8 the comet i

THE COMET - I
JAYANT NARLIKAR

biswarup mukherjee (jnv keonjhar).
mukherjee_biswarup@yahoo.com

Before you read
• A new comet has appeared in the sky and is
heading straight for the earth. A head-on
collision, which is nearly unavoidable, will
mean the end of life on this planet. Scientists
and religious leaders react to this situation in
two different ways. What happens to the
comet?


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Narlikar was born in Kolhapur, India on July 19, 1938. His father, Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar,
was a mathematician who served as a professor and later as the Head of the Department of
Mathematics at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Jayant's mother, Sumati Narlikar, was a
scholar of Sanskritlanguage. Jayant studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya Banaras (till class 12) and
Banaras Hindu University (12th Onwards) campus, Varanasi.
Career.Narlikar received his Bachelor of Science degree from Banaras Hindu University in
1957. He then began his studies at Fitzwilliam House, Cambridge University in England,
where he received a B.A. in mathematics in 1959 and was Senior Wrangler.[2] This appears to
have been the first time, and perhaps the only time, that a student was Senior Wrangler who
was a non-collegiate member of the University at the time. In 1960, he won the Tyson
Medal for astronomy. During his doctoral studies at Cambridge, he won the Smith’s Prize in
1962. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1963 under the guidance of Fred Hoyle, he served as a Berry
Ramsey Fellow at King's College in Cambridge and earned an M.A. in astronomy and
astrophysics in 1964. He continued to work as a Fellow at King's College until 1972. In 1966,
Fred Hoyle established the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy in Cambridge, and Narlikar
served as the founder staff member of the institute during 1966-72.
Narlikar is internationally known for his work in cosmology, especially in championing
models alternative to the popular Big Bang model. During 1994-1997, he was the President of
the Cosmology Commission of the International Astronomical Union.Narlikar was appointed
as the Chairperson of The Advisory Group for Textbooks in Science and Mathematics, the
textbook development committee responsible for developing textbooks in Science and
Mathematics, published by NCERT, which are used widely as standard textbooks in many
Indian schools.


GENERAL INTRODUCTION
COMETS ARE LIKE SMALL PLANETS AND THEY REVOLVE ROUND THE
SUN. BUT THEY COME FROM AFAR, AND SO THEY APPEAR AFTER
YEARS, AND EVEN AFTER CENTURIES. THEN THEY DISAPPEAR. THAT IS
WHY, YOU CAN ALWAYS DISCOVER A NEW COMET.
DUTTADA IS AN AMATEUR SCIENTIST. HE HAS A SMALL TELESCOPE.
HIS SECRET AMBITION OF LIFE IS TO DISCOVER A COMET. HE
WATCHES THE DARK NIGHT SKIES. ONE DAY HE DISCOVERS A NEW
COMET. IT IS CALLED ‘COMET DUTTA.
MANY PEOPLE, LIKE DUTTA’S WIFE, INDRANI DEVI, CHERISH
SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT COMETS. THEY THINK THAT COMETS BRING
CALAMITIES IN THE WORLD. BUT THE SCIENTISTS DO NOT BELIEVE
THAT COMETS HAVE ANY HARMFUL EFFECT. BUT ‘COMET DUTTA’ IS
SURELY DANGEROUS. IT IS CALCULATED THAT IN TEN MONTHS TIME
IT IS GOING TO BE COLLIDE WITH EARTH. AND IF IT DOES, IT WILL
MEAN THE END OF LIFE ON THE EARTH.


