1. So you were raised in a zoo?Copy !req
2. Born and raised.Copy !req
3. In Pondicherry, in what was
the French part of India.Copy !req
4. My father owned the zoo...Copy !req
5. and I was delivered on short notice
by a herpetologist...Copy !req
6. who was there to check
on the Bengal monitor lizard.Copy !req
7. Mother and I were both healthy...Copy !req
8. but the poor lizard escaped...Copy !req
9. and was trampled
by a frightened cassowary.Copy !req
10. The way of karma.Copy !req
11. The way of God.Copy !req
12. That's quite a story.Copy !req
13. I had assumed your father was a
mathematician because of your name.Copy !req
14. Far from it,
I was named after a swimming pool.Copy !req
15. There is a swimming pool named "Pi"?Copy !req
16. You see, my uncle Francis was born
with too much water in his lungs.Copy !req
17. They say the doctors swung Francis around
by the ankles to clear the water out...Copy !req
18. and that's what gave him
the huge chest and skinny legs...Copy !req
19. that made him such a great swimmer.Copy !req
20. Is Francis actually your uncle?
He said he was friends with your father.Copy !req
21. He's my honorary uncle,
I call him Mamaji.Copy !req
22. My father's best friend,
my swimming guru.Copy !req
23. I trained with him three times
a week at the ashram.Copy !req
24. His lessons would
save my life in the end.Copy !req
25. A mouthful of water will not harm you,
but panic will.Copy !req
26. Remember to breathe now,
don't hold your breath.Copy !req
27. Good boy.Copy !req
28. I hope you don't mind vegetarian.Copy !req
29. No, no. Not at all.Copy !req
30. And your name?Copy !req
31. You were going to tell me
how you got your name, I think.Copy !req
32. Oh, yes. I got it from something
Mamaji once told my father.Copy !req
33. You see, most travelers collect
postcards or teacups on their journeys...Copy !req
34. but not Mamaji.Copy !req
35. Mamaji collects swimming pools.Copy !req
36. He swims in every pool he comes upon.Copy !req
37. One day, Mamaji said to my father that,
of all the pools in the world...Copy !req
38. the most beautiful was
a public pool in Paris.Copy !req
39. That the water there was so clear,Copy !req
40. you could make your morning coffee
with it.Copy !req
41. That a single swim there changed his life.Copy !req
42. Before I was born, he said...Copy !req
43. "If you want your son
to have a clean soul...Copy !req
44. "you must take him one day
to swim in the Piscine Molitor."Copy !req
45. I never understood why my father
took this so much to heart.Copy !req
46. But he did, and I was named
"Piscine Molitor Patel."Copy !req
47. Imagine me trying to explain that name.Copy !req
48. I barely made it to the age of 11 before...Copy !req
49. Hey, Piscine!Copy !req
50. Are you pissing right now?Copy !req
51. Look at him, he's pissing!Copy !req
52. With one word, my name went
from an elegant French swimming pool...Copy !req
53. to a stinking Indian latrine.Copy !req
54. I was "Pissing" everywhere.Copy !req
55. No Pissing in the schoolyard!Copy !req
56. Even the teachers started doing it.Copy !req
57. Not deliberately, of course.Copy !req
58. So, then, what might occur
if we release gas too quickly?Copy !req
59. Pissing?Copy !req
60. He said "Pissing."Copy !req
61. That's enough! Order! Order!Copy !req
62. When we returned the next year
for our first day of school, I was prepared.Copy !req
63. Present, sir.Copy !req
64. Piscine Patel.Copy !req
65. Good morning.
I am Piscine Molitor Patel.Copy !req
66. Known to all as...Copy !req
67. Pi, the sixteenth letter
of the Greek alphabet...Copy !req
68. which is also used in mathematics
to represent the ratio...Copy !req
69. of any circle's circumference
to its diameter.Copy !req
70. An irrational number of infinite length,
usually rounded to three digits...Copy !req
71. as 3.14.Copy !req
72. Pi.Copy !req
73. Very impressive, Pi.
Now, sit down.Copy !req
74. And from then on, you were "Pi"?Copy !req
75. Well, no, not quite.Copy !req
76. Nice try, Pissing.Copy !req
77. But I still had the whole day
ahead of me.Copy !req
78. French class was next.Copy !req
79. Then, geography.Copy !req
80. These are the first
20 decimal places of pi.Copy !req
81. My last class of the day
was mathematics.Copy !req
82. Slowly, slowly, slowly.Copy !req
83. Three. Seven. Five. Eight. Nine.Copy !req
84. Eight. Five. Eight. Nine.Copy !req
85. It's right. He's really doing this.Copy !req
86. Pi! Pi! Pi!Copy !req
87. By the end of that day,
I was Pi Patel, school legend.Copy !req
88. Mamaji tells me you're
a legend among sailors, too.Copy !req
89. Out there, all alone.Copy !req
90. I don't even know how to sail.Copy !req
91. And I wasn't alone out there.
Richard Parker was with me.Copy !req
92. Richard Parker?Copy !req
