[meteorite-list] India report #2.

From: Michael Farmer <meteoriteguy_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:24 2004
Message-ID: <20031010165209.38703.qmail_at_web20911.mail.yahoo.com>

Good evening everyone, it is 10 pm here in Bhubaneswar
India. another rainy day, more flooding, lots of
problems.
 I went back to Kendrapara today, and was able to
break through the absolutely hopeless Indian
beurocracy and see the meteorites.
I had to go to their version of a state or city hall,
the place in charge of the surrounding area. They are
working on the flood emergency, and told me that over
1000 villages are submerged and so many people dead,
interestingly the Indian Government only reports 17
dead, and according to the locals, it is in the
hundreds.
Anyway, after alot of talking, explaining who I was
and liberal if not quite true use of the word
University, and making formal request letters to see
and photograph the stones, the convened a meeting,
made alot of phone calls, and just at dark I finally
got authorization to go to the finance department and
open the vault and play with the meteorites.
The two stones they still have here are 5.7 kilos and
a 500 gram fragment. They are stored in a large metal
lock box, sealed with cord and then sealed with a wax
stamp to avoid tampering. They do not really know what
they are, and with the government people all demanding
the stones, they have refused to release them to
anyone since they do not understand who they belong
to. It seems that the local and federal government are
about to fight over them.
I got to fully examine them, and took about 40 photos,
but since the sun had set and they had one tiny light
in the building, I dont know how well they will come
out. The large stone was very nicely regmaglypted, but
one side was broken off, and already very badly
weathered only two weeks after the fall. The wet
climate takes it's toll on meteorites fast. The other
piece was from another stone which the villagers had
broken up, and the other pieces have all been taken
already. It is a breccia, like I said nice
slickensides, i could not see many chondrules, but
clearly an H chondrite. There is no possibility of
any acquisition of these pieces, they made a special
file just for me that I opened the box and examined
the stone. It seems that in India, a file is made for
even the slightest thing, as I said, just to see the
stones I had to make a formal letter, get it signed by
about 20 people, and authorized by countless more by
telephone.
The local government people were absolutely fascinated
though. they asked me so many questions, and one of
them thought that this was the first time in history
that a stone had fallen from space, hence the
reluctance to even show them. They were all afraid of
radiation or viruses, and all did not understand why
the stone burned. I explained the super high velocity
is the cause of the fireball and burning, but they
could not comprehend a stone burning because it was
moving so fast.
there was also an armed guard there while I opened the
box!
I was reported to the police by the cheif of the
Suniti village, where the large stone fell, he wanted
me to give him money yesterday so that he could get me
a stone, I refused so I guess he called the state
police today and reported me stealing a large stone,
the police were surprised when I showed up at the
station today, as I could only be the American who was
to be arrested on sight. Of course they laughed it
off, I did not find it quite as ammusing.
Overall, even though the extreme beurocracy is what
seems to stifle the Indian government, they were all
very nice and just wanted to cover their own butts as
it was explained to me.

I doubt I will get any other pieces, so tomorrow is a
tourism day, beach and temples. I saw alot of very
tame monkeys today, ad even fed a few some bananas
from on top of my head! You put a little banana up on
your head, and the monkeys run right up your back and
sit on your head eating away!
I must say, that I appreciate every single day of
travel that meteorites have brought me, even though it
seems I will lose my shirt on this trip, oh well, ill
make it up next time when I get the next fall. I am so
pleased that I got my own little piece of this fall,
bought right from the tiny village where it smashed
the edge of a hut. I will never part with that piece.
I have tons of photos, and will make a nice web page
when I get home.
But hey, all is not over yet, we are waiting on a
phone call from the villages, and if it comes Ill go
get a large stone, it is out there, hiding from me for
now, but I have two more full days here in the
strewnfield to make up for lost time.

For those of you who like these rambling emails,
thanks for listening, for those who hate me, oh well,
I will never apologize for being myself, I may say
things that should not be said sometimes, and I am
sorry for that, but to me I value a person who speaks
their mind and lets their feelings be known much more
than a coward who lies to your face.

I am exausted again, driving at night here is the
worst kind of Russian Roulette, and it takes it's
toll. Until tomorrow.
Another night away from my wife and home on the other
side of the planet.
Mike Farmer
Received on Fri 10 Oct 2003 12:52:09 PM PDT