Recollections of mineral collecting and dealing in India

In one instance, at the opulent mansion of an illustrious American mineral collector in the western USA, I found myself dining with the former governor of the state, as well as a handful of millionaires and billionaires, in a banquet room two or three times as large as my entire Tucson home. The decor was exquisitely tasteful and super-expensive, of course. The sparkling conversation reflected the sophistication and worldliness of those assembled. The entire dinner, consisting of more courses than I could track, was utterly delectable. I wondered if I was dreaming.

In the other memorable instance, I was trekking with two companions at elevated altitudes in the Himalayas, intent on seeking out the storied source deposit of the renowned Kashmir sapphires of Sumjam. We paused for a rest break.

From one of two small huts alongside the track a Kashmiri man emerged. Without a trace of manipulation in his voice or manner, he said, "You appear not to have eaten today. It will take too long for you to prepare yourselves a meal. My wife is cooking some daal-chappati. We would be pleased if the three of you would grace our meal with your presence." Tired, and touched, we accepted gratefully.

Inside the smoky hut, two children in tattered apparel looked at us with shy curiosity. The younger one's nose dribbled; their mother didn't seem to notice. She smiled as she bustled to prepare extra chappatis over a wood fire for her unexpected guests. We seated ourselves on the floor with our host. We talked. The man looked proud and pleased to have three strangers, clearly outsiders, in his one-room home. Driven by ravenous appetites, we ate the plain meal with genuine relish. I couldn't keep myself from grinning delightedly at the open-hearted generosity that had fetched us there.

Without having lived the life of adventure permitted me by mineral collecting and dealing, would I now, in my senior years, remain as thrilled as I feel, to have been a guest at two memorable meals of such extreme contrast?

Finally, the impeccable beauty of minerals and their crystal forms, which are simply the external manifestation of perfectly ordered arrays of atoms arranged in meticulously repeated 3dimensional patterns, continue to leave me in awe of Nature's capacity to organize. It's simply one more piece of evidence, amidst an overwhelming abundance of others, that compels me, whether or not I understand its workings, to trust that the universe, including humanity's infinitesimally miniscule place in it, is unfolding exactly as it should.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This personal memoir, as well as the career that engendered it, would never have seen the light of day without blessed encounters with a number of key individuals along my life's path. Among them: Darashah N. Wadia, Toby Marotta, Clifford Frondel, Phil Goodell, Richard Bideaux, Elizabeth VanHorn Taylor.

Several others lent me abundant support or assistance, without which my mineral dealing enterprise could not have succeeded as well or as enjoyably as it did. Among them: my late uncles Perviz and Saros Kothavala of Poona, Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., Burjor Mehta, Milly and Bill Schupp, Marge and Ray Dudley, Mary Lou Reed, Fasi Makki, Tony Worth, Nawshir and Roshan Khurody, Meher Jassawala-Spangberg, Sam Dennis, Paul Desautels, John S. White, Jeffrey Marotta, Wayne and Dona Leicht, Carl Francis, Bill Metropolis, Mike Miles, Marion and Hadley Stuart, Peter Embrey, Joel Bartsch, and, importantly, members of the annual Show Committees of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society.