SUMMARY OF THE PASSAGE
MANOJ DUTTA LIVED ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF KOLKATA. HE HAD
A SECRET AMBITION TO DISCOVER A COMET. WHEN HE
RETIRED, HE BOUGHT AN 8-INCHC TELESCOPE. HE NAMED IT
‘DIBYACHAKSHU’. HIS WIFE CALLED IT SIMPLY DIBYA.
DUTTADA, AS HE WAS POPULARLY KNOWN, SPENT MANY
NIGHTS LOOKING AT THE STARS THROUGH DIBYA.
ONE MOONLESS NIGHT, DUTTADA DETECTED A NEW FAINT
STAR. IN FACT, IT WAS A NEW COMET. AFTER WATCHING IT FOR
TWO NIGHTS, HE INFORMED THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF
ASTROPHYSICS AT BANGALORE. THEY CONFIRMED THAT
DUTTADA HAD DISCOVERED A NEW COMET. THE COMET WAS
CALLED ‘COMET DUTTA’.
DUTTADA LIKED TO LEAD A QUIET LIFE. BUT HIS DISCOVERY
MADE HIM FAMOUS. HE WAS INVITED TO A NUMBER OF
FUNCTIONS. DUTTADA WAS FED UP. HE WISHED HE HAD NOT
DISCOVERED THE COMET. HIS WIFE ALSO AGREED WITH HIM.
BUT HER REASONS WERE DIFFERENT. SHE WAS UNHAPPY
BECAUSE HER HUSBAND WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
DISCOVERY OF AN EVIL OBJECT.
DUTTADA TOLD HER THAT COMETS WERE HARMLESS. LIKE
PLANETS THEY ORBIT THEmukherjeeBUT THEIR ORBITS ARE TOO
SUN. (jnv keonjhar).
biswarup
ECCENTRIC. THEY COME FROM AFAR. THEY HAVE A LONGISH

Dr. JAMES FORSYTH WAS A PROFESSOR AT KING’S
COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. HE LEARNT ABOUT COMET DUTTA. HE
MADE HIS CALCULATIONS. HE FOUND THAT IN TEN MONTHS’
TIME, COMET DUTTA WAS GOING TO COLLIDE WITH THE
EARTH. HE WROTE A PAPER AND SENT IT TO A SCIENTIFIC
MAGAZINE, ‘NATURE’. HE WANTED TO HAVE HIS PAPER
PUBLISHED IMMEDIATELY.
TAYLOR, THE EDITOR OF ‘NATURE’, WAS A FRIEND OF SIR
JOHN MACPHERSON, WHO WAS DEFENCE SCIENCE ADVISOR
TO THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. TAYLOR SHOWED THE PAPER
TO SIR JOHN FOR HIS OPINION. SIR JOHN DID NOT WANT THE
PAPER TO BE PUBLISHED IMMEDIATELY. HE SENT FOR Dr.
FORSYTH.
A SPECIAL MESSENGER WENT TO CAMBRIDGE TO BRING Dr.
FORSYTH TO MACPHERSON’S OFFICE AT NIGHT. THE VISIT
WAS KEPT SECRET. SIR JOHN GAVE Dr. FORSYTH’S
MANUSCRIPT TO HIM. HE SAID THAT HE HAD VERIFIED HIS
CALCULATIONS AND THE COLLISION BETWEEN THE EARTH
AND COMET DUTTA WAS IMMINENT. HE INSISTED THAT THIS
PREDICTION SHOULD BE MADE KNOWN TO THE WHOLE
WORLD. BUT SIR JOHN SAID THAT IF THIS INFORMATION
REACHED THE PEOPLE, THEY WOULD BE PANICKED. THE
COLLISION MEANT THE ENDmukherjee (jnv keonjhar). BEINGS ON THE
biswarup OF ALL LIVING
EARTH. SO HE ADVISED Dr. JAMES FORSYTH TO REWRITE HIS

SOME SHORT QUESTIONS APART FROM COMPREHENSION CHECK
WHAT IS THE NAME OF DUTTADA’S TELESCOPE?
WHAT WAS DUTTADA’S SECRET AMBITION?
WHY WAS DUTTADA FED UP WITH HIS DISCOVERY?
WHAT IS DUTTADA’S OPINION ABOUT COMETS?
WHO WAS SIR JOHN MACPHERSON?
WHO WAS JAMES FORSYTH?
WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE SCIENCE MAGAZINE IN THIS
PASSAGE?
8. WHAT DID SIR JOHN MACPHERSON DECIDE TO DO FINALLY?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.


COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. WHY DOES INDRANI DEVI DISLIKE DUTTADA’SHOBNOBBING WITH DIBYA?
ANS: INDRANI DEBI DISLIKES HER HUSBAND’S HOBNOBBING WITH DIBYA BECAUSE SHE LOOKS
UPON DIBYA LIKE A DESIGNING WOMAN.
2. SHE IS COMPLAINING AND SMILING. WHY IS SHE SMILING?
ANS: SHE SMILES TO THINK OF CHILDLIKE FORGETFULNESS OF HER HUSBAND. SHE HAS TO TAKE
CARE OF HIS NEEDS.
3. i. WHAT WAS DUTTADA’S SECRET AMBITION?
ii. WHAT DID HE DO TO ACHIEVE IT?
ANS: i.DUTTADA’S SECRET AMBITION WAS TO DISCOVER A NEW COMET.
ii. AFTER HIS RETIREMENT, HE BOUGHT AN EIGHT INCHES TELESCOPE AND SET IT ON THE
ROOF OF HIS HOUSE. HE REGULARLY GAZED AT THE SKY ON DARK NIGHTS.
4.WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PLANET AND A COMET, AS GIVEN IN THE STORY?
ANS: BOTH PLANETS AND COMETS ORBIT ROUND THE SUN BUT THE ORBIT OF A COMET IS HIGHLY
ECCENTRIC. IT COMES FROM REMOTE CORNER OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. IT HAS A LONGISH
TAIL THAT IS LIT BRILLIANTLY WHEN IT COMES NEARER THE SUN.
5. WHY WAS DUTTADA HOPEFUL THAT HE WOULD DISCOVER A NEW COMET SOON?
ANS: DUTTADA HAD A TINY TELESCOPE. STILL HE HOPED TO DISCOVER A COMET SOON BECAUSE
THE PROFESSIONALS WITH GIGANTIC TELESCOPES HAD PRE-ASSIGNED PROGRAMMES. THEY
HARDLY TOOK NOTICE OF THE APPEARANCE OF A NEW COMET. AND INDEED, HE SAW A
STRANGER AMONG THE KNOWN STARS. HE HOPED THAT IT WAS A COMET.

6.WHY DOES DUTTADA SAY –”I ALMOST WISH I HAD NOT DISCOVERED
THIS COMET?”
ANS: DUTTADA WAS AN INTROVERT. HIS DISCOVERY OF A COMET
BROUGHT IN UNWELCOME PUBLICITY. HE WAS OFTEN INVITED TO
RECEPTIONS WHICH HE DID NOT LIKE.HE WAS SO FED UP THAT HE
WISHED HE HAD NOT DISCOVERED THE COMET.
7. WHY IS HIS WIFE UNHAPPY ABOUT THE DISCOVERY?
ANS: INDRANI DEVI BELIEVED THAT COMETS BROUGHT IN
CALAMITIES IN THE WORLD. SHE WISHED HER HUSBAND NOT TO
ASSOCIATE WITH SUCH A SINISTER OBJECT.
8. HOW DID SIR JOHN GET HOLD OF JAMES’ ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT?
ANS: JAMES SENT HIS MANUSCRIPT TO ‘NATURE’ FOR PUBLICATION.
NATURE’S EDITOR, TAYLOR, WAS SIR JOHN’S FRIEND. HE GAVE IT TO
SIR JOHN TO GIVE HIS OPINION ABOUT IT.
9.WHAT IS THE IMPORTANT POINT THE PAPER MAKES?
ANS: THE IMPORTANT POINT IN THE PAPER IS THAT COMET DUTTA IS
SURE TO COLLIDE AGAINST EARTH IN TEN MONTHS’ TIME.
10. WHY DOES SIR JOHN SAY THAT JAMES’ PAPER SHOULD NOT BE
PUBLISHED?
ANS: SIR JOHN REALISES THAT IF JAMES’ PAPER IS PUBLISHED AS IT
IS, IT WILL CREATE PANIC ALL OVER(jnv keonjhar).
biswarup mukherjee THE WORLD.

11. WHAT DO THE TWO MEN FINALLY DECIDE TO DO?
ANS: FINALLY, THE TWO MEN AGREE THAT A MEETING OF EXPERTS
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD BE CALLED IN A WEEK’S TIME . THE
EXPERTS WILL TRY TO FIND A WAY TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM
IMMINENT COLLISION.

QUESTIONS FOR ASSIGNMENT

1. WHAT WAS DUTTADA’S SECRET AMBITION? WHEN AND HOW DID
HE FULFIL IT?
2. DRAW A PICTURE OF A COMET AND WRITE FEW LINES ON IT.
3. WHAT SOCIAL MESSAGE IS DECLARED THROUGH THE MORAL OF
THIS STORY?
DISCUSS.


8 the comet i

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