On Nov. 1, 1996, Michael Jackson walked onto a stage in Mumbai for the only concert he ever played in India. It was a stop on his HIStory World Tour.
He had flown in two days earlier, on Oct. 30, to a welcome of more than 5,000 fans at the airport. From there he rode to the Oberoi Hotel at Nariman Point in a 30-car motorcade, and he kept popping up through the sunroof to wave.
Andre Timmins, a co-founder of the company that organized the tour, remembered the arrival in a 2026 interview with Variety India. “We landed at The Oberoi hotel, and Prabhu Deva was waiting there to meet Michael,” he said. Prabhu Deva is a famous Indian dancer and film star, so even the welcome party had star power.
Indian TV news covered the visit and the concert. This 1996 coverage gives you a feel for how big a deal it was in Mumbai.
Indian TV news covers Michael’s 1996 visit and concert
The show itself was at the Andheri Sports Complex. Wikipedia’s tour records list 70,000 tickets sold out of 70,000. Michael opened the night by stepping out of a rocket-like capsule in a gold and black suit. Up in the VIP box, Asha Bhosle, one of India’s best-loved singers, got up out of her seat and danced.
Away from the stage, he made time for children. At the hotel he hosted a tea party by the pool for kids from orphanages. He even invited hotel staff to ride on his tour bus.
Then, just like that, the visit was over. By 7 a.m. the next day his plane was back in the air.
But he didn’t leave without saying goodbye.
According to The Better India, after Michael left, the hotel staff found a message he had written on his pillow. It wasn’t a quick thank you, either. It was a full letter to the whole country:
“India, all my life I have longed to see your face. I met you and your people and fell in love with you. Now my heart is filled with sorrow and despair for I have to leave, but I promise I shall return to love you and caress you again. Your kindness has overwhelmed me, your spiritual awareness has moved me and your children have truly touched my heart. They are the face of God. I truly love and adore you, India. Forever, continue to love, heal and educate the children. The future shines on them. You are my special love, India. Forever, may God always bless you.”
Read that one line again: “I promise I shall return to love you and caress you again.” That was the promise he left behind on a hotel pillow.
The Better India says the pillow was later auctioned for charity, which seems fitting for a note that spends so much of its time on children.
News cameras caught parts of the trip as it happened. This AP Archive reel from that year covers two stops, India and the Philippines, so stick with the India part.
AP news footage of Michael’s trip to India
Thirty years later, the Mumbai show is still the only concert Michael played in India. The hotel staff who found that note got something nobody in the stadium did, a goodbye written by Michael himself.