as if they are our Chacha bhatija cousins.
The paparazzi needs to follow them every second and would not even hesitate to peep into their bedrooms for the sake of news. And if they avoid then they are those snuffy and snooty types who think that they are something and can do without media attention.
Whether it’s Salman, Shahrukh, Akshay, or even The Great Amitabh Bachan for that matter. They are what they are because we pay to watch them. They have those grand cars and magnificent villas because of us, otherwise even they would have been living in some 2 bhk flat in Thane and catching the 4 o’clock local to work.
As if they are just relaxing in their super luxurious air-conditioned mansions waiting for the aam janta to donate a part of their salary to allow them to lead the kind of life they want to.
Do we ever realize in all our ignorance that they too work? They work hard day and night. Most of the time they are out of their comfortable houses to shoot, sometimes at good locations and sometimes at not-so-good locations. They bear scorching heat in the deserts, tolerate extremely cold weather in just shirts and sarees, and shoot day and night to entertain us.
They get hurt, they fall ill but can’t take leave as they have schedules to meet.
They very well know that their job is not like some office Baabu who has leaves at his mercy. They know that the moment they stop delivering they are out. They work, we applaud, that’s fine.
They make appearances and we go crazy about them, good enough but during this process when do we cross this fine line to make them realize that they are indebted to us for whatever they are and hence answerable to us for every move they make.
If Shahrukh comes out of his house to wave to his fans on Id, he earns applause.
If Akshay says no to getting clicked or signing an autograph, he is trolled. Whether he is tense about his ailing mother or not, who cares.
If Amitabh gets late in wishing his followers a Good Morning, he is called a darubaaz, saathiyayaa hua budha (drunkard mad old man) Whether he could sleep properly due to his tight schedule or not, how does it matter to us?
If Ranbir keeps his marriage a low-key affair, the sentiments of the paparazzi are hurt. Whether the family missed Rishi Ji who passed away a year before his wedding, how does it make a difference?
If some star is caught doing something wrong, we the law-abiding citizens are first to punish them with our tweets and Facebook posts and the trolls. And the next moment we are in cinemas watching their performances.
Their birthdays earn our attention, and so do the death anniversaries of the deceased stars but what in between.
When a star fades, the channels are flooded with news about them, their life history, their successors, and survivors. If it is an unnatural death, they are autopsied right on the screen. (Remember Sushant Singh).
And a few days later, into thin layers, they and their memories vanish. Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Irfaan Khan, Bappi Lahiri, Raj Kapoor, Rishi Ji, Rajesh Khana, etc… etc…. etc…..
The day they passed away leaving a void in the industry(whether they were contributing at that time to the industry or they were leading a life of seclusion and retirement), interviews flood the channels regarding their lifestyles and career spans. The internet is over-flooded with condolences, tributes, and emotional outbursts. Some people upload their songs, some copy their dance styles, and some their acting and famous dialogues.
Now there arises a question, is this tribute for real or to gain something even from their death. After all, we had paid for his and his family’s status. And even his survivors are going to sustain these savings.
So itna toh banta hai. Uske naam se kuch humne bhi kamaa liya to kya bura kiya.
And the next morning.
Oh ! Did something happen yesterday? I don’t exactly remember.
Anyways according to the latest autopsy report, our beloved KK passed away due to a massive cardiac failure, and also that he was suffering from serious lung and liver ailments.
So the point of unnatural death is totally ruled out. In fact, he should have taken care of himself.
By performing in those circumstances he wasn’t doing any mercy on the aam janta but he was paid for this. Wasn’t he ??????
Now let’s leave the poor ailing soul RIP. and not keep on guessing reasons for his untimely unnatural death.
After all,
They are all paid for all this and much more beforehand…….
Ain’t they???
A tribute to legends
-Ashu Verma Chaubey
Living or dead
And some questions
To brainstorm our intelligent heads…
The Momma Clan 
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