93. Mamaji didn't tell me everything.Copy !req
94. He just said I should look you up
when I got back to Montreal.Copy !req
95. So, what were you doing in Pondicherry?Copy !req
96. Writing a novel.Copy !req
97. By the way, I enjoyed your first book.Copy !req
98. So, this new one, is it set in India?Copy !req
99. No, Portugal, actually.
But it's cheaper living in India.Copy !req
100. Well, I look forward to reading it.Copy !req
101. You can't.Copy !req
102. I threw it out.Copy !req
103. Two years
trying to bring this thing to life...Copy !req
104. and then one day,
it sputtered, coughed and died.Copy !req
105. I'm sorry.Copy !req
106. I was sitting in this coffee house in
Pondicherry one afternoon,Copy !req
107. mourning my loss...Copy !req
108. when this old man at the table next to me
struck up a conversation.Copy !req
109. Yeah, Mamaji, he does that.Copy !req
110. When I told him about my abandoned book,
he said...Copy !req
111. "So, a Canadian who's come to
French India in search of a story.Copy !req
112. "Well, my friend, I know an
Indian in French Canada...Copy !req
113. "with the most incredible story to tell.Copy !req
114. "It must be fate
that the two of you should meet."Copy !req
115. I haven't spoken about
Richard Parker in so many years.Copy !req
116. So, what has Mamaji already told you?Copy !req
117. He said you had a story
that would make me believe in God.Copy !req
118. He would say that about a nice meal.Copy !req
119. As for God,
I can only tell you my story.Copy !req
120. You will decide for yourself
what you believe.Copy !req
121. Fair enough.Copy !req
122. Let's see, then. Where to begin?Copy !req
123. Pondicherry is the French Riviera of India.Copy !req
124. In the streets closest to the ocean,Copy !req
125. you might think
you were in the south of France.Copy !req
126. A few blocks inland, there's a canal.Copy !req
127. Just beyond that is Indian Pondicherry.Copy !req
128. And the Muslim quarter
is just to the west.Copy !req
129. When the French handed Pondicherry
back to us in 1954...Copy !req
130. the town decided that
some sort of commemoration was in order.Copy !req
131. My father, who was a clever businessman,
came up with one.Copy !req
132. He ran a hotel,
and he got the idea to open a zoo...Copy !req
133. in the local botanical gardens instead.Copy !req
134. As it also happened,
my mother was a botanist in the gardens.Copy !req
135. They met, married, and a year later
my brother Ravi was born.Copy !req
136. I came two years after that.Copy !req
137. It sounds magical, growing up in...Copy !req
138. Amen.Copy !req
139. Yeah, let's eat.Copy !req
140. I didn't know Hindus said "amen."Copy !req
141. Catholic Hindus do.Copy !req
142. Catholic Hindus?Copy !req
143. We get to feel guilty before
hundreds of gods, instead of just one.Copy !req
144. But you're a Hindu first?Copy !req
145. None of us knows God
until someone introduces us.Copy !req
146. I was first introduced to God
as a Hindu.Copy !req
147. There are 33 million gods
in the Hindu religion.Copy !req
148. How can I not come to know
a few of them?Copy !req
149. I met Krishna first.Copy !req
150. Yashoda once accused baby Krishna
of eating dirt.Copy !req
151. "Tut, tut you naughty boy -
you shouldn't do that."Copy !req
152. But he didn't!Copy !req
153. That's what he told her.Copy !req
154. "I didn't eat dirt."Copy !req
155. Yashoda said, "No? Well then..."Copy !req
156. "Open your mouth."Copy !req
157. So Krishna opened his mouth.Copy !req
158. And what do you think Yashoda saw?Copy !req
159. What?Copy !req
160. She saw in Krishna's mouth
the whole entire universe.Copy !req
161. The gods were my superheroes growing up.Copy !req
162. Hanuman, the monkey god...Copy !req
163. lifting an entire mountain
to save his friend Lakshman.Copy !req
164. Ganesh, the elephant-headed...Copy !req
165. risking his life to defend the honor
of his mother, Parvati.Copy !req
166. Vishnu, the supreme soul,
the source of all things.Copy !req
167. Vishnu sleeps, floating
on the shoreless cosmic ocean...Copy !req
168. and we are the stuff of his dreaming.Copy !req
169. Spectacle.Copy !req
170. Don't let these stories
and pretty lights fool you, boys.Copy !req
171. Religion is darkness.Copy !req
172. My dear appa believed
himself part of the new India.Copy !req
173. As a child, he had had polio.Copy !req
174. He used to lie in bed racked with pain,
wondering where God was.Copy !req
175. In the end, God didn't save him,
Western medicine did.Copy !req
176. My amma went to college...Copy !req
177. and thought her family
was part of the new India as well...Copy !req
178. until her parents cut her off...Copy !req
179. because they thought
she was marrying beneath her.Copy !req
180. Her religion was the only link
she had to her past.Copy !req
