India's Meteors Worshiped

[Christina]

Thursday, August 3, 2006 (Rajkot):Superstitious villagers in Saurashtra and Kutch region have started praying before the meteor remains believing it has divine powers.They have even put pieces of the meteorite in water with petals."My son, Vishwarasi picked up the stone and later I found that he has developed rashes on his hands. As, I saw the stone flowing in the water I felt that it belongs to Lord Ram or maybe some other god," said Hansa Bai, villager, Jamnagar.Officials in the area say occurrences like a meteorite shower are often seen as divine warning for some impending doom or misfortune.Meanwhile, a two-member team of the Geological Survey of India has arrived in Rajkot to examine the remains of the meteorite shower over Saurashtra and Kutch region of Gujarat on July 31.