DESI SPOTTING: Yes, even in the Michael Jackson story

[Desi Spotting = finding South Asian elements in mainstream stories]

[REMINDER: SAJA's 15th Anniversary Convention & Career Expo, July 10-11 - just $50 for all workshops, panels, two receptions and gala dinner! http://www.saja.org/convention]

Yes, we've found South Asian connections in the Michael Jackson story.

• Among the journalists covering Jackson's passing on ABC, Martin Bashir, co-host of "Nightline." Before he came to America for ABC, Bashir was famous for his extended, sit-down celebrity interviews, including the controversial 2003 documentary "Living with Michael Jackson" (see Wikipedia link).
  
• The autopsy was performed by chief medical examiner-coroner for Los Angeles County, Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, who is no stranger to high-profile tabloid cases. He first received national attention during the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial.
  
  Two memorable examples of how his name became part of the story, for a moment.
  
  • From the LAT coverage of his testimony:
    
    A likable witness with impressive medical credentials, a distinct Indian accent and near-impossible-to-pronounce last name, Sathyavagiswaran opened his testimony by giving Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian Kelberg permission to refer to him by his first name.
    
    "If we call you Dr. Lakshmanan, you will not be offended, will you?" Kelberg asked.
    
    "No," Sathyavagiswaran replied, returning the prosecutor's grin. "I will not."
  • Jay Leno's monologue included the following, in paraphrase:
    The coroner's name's real name is Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaranstein, but he dropped the "stein" because it was too ethnic.
    
•  The Jackson story received major attention in South Asia, as it did all over the world. See this screengrab of the Times of India website, almost 24 hours after his death.



• An old column by US-based humor writer, Melvin Durai, "Michael Jackson's fan letter from India"
  
• SAJA Board member John Laxmi shared this note with those on the SAJA E-mail Discussion List:

If you are, like me, mourning the King's passing, in addition to marveling about the King's many talents, you might also wonder about the King's Desi connections ....  there are not many but consider this list:

(5) The King did a concert in Bombay
(4) The King was interviewed by Martin Bashir famously a few years ago
(3) The King featured a Bharata Natyam dancer in the video of one of his songs ("Black or White") [CORRECTION, as per comments below - it's an Odissi dancer]
(2) The King inspired the B(k)ollywood dancer Prabhu Deva

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY,

(1) The King inspired the dance moves in approximately 10,000+ Bollywood song-dances.

What other Desi connections did we miss? Post your thoughts below.