181. I met Christ in the mountains
when I was 12.Copy !req
182. We were visiting relatives,
tea growers in Munnar.Copy !req
183. It was our third day there.
Ravi and I were terribly bored.Copy !req
184. Challenge. I'll give you two rupees.Copy !req
185. Run in to that church
and drink the holy water.Copy !req
186. You must be thirsty.Copy !req
187. Here.Copy !req
188. I brought you this.Copy !req
189. Why would a god do that?Copy !req
190. Why would He send His own son...Copy !req
191. to suffer for the sins
of ordinary people?Copy !req
192. Because He loves us.Copy !req
193. God made Himself approachable to us,
human, so we could understand Him.Copy !req
194. We can't understand God
in all His perfection.Copy !req
195. But we can understand God's son
and His suffering as we would a brother's.Copy !req
196. That made no sense.Copy !req
197. Sacrificing the innocent
to atone for the sins of the guilty...Copy !req
198. What kind of love is that?Copy !req
199. But this son...Copy !req
200. I couldn't get him out of my head.Copy !req
201. If God is so perfect and we are not...Copy !req
202. why would He want to create all this?Copy !req
203. Why does He need us at all?Copy !req
204. All you have to know
is that He loves us.Copy !req
205. God so loved this world
that He gave His only son.Copy !req
206. The longer I listened to the priest...Copy !req
207. the more I came to like this son of God.Copy !req
208. Thank you, Vishnu,
for introducing me to Christ.Copy !req
209. I came to faith through Hinduism
and I found God's love through Christ.Copy !req
210. But God wasn't finished with me yet.Copy !req
211. God works in mysterious ways.Copy !req
212. And so it was,
He introduced Himself again.Copy !req
213. This time by the name of Allah.Copy !req
214. My Arabic was never very good...Copy !req
215. but the sound and feel of the words
brought me closer to God.Copy !req
216. In performing Salah...Copy !req
217. the ground I touched
became holy ground...Copy !req
218. and I found a feeling
of serenity and brotherhood.Copy !req
219. This lamb is exquisite.Copy !req
220. It's the best dish on the table.Copy !req
221. You're all missing out.Copy !req
222. You only need to convert
to three more religions, Piscine...Copy !req
223. and you will spend your life on holiday.Copy !req
224. Are you going to Mecca this year,
Swami Jesus?Copy !req
225. Or to Rome for your coronation
as Pope Pi-us?Copy !req
226. You stay out of this, Ravi.Copy !req
227. Just as you like cricket,
Pi has his own interests.Copy !req
228. No, Gita, Ravi has a point.Copy !req
229. You cannot follow three different religions
at the same time, Piscine.Copy !req
230. Why not?Copy !req
231. Because believing
in everything at the same time...Copy !req
232. is the same as not believing
in anything at all.Copy !req
233. He's young, Santosh.
He's still finding his way.Copy !req
234. And how can he find his way
if he does not choose a path?Copy !req
235. Listen, instead of leaping
from one religion to the next...Copy !req
236. why not start with reason?Copy !req
237. In a few hundred years...Copy !req
238. science has taken us farther
in understanding the universe...Copy !req
239. than religion has in 10,000.Copy !req
240. That is true.Copy !req
241. Your father is right.Copy !req
242. Science can teach us
more about what is out there...Copy !req
243. but not what is in here.Copy !req
244. Some eat meat, some eat vegetable.Copy !req
245. I do not expect us all
to agree about everything...Copy !req
246. but I would much rather have you
believe in something I don't agree with...Copy !req
247. than to accept everything blindly.Copy !req
248. And that begins with
thinking rationally.Copy !req
249. Do you understand?Copy !req
250. Good.Copy !req
251. I would like to be baptized.Copy !req
252. So, you're a Christian and a Muslim?Copy !req
253. And a Hindu, of course.Copy !req
254. And a Jew, I suppose.Copy !req
255. Well, I do teach a course on the
Kabbalah at the university.Copy !req
256. And why not?
Faith is a house with many rooms.Copy !req
257. But no room for doubt?Copy !req
258. Plenty. On every floor.Copy !req
259. Doubt is useful.Copy !req
260. It keeps faith a living thing.Copy !req
261. After all, you cannot know the strength
of your faith until it's been tested.Copy !req
262. Where's Selvam?
We shouldn't be in here without him.Copy !req
263. Stop worrying.Copy !req
264. I have seen him do this
a thousand times.Copy !req
265. I want to meet our new tiger.Copy !req
266. Pi!Copy !req
267. Hello? Richard Parker?Copy !req
268. A tiger?
Richard Parker was a tiger?Copy !req
269. Yeah, he got his name
through a clerical error.Copy !req
270. A hunter caught him drinking
from a stream when he was a cub...Copy !req
271. and named him Thirsty.Copy !req
