[meteorite-list] Orissa India--- Of Floods,meteorites and Man-and Turtles too

From: Jose Campos <josecamposcomet_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:25 2004
Message-ID: <002101c3902e$bc301930$32c216d5_at_computername>

Hello Nancy ! (all the way from across the other side of the world!!!)

Many thanks for your kind words.
It's interesting to see how the main subject of this List (meteorites), can
in turn, draw people from different nationalites and backgrounds and with
other interests; besides, the human factor displayed through so many
e-mails, describing family ties, friendships, travelling, expertise,
culture, arguments, lies, hate, jealousy, hapiness, satisfaction,
perceptions, professionalism, science, etc., you name it - is what makes
this List tick.
Best wishes,
José Campos
Cacém, Portugal

----- Original Message -----
From: "none none" <feraltmcloud_at_hotmail.com>
To: <josecamposcomet_at_netcabo.pt>
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2003 3:15 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Orissa India--- Of Floods,meteorites and
Man-and Turtles too


> Thanks for your interesting comments on word origins and meanings. This
list
> has been an endless source of interesting information and not only about
> meteorites and space! I am so happy that it gets such a wide variety of
> contributions from the varied membership!
>
> Nancy Strand
> Petersburg (Ask me about wild Alaska salmon!), Alaska
>
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: "Jose Campos" <josecamposcomet_at_netcabo.pt>
> To: "Atul Kumar" <Atul_at_urisp.com>
> CC: <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Orissa India--- Of Floods,meteorites and
> Man-and Turtles too
> Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 01:17:01 +0100
>
> Hi Mike Farmer, Atul Kumar and List,
>
> First of all, many thanks to M.F. for his very interesting emails on India
> and his "adventures" in meteorite-chasing there. I am pleased to know that
> he has a fragment already and that, probably against all odds, burocracy,
> etc, he has managed to examine and photograph the pieces in the hands of
the
> local authorities, well done!!
> His very brief description of that part of India - a beautiful country, I
> think, - brought me memories (excluding the car traffic parts), of
Kipling's
> "KIM" that I read many years ago!
> He also mentioned the houses without electricity: Could it be that, in the
> process of the meteorite having hit a thatched house, the reported fire
> might have be caused by some oil lamp being knocked down by the impact?
>
> On another subject: Atul mentions the word "Arribida" as being Spanish:
This
> word (the correct spelling is "arribada" or "arriba") exists in both the
> Portuguese and Spanish languages and most probably it is rather of
> Portuguese origin as Portugal's occupation and influence on some areas of
> India lasted almost 500 years (untill 1961 to me more exact); in fact, to
> this day, there is still large Indian comunities of Portuguese extraction
in
> Goa, Damão and Diu, who speak excellent Portuguese and have Port.
surnames.
> Yes, "arribada" means "arrival" - in fact, in the 15th Century Portuguese
> language, it was (and still is) a NAUTICAL term, meaning "to enter a
sailing
> ship in a harbour other than it's destiny, as a means to avoid/escape a
sea
> storm".
>
> During the golden age of the Port. sea-discoveries, expansion and trade,
> many Port. words were adopted/used (often in a corrupted way) by people
from
> several other countries in Asia and elsewhere. For instance, during the
> height of the Port. commercial trade in Asia during the 16th Century,
Port.
> traders carried in their ships a specially made box where they put the
coin
> money in; So, whenever they wanted payment to be made in coins rather than
> in other objects, they insisted in a payment to "pôr em CAIXA" (to put in
> the BOX) - and to this day, the Port. word CAIXA became CASH (and
> therefore, caixeiro = cashiers), used worldwide through the English
> language.
> So much about meteorites, India and arribada! That's explains the
> "diversity" of cultures and meteorite people that makes this List
(whenever
> there is no ugly arguments), so interesting.
> Keep up the good work and good luck, Mike, and please keep that meteorite
> fragment plus that CASH of yours in a safe place! Cheers!
>
> José Campos
> Portugal
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Atul Kumar
> To: meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 7:36 PM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Orissa India--- Of Floods,meteorites and
> Man-and Turtles too
>
>
> Dear All- and Mike Farmer
> While poor people of the area have just had their thached (straw)
roofs
> blow off their Mud houses ,and their mud houses are turning into more
> mud,and people are dying and even more will die from the diseases to
come,we
> get to hear about the carnage ,and learn about their misery sitting at our
> computers.
>
> Into this mayhem that is India arrives one Foreigner(as they are
called)
> in 2 cars/jeeps with a purpose.He wants the rocks that fell from the
sky.
> Mike travels exactly half way around the world for meteorites,and ends
> up with a flood,starvation,and disease.Not to mention he is among people
who
> have never seen a refrigerator- and would not know what to do with it even
> if they did see one.
> They have never known electricity- unless they travel to town.
> Maybe he can do something to help the poor people there,even if they
dont
> have METEORITES TO BARTER FOR FOOD.
>
> COWS-
> They are a part of the household- almost a member of the family- like a
> pet dog is- sort of-
> They wander during the day looking for foliage,and in the evening come
> back home - to be milked.The reason they are on the road in Mikes way is
> because they are lost- or decide they dont want to sit in the flooded area
> today.They are trying to stay dry, or maybe their way home is blocked by
> water.
> Milk is the major source of protien and fat for most of India.The milk
> extracted is usually gone fast -They dont need refrigerators- there are
more
> mouths in the household than the cow can fill.
>
> ROADS
> Mikes description of the road travel left out this-
> As the only decent part of the road is the middle every vehicle travels
> in the middle of the road.There is nothing dividing oncoming traffic from
> your vehicle.
> When you see a vehicle coming- you have to make a quick decision
whether
> you want to get off the road
> or if you want to get him off the road
> or if you want to see if he wants to play the who,s going to get off
last
> game.
> The larger (read TATA) usually wins the middle ground.
>
> I must tell you about the TATA tramplers -
> (These are 7 ton trucks loaded with 20 -30 tons of freight- i call them
> Tramplers) hopelessly overloaded ,usually leaning to one side,engines
> over-revving under the load,and they do trample everthing in their path.
>
>
> Travelling in rural India can be great fun.I go as often as i
can,doing
> volunteer Wildlife work while i am there.
>
> INDIAN HOSPITALITY
> If there is one bed in the home- the guest sleeps in it- the rest on
the
> floor.
> If there is one meal- for the whole family to share- the guest gets it.
> It is very very humbling to learn that there is so much we can learn
from
> these poor people.
>
> The tone of mikes email seems to suggest he has finally found what
> enthalls people of the world with India.There is so much to love - and so
> much to dislike.
> It is a land of paradoxes.
> His emails exude a sense of resigned acceptance about the things he is
> seeing.makes me homesick just reading his emails.
>
>
>
> Anyway my contact reports that Recovery efforts have been dismal.The
> water is everywhere as the mini cyclone from last week brought the ocean
to
> the peoples doorstep in more ways than one.
>
> MIKE- Ask about when the Arribida is- Millions of Indian Sea Going
> turtles come to the very beaches you are near to lay their eggs and then
> even more millions hatch and go back to the sea to continue the cycle that
> has continued from times immemorial .It is a sight of a lifetime.
> The turtles that hatch here- will only come back to the very beach they
> were born - in a few years to lay their eggs.Radio telemetry has
established
> this recently.
> And it took us 2000 AD yrs to discover GPS.The turtles have us beat by
a
> few million years.
> PS- the word Arrabida was coined by the spanish inhabitants of India-I
> think it means the arrival.
>
> Regards
> Atul kumar
>
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Received on Sat 11 Oct 2003 03:34:48 PM PDT