His uncle Francis Adiru baswamy (aka mamaji means uncle ) ,who was a champion and a competitive swimmer of south India at that time .Pi considered him as aquatic guru(master).But narrator’s brother Mr. Ravi used to tease Pi’s uncle ,since his uncle’s chest is so tick and the legs are so skinny that Ravi called him nickname Mr. Fish. Mamaji used to swam 30 length every morning at the pool of the Aurobindo Ashram .He trie to teach Pi’s parents to swim,but he never got them to go beyond wading up to their knees at the beach and making ludicrous round motions with their arms. Mamaji was patient and encouraging to train me as a good swimmer.
The narrator is gushing through his vivid memories of swimming with Mamaji .He was telling that his gift to mamaji ,one birthday was two full length of credible butterfly when he was 13 .
February 20, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Sunil,
Your summary provides a vivid picture of Pi’s rememberances of how he learned to swim (a talent that will serve him well, later in the story). As I mentioned to the group reading Forrest Gump, it is very interesting to read the differing perspectives of each reader in terms of the details they decide are vital to report, or are worth remembering. Reading each summary from all the members of a group, we can arrive at a fuller and deeper insight into the novel than we are likely to know by reading only the summary of one group member. This way, we help one another to more fully appreciate the book.
Don’t forget to go back and fill us in on your view of what happened in the first 2 chapters of Life of Pi.
Thanks,
James