272. When Thirsty got too big,
the hunter sold him to our zoo...Copy !req
273. but the names got switched
on the paperwork.Copy !req
274. The hunter was listed as Thirsty,
and the tiger was called Richard Parker.Copy !req
275. We laughed about it, and the name stuck.Copy !req
276. Let's go...Copy !req
277. before we get into trouble.Copy !req
278. I want to see him close up.Copy !req
279. You're not a zookeeper.Copy !req
280. Come on!Copy !req
281. That's it, Richard Parker.Copy !req
282. It's for you.Copy !req
283. No!Copy !req
284. What are you thinking?Copy !req
285. Are you out of your mind?Copy !req
286. Who gave you permission
to come back here?Copy !req
287. You have just ignored
everything I've ever taught you.Copy !req
288. I just wanted to say hello to him.Copy !req
289. You think that tiger is your friend?Copy !req
290. He's an animal, not a playmate.Copy !req
291. Animals have souls.Copy !req
292. I have seen it in their eyes.Copy !req
293. Find Selvam.Copy !req
294. You're sure, Sir? Pi's just a boy.Copy !req
295. Do it. Go ahead!Copy !req
296. Animals do not think like we do.Copy !req
297. People who forget that
get themselves killed.Copy !req
298. That tiger is not your friend.Copy !req
299. When you look into his eyes...Copy !req
300. you are seeing your own emotions
reflected back at you.Copy !req
301. Nothing else.Copy !req
302. Don't be stupid. Say you're sorry.Copy !req
303. What have you done, Piscine?Copy !req
304. You know what your father said
about coming back here.Copy !req
305. I am sorry. I was...Copy !req
306. What are you thinking?Copy !req
307. This is between a father and his sons.Copy !req
308. He said he's sorry.Copy !req
309. You want to scar them for life?Copy !req
310. Scar them? That boy almost lost his arm.Copy !req
311. But he's still a boy.Copy !req
312. He will be a man sooner than you think.Copy !req
313. And this is a lesson
I do not want them ever to forget.Copy !req
314. Selvam!Copy !req
315. and so has placed the country
in a state of emergency.Copy !req
316. Under the directive,
the states of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu...Copy !req
317. will be placed under the direct authority
of the central government.Copy !req
318. Police will be granted powers...Copy !req
319. to arrest and indefinitely detain
citizens responsible for the uprising.Copy !req
320. Things changed after the day
of Appa's lesson.Copy !req
321. The world had lost
some of its enchantment.Copy !req
322. School was a bore.
Nothing but facts, fractions and French.Copy !req
323. Words and patterns that went on and on,
without end.Copy !req
324. Just like my irrational nickname.Copy !req
325. I grew restless searching for something
that might bring meaning back into my life.Copy !req
326. And then, I met Anandi.Copy !req
327. Mother made me study music.Copy !req
328. And one day,
my teacher came down with the flu.Copy !req
329. He asked if I could take his place,
playing rhythms for a dance class.Copy !req
330. No.Copy !req
331. If you do not concentrate...Copy !req
332. you cannot express
your love of God through dance.Copy !req
333. Feel the ground beneath your feet.Copy !req
334. Open your gaze out onto the horizon.Copy !req
335. Let that spiritual energy
pulse through you and out into the world.Copy !req
336. Through abhinaya.Copy !req
337. Anandi, come to the front. Lead them.Copy !req
338. Why are you following me?Copy !req
339. What?Copy !req
340. You were following me.Copy !req
341. What does this mean?Copy !req
342. In the dance, you went from pataka...Copy !req
343. which means the forest.Copy !req
344. And then you did...Copy !req
345. samputa...Copy !req
346. which means something that is hidden.Copy !req
347. And after that, you did this.Copy !req
348. And then you did chatura.Copy !req
349. But at the very end, you did this.Copy !req
350. None of the other dancers did that.Copy !req
351. What did you mean?
The god of love is hiding in the forest?Copy !req
352. No, that also means the lotus flower.Copy !req
353. Lotus flower is hiding in the forest?Copy !req
354. Why would a lotus flower
hide in the forest?Copy !req
355. And this is Richard Parker.Copy !req
356. He is the most magnificent creature
we've ever had here.Copy !req
357. Look at the way he's turning his head.Copy !req
358. Showing off. Like a dancer.Copy !req
359. No, he heard something.Copy !req
360. He's listening, you see?Copy !req
361. We have talked about it for some time.Copy !req
362. Do you understand what I'm saying?Copy !req
363. Pi?Copy !req
364. Sorry, you've been...Copy !req
365. Worried.Copy !req
366. For my family.Copy !req
367. Our animals are worth far more abroad
than here in India.Copy !req
368. And if the town council
