When I was very young, I saw a book that had a very deep green cover - it was designed after cut and polished malachite. It was a Russian fairy tale book, translated into Bengali - it was called The Malachite Basket, Malachiter Jha(n)api in Bengali. I don't remember the stories in the book, but I, to this day, vividly remember the green color spread over spiral patterns.
Coincidentally, the first time I saw malachite was in Russia - erstwhile Soviet Union - in erstwhile Leningrad, in today's St. Petursburg, in erstwhile Petrograd. I saw malachite in the Malachite Room of the famed Hermitage. I don't remember anything from the Hermitage other than a green malachite table from that room.
That's all I can say about malachite other than to say it has copper and carbonate in it.
Something from childhood remains mysterious even though you might not have much association with it. And to this day when I am asked to name a favorite stone, I say malachite without thinking for a second.
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Amazing! I read the same book as a child, and it is more surprising to remember that upto this very day! Actually that name had a magic of something unknown, something gorgeous, something not easy to get! Last year during my trip to a museum in Lisbon I think I saw malachite for the first time(?). I thought of the book then also.
ReplyDeletefrom another reader of Malachiter jhnapi.
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