IsDuttada’s general outlook

(i)rational?

(ii)moral?

(iii)traditional?

Choosethe right word. Say why you think it right.

Duttada’sgeneral outlook was rational. He did not believe in superstitions. Heonly believed in what he saw and in his calculations. When IndraniDebi said that she wished he had not discovered the comet as itbrought ill-luck, he laughed and said that even an M.A.degree had not cured her of her superstitions.

Laterwhen Indrani Debi asked him to perform a yajnaso that the comet would not harm him, he reacted very angrily. Hesaid that such superstitious behaviour could be understood in theolden times because back then man did not know the true nature ofcomets. However, in modern times, such behaviour was unacceptable. Hesaid that it had been clearly established by statistical studies thattheir visits have no correlations with disasters on the earth.

Inthe end, when she told him that they made Khoka perform the yajna,he formed a mental picture of Khoka performing the yajnaand uttering mantrasdictated to him, which he did not understand. At the same moment, hethought of an assembly of scientists analysing the problem, devisingsolutions and executing them rationally. He wondered if the gapbetween the superstitious and the rational would ever be eliminated.