stops supporting us...Copy !req
369. I don't know where we will be.Copy !req
370. So, it is what we have to do.Copy !req
371. Do you understand?Copy !req
372. I'm sorry, what are we talking about?Copy !req
373. We are leaving India.Copy !req
374. What?Copy !req
375. We are selling the zoo.Copy !req
376. The zoo was never ours to sell.
The land belongs to the town.Copy !req
377. But the animals are ours
and if we sell them...Copy !req
378. we will have enough to start a new life.Copy !req
379. But where would we go?
Our life is here, Appa.Copy !req
380. Canada.Copy !req
381. I have some opportunities
for work in Winnipeg.Copy !req
382. I'll be shipping most of the animals
for sale in North America.Copy !req
383. We can get freighter passage
for the whole family.Copy !req
384. So...Copy !req
385. It is settled.Copy !req
386. We will sail like Columbus.Copy !req
387. But Columbus
was looking for India.Copy !req
388. It takes a lot of work to sell a zoo.Copy !req
389. Before we left...Copy !req
390. Anandi and I had time enough
to break each other's hearts.Copy !req
391. Of course, I promised
I would come back one day.Copy !req
392. It's funny.Copy !req
393. I remember everything else
about our last day.Copy !req
394. But I don't remember saying goodbye.Copy !req
395. Pi? They're serving dinner below.Copy !req
396. Piscine...Copy !req
397. you have a whole life ahead of you.Copy !req
398. We are doing this for you and Ravi.Copy !req
399. Come inside and have some dinner.Copy !req
400. Vegetarian, please.Copy !req
401. My sons and I are vegetarians.
Do you have anything—Copy !req
402. No, no, no. Not more gravy.Copy !req
403. You don't want gravy?Copy !req
404. No, I want something vegetarian.Copy !req
405. She asked if you have
something vegetarian.Copy !req
406. The cow that produced this liver
was vegetarian,Copy !req
407. the pigs that went into these sausages
were vegetarian.Copy !req
408. Very funny.Copy !req
409. But my wife doesn't eat liver.Copy !req
410. Then she can eat the sausage,
the rice, and the gravy.Copy !req
411. Or you can cook your own food.Copy !req
412. How dare you talk to my wife like that?Copy !req
413. Here's your rice.Copy !req
414. I cook for sailors...Copy !req
415. not curry-eaters.Copy !req
416. What did you say?Copy !req
417. Let go of me!Copy !req
418. Who do you think you are?
You're nothing but a servant!Copy !req
419. I feed people! You feed monkeys!Copy !req
420. Hello.Copy !req
421. I am happy Buddhist.Copy !req
422. So, I eat rice next to gravy.Copy !req
423. On ship, gravy is not meat.Copy !req
424. Is taste.Copy !req
425. You try?Copy !req
426. Don't worry.Copy !req
427. We will have plenty of fresh supplies
after we stop in Manila.Copy !req
428. Why give Orange Juice tranquilizers?Copy !req
429. She's not going to cause any trouble.Copy !req
430. The stress of traveling
is not good for the animals...Copy !req
431. and it helps with the seasickness.Copy !req
432. We don't want to be cleaning up
after a seasick orangutan...Copy !req
433. do we?Copy !req
434. My father was a businessman.
He had never tended the animals himself.Copy !req
435. I realized...Copy !req
436. leaving India must have been
harder for him than it was for me.Copy !req
437. So...Copy !req
438. Have I forgotten anything?Copy !req
439. I think you've set the stage.Copy !req
440. So far, we have an Indian boy
named after a French swimming pool...Copy !req
441. on a Japanese ship full of animals,
heading to Canada.Copy !req
442. Yes.Copy !req
443. Now, we have to send our boy
into the middle of the Pacific and—Copy !req
444. And make me believe in God.Copy !req
445. Yeah.Copy !req
446. We'll get there.Copy !req
447. It was four days out of Manila...Copy !req
448. above the Mariana Trench,
the deepest spot on Earth.Copy !req
449. Our ship, The Tsimtsum, pushed on,
bullishly indifferent to its surroundings.Copy !req
450. It moved with the slow,
massive confidence of a continent.Copy !req
451. Ravi?Copy !req
452. Did you hear that, Ravi?Copy !req
453. I'm sleeping.Copy !req
454. It's a thunderstorm. Let's go watch.Copy !req
455. Are you crazy?Copy !req
456. We will get hit by lightning.Copy !req
457. No, we won't.
It will hit the bridge first.Copy !req
458. Don't tempt a storm, Pi.Copy !req
459. More rain! More rain!Copy !req
460. Lord of Storms!Copy !req
461. Lightning!Copy !req
462. Amma!Copy !req
463. Appa!Copy !req
464. Ravi! Get out! Get out!Copy !req
465. Help me!Copy !req
466. Help!Copy !req
467. Get in the boat!Copy !req
468. Please! Save my family!Copy !req
469. Don't scare, okay? Wait, stay here!Copy !req
470. You have to help them! Please!Copy !req
471. Put this on.Copy !req
472. No, no, my family! Please!Copy !req
473. We have to help them!Copy !req
474. - We don't have time.
- My family's back there!Copy !req
475. We help! You must go!Copy !req
476. Who let all the animals out?Copy !req
477. You have to go now!Copy !req
478. No, wait, my father! He can't swim!Copy !req
479. Go!Copy !req
480. Hang on to the boat! Hold, hold!Copy !req
481. Bring it down!Copy !req
482. Hey! You! What are you doing?Copy !req
483. Jump!Copy !req
484. Hey, hey!Copy !req
485. Hey! Over here! Over here!Copy !req
486. Richard Parker?Copy !req
487. No! No!Copy !req
488. No! Go away! Go away!Copy !req
489. Amma!Copy !req
490. Appa! Ravi.Copy !req
491. I'm sorry.Copy !req
492. I'm sorry!Copy !req
493. Hari?Copy !req
494. Looks as though
your drugs haven't worn off yet.Copy !req
495. Orange Juice! Orange Juice!Copy !req
496. Welcome to Pi's Ark.Copy !req
497. Where is your boy, Orange Juice?Copy !req
498. Don't worry,
I bet mother and father found him.Copy !req
499. They'll all be here soon.Copy !req
500. Hello!Copy !req
501. Hello!Copy !req
502. Anybody!Copy !req
503. No!Copy !req
504. Stop it! No!
Stop it! Stop it!Copy !req
505. No! No!Copy !req
506. I'm sorry, Orange Juice.Copy !req
507. I don't have any
seasickness medicine for you.Copy !req
508. Supplies. Supplies!Copy !req
509. Yes! Yes!Copy !req
510. No! No!Copy !req
511. Come on! Come on!Copy !req
512. My name is Pi Patel.Copy !req
513. I have been in a shipwreck.Copy !req
514. I am on a lifeboat alone...Copy !req
515. with a tiger.Copy !req
516. Please send help.Copy !req
517. God, I give myself to you.Copy !req
518. I am your vessel.Copy !req
519. Whatever comes, I want to know.Copy !req
520. Show me.Copy !req
521. There are no lines.Copy !req
522. Set your house in order
and dig in for the battle to survive.Copy !req
523. Establish a strict schedule for eating,
keeping watch and getting rest.Copy !req
524. Do not drink urine or sea water.Copy !req
525. Keep busy
but avoid unnecessary exertion.Copy !req
526. The mind can be kept occupied
by playing card games...Copy !req
527. Twenty Questions, or I Spy.Copy !req
528. Community singing is another
surefire way to lift the spirits.Copy !req
529. Telling stories is highly recommended.Copy !req
530. Above all, don't lose hope.Copy !req
531. Few things can sap the spirit faster
than seasickness.Copy !req
532. Waves are most strongly felt
when a boat turns sideways to the current.Copy !req
533. A sea anchor is used as a drag
to keep the boat's head to the wind.Copy !req
534. Proper use of them can increase control
and reduce seasickness during rough seas.Copy !req
535. For castaways who must share their
lifeboats with large,Copy !req
536. dangerous carnivores...Copy !req
537. it's advisable to establish
a territory as your own.Copy !req
538. Try this method.Copy !req
539. Step one.Copy !req
540. Choose a day when
waves are moderate, but regular.Copy !req
541. Step two.
With the lifeboat facing into the waves...Copy !req
542. making the ride as comfortable as possible,
blow your whistle soothingly.Copy !req
543. Step three.
Turn the lifeboat sideways to the waves...Copy !req
544. accompanied by harsh,
aggressive use of the whistle.Copy !req
545. With sufficient repetition...Copy !req
546. the animal will associate
the sound of the whistle...Copy !req
547. with the discomfort of seasickness.Copy !req
548. Similar methods have long
been used by circus trainers...Copy !req
549. though they generally lack
access to rough seas.Copy !req
550. Let the trumpets blare!Copy !req
551. Let the drum rolls begin!Copy !req
552. Prepare to be amazed!Copy !req
553. Here it is,
for your enjoyment and instruction!Copy !req
554. The show you've been waiting for
all your life...Copy !req
555. will soon begin!Copy !req
556. Are you ready for the miracle of it?Copy !req
557. Well, then, I give to you...Copy !req
558. the astounding Bengal tiger!Copy !req
559. Hello, Richard Parker.
Sorry about the choppy ride.Copy !req
560. Mine! You understand? Yours, mine!Copy !req
561. You understand?Copy !req
562. Step four.Copy !req
563. Disregard steps one through three.Copy !req
564. Here, Richard Parker.
I got some water for you.Copy !req
565. In the zoo, we fed our tigers
an average of five kilos of meat a day.Copy !req
566. Richard Parker will be
getting hungry soon.Copy !req
567. Tigers are powerful swimmers,
and if he gets hungry enough...Copy !req
568. I'm afraid the little bit of water
between us won't be any protection.Copy !req
569. I need to find a way to feed him.Copy !req
570. I can eat the biscuits
but God made tigers carnivores...Copy !req
571. so I must learn to catch fish.Copy !req
572. If I don't, I'm afraid his last meal
will be a skinny, vegetarian boy.Copy !req
573. Patience!Copy !req
574. What am I doing?Copy !req
575. Wait! I'm thinking.Copy !req
576. Thirty-two cartons of biscuits.Copy !req
