The Comet II

Introduction:

In the story, ‘The Comet’ we come across an amateur astronomer who discovers a comet. This comet is predicted of hitting the earth. Moreover, some people are of the belief that the discovery of the comet will bring ill luck.

Through this story, the author drives home the message that superstitions lead us nowhere. In this age of scientific advancement and technological boom, superstitions hold a very illogical place. Of course, we must keep our culture in place, but definitely not at the cost of considering new discoveries as ill luck. As we saw in the story, Indrani Debi was so ignorant of the fact that it was not the yajna but the perfect planning of the research team that stopped the comet from colliding with the earth. Also, it is essentially important that we do not fall for the fake ideas of holy men. Not all, but most of these ‘swamis’ and ‘gurujis’ only fool people and extort money from people. And as the youth of the country, you must definitely not fall for anything that does not have a scientific explanation or logic behind its happenings.

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Meanings of words and phrases:

• deliberations : long and careful consideration or discussion
• dispelled : remove fears, doubts, and false ideas, usually by proving them wrong or unnecessary
• graze : touch a surface lightly while passing
• respite : a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant
• proposition: an offer or suggestion, usually in business
• offensive : a strategy used for attacking
• deflected : cause something to change direction
• marginally: slightly
• intercept : stop or interrupt the course of
• detonating: explode
• unforeseen : unexpected
• rendezvous : a meeting at an agreed time and place, typically between two people
• affinity : a liking or sympathy for someone or something