577. Ninety-three cans of water.Copy !req
578. I'm sorry.Copy !req
579. I'm sorry.Copy !req
580. Thank you, Lord Vishnu.Copy !req
581. Thank you for coming in the form of a fish
and saving our lives.Copy !req
582. Thank you.Copy !req
583. Of course, I brought all the biscuits
and waterCopy !req
584. on the raft with me to keep them safe.Copy !req
585. Idiot.Copy !req
586. Hunger can change everything you
ever thought you knew about yourself.Copy !req
587. Here, it's yours!Copy !req
588. Mine! Mine!Copy !req
589. I can't risk my life every time I have
to climb onto the boat for supplies.Copy !req
590. It's time to settle this.Copy !req
591. If we're going to live together,
we have to learn to communicate.Copy !req
592. Maybe Richard Parker can't be tamed,
but with God's will, he can be trained.Copy !req
593. No!Copy !req
594. Good.Copy !req
595. Go, Richard Parker. Go.Copy !req
596. Go on home, I'll leave you alone.Copy !req
597. I'll respect that, I promise.Copy !req
598. Go. Come on.Copy !req
599. Yes!Copy !req
600. I never thought a small piece of shade
could bring me so much happiness.Copy !req
601. That a pile of tools,
a bucket, a knife, a pencil...Copy !req
602. might become my greatest treasures.Copy !req
603. Or that knowing Richard Parker
was here might ever bring me peace.Copy !req
604. In times like these...Copy !req
605. I remember that he has as little
experience with the real world as I do.Copy !req
606. We were both raised in a zoo
by the same master.Copy !req
607. Now we've been orphaned,
left to face our ultimate master together.Copy !req
608. Without Richard Parker,
I would have died by now.Copy !req
609. My fear of him keeps me alert.Copy !req
610. Tending to his needs
gives my life purpose.Copy !req
611. Dolphins.Copy !req
612. Hey, Richard Parker!Copy !req
613. Hey!Copy !req
614. Above all, don't lose hope.Copy !req
615. Eight, five, five,
zero, three, six, six...Copy !req
616. zero, eight, zero, one...Copy !req
617. three, six, zero, four,
six, six, eight...Copy !req
618. What are you looking at?Copy !req
619. Talk to me.Copy !req
620. Tell me what you see.Copy !req
621. Words are all I have left to hang on to.Copy !req
622. Everything mixed up. Fragmented.Copy !req
623. Can't tell daydreams, night dreams,
from reality anymo—...Copy !req
624. Storm, Richard Parker.Copy !req
625. No!Copy !req
626. No!Copy !req
627. Praise be to God!Copy !req
628. Lord of all worlds!Copy !req
629. The compassionate, the merciful!Copy !req
630. Come out.Copy !req
631. Richard Parker!
Come out, you have to see this!Copy !req
632. It's beautiful!Copy !req
633. Don't hide yourself! He's come to us!Copy !req
634. It's a miracle!Copy !req
635. Come out and see God, Richard Parker!Copy !req
636. Why are you scaring him?Copy !req
637. Oh, God!Copy !req
638. I've lost my family!
I've lost everything!Copy !req
639. I surrender! What more do you want?Copy !req
640. I'm sorry, Richard Parker.Copy !req
641. We're dying, Richard Parker.Copy !req
642. I'm sorry.Copy !req
643. Amma, Appa, Ravi...Copy !req
644. I'm happy I'm going to see you soon.Copy !req
645. Can you feel the rain?Copy !req
646. God, thank you for giving me my life.Copy !req
647. I'm ready now.Copy !req
648. Richard Parker?Copy !req
649. Excuse me.Copy !req
650. Move.Copy !req
651. Move. Excuse me.Copy !req
652. Hey! Hey!Copy !req
653. Hey, come on!Copy !req
654. Hey, get away. This is my bed.Copy !req
655. It was a human tooth?Copy !req
656. Don't you see?
The island was carnivorous.Copy !req
657. Carnivorous? Like a Venus Flytrap?Copy !req
658. Yes, the whole island.Copy !req
659. The plants, the water in those pools,
the very ground itself.Copy !req
660. During the day,
those pools held fresh water.Copy !req
661. But at night, some chemical process
turned the water in those pools into acid...Copy !req
662. acid that dissolved those fish...Copy !req
663. that sent the meerkats
scurrying into the trees,Copy !req
664. and Richard Parker running to the boat.Copy !req
665. But where did the tooth come from?Copy !req
666. Years ago, some poor fellow,
just like me...Copy !req
667. must have found himself
stranded on that island...Copy !req
668. and, like me,
thought he might stay there forever.Copy !req
669. But all that the island gave him by day,
it took away again by night.Copy !req
670. To think, how many hours spent
with only meerkats for company.Copy !req
671. How much loneliness taken on.Copy !req
672. All I know is that eventually he died
and the island digested him...Copy !req
673. leaving behind only his teeth.Copy !req
674. I saw how my life would end
if I stayed on that island.Copy !req
675. Alone and forgotten.Copy !req
676. I had to get back to the world,
or die trying.Copy !req
677. I spent the next day preparing the boat.Copy !req
678. I filled my stores with fresh water...Copy !req
679. ate seaweed until my stomach
could take no more...Copy !req
680. and brought as many meerkats
as I could fitCopy !req
681. into the storage locker for Richard Parker.Copy !req
682. I couldn't leave without him, of course.Copy !req
683. It would mean killing him.Copy !req
684. And so, I waited for his return.Copy !req
685. I knew he wouldn't be late.Copy !req
686. Richard Parker!Copy !req
687. No one has seen that floating island since.Copy !req
688. And you won't read about
those trees in any nature book.Copy !req
689. And yet, if I hadn't found those shores,
I would have died.Copy !req
690. If I hadn't discovered that tooth,
I would have been lost, alone forever.Copy !req
691. Even when God seemed
to have abandoned me...Copy !req
692. He was watching.Copy !req
693. Even when He seemed
indifferent to my suffering...Copy !req
694. He was watching.Copy !req
695. And when I was beyond all hope of saving,
He gave me rest...Copy !req
696. then gave me a sign
to continue my journey.Copy !req
697. By the time we reached the Mexican shore,
I was afraid to let go of the boat.Copy !req
698. My strength was gone. I was so weak.Copy !req
699. I was afraid that in two feet of water,
so close to deliverance...Copy !req
700. I would drown.Copy !req
701. I struggled to shore
and fell upon the sand.Copy !req
702. It was warm and soft...Copy !req
703. like pressing my face
against the cheek of God.Copy !req
704. And somewhere,
two eyes were smiling at having me there.Copy !req
705. I was so spent, I could hardly move.Copy !req
706. And so, Richard Parker went ahead of me.Copy !req
707. He stretched his legs
and walked along the shore.Copy !req
708. At the edge of the jungle, he stopped.Copy !req
709. I was certain he was
going to look back at me...Copy !req
710. flatten his ears to his head, growl.Copy !req
711. That he would bring our relationship
to an end in some way.Copy !req
712. But he just stared ahead
into the jungle.Copy !req
713. And then, Richard Parker,
my fierce companion...Copy !req
714. the terrible one who kept me alive...Copy !req
715. disappeared forever from my life.Copy !req
716. After a few hours,
a member of my own species found me.Copy !req
717. He left and returned with a group
who carried me away.Copy !req
718. I wept like a child.Copy !req
719. Not because I was overwhelmed
at having survived, although I was.Copy !req
720. I was weeping because Richard Parker
left me so unceremoniously.Copy !req
721. It broke my heart.Copy !req
722. You know, my father was right.Copy !req
723. Richard Parker never saw me as his friend.Copy !req
724. After all we had been through,
he didn't even look back.Copy !req
725. But I have to believe there
was more in his eyes...Copy !req
726. than my own reflection staring back at me.Copy !req
727. I know it. I felt it.Copy !req
728. Even if I can't prove it.Copy !req
729. You know, I've left so much behind.Copy !req
730. My family, the zoo, India, Anandi.Copy !req
731. I suppose, in the end, the whole of life
becomes an act of letting go.Copy !req
732. But what always hurts the most...Copy !req
733. is not taking a moment to say goodbye.Copy !req
734. I was never able to thank my father
for all I learned from him.Copy !req
735. To tell him, without his lessons...Copy !req
736. I would never have survived.Copy !req
737. I know Richard Parker is a tiger,
but I wish I had said...Copy !req
738. "It's over. We survived.Copy !req
739. "Thank you for saving my life.
I love you, Richard Parker.Copy !req
740. "You will always be with me.Copy !req
741. "May God be with you."Copy !req
742. I don't know what to say.Copy !req
743. It's hard to believe, isn't it?Copy !req
744. It is a lot to take in.Copy !req
745. To figure out what it all means.Copy !req
746. If it happened, it happened.
Why should it have to mean anything?Copy !req
747. Some of it is pretty incredible.Copy !req
748. See, I was the only one
who survived the shipwreck.Copy !req
749. So the Japanese shipping company
sent two men to talk to me...Copy !req
750. in the Mexican hospital
where I was recovering.Copy !req
751. I still have a copy of their report.Copy !req
752. They had insurance claims to settle...Copy !req
753. and they wanted to find out
why the ship sank.Copy !req
754. They didn't believe me, either.Copy !req
755. Thousands of meerkats
on a floating carnivorous island...Copy !req
756. and no one has ever seen it?Copy !req
757. Yes, just like I told you.Copy !req
758. Bananas don't float.Copy !req
759. Why are you talking about bananas?Copy !req
760. You said the orangutan
floated to you on a bundle of bananas.Copy !req
761. But bananas don't float.Copy !req
762. Are you sure about that?Copy !req
763. Of course they do.
Try it for yourself.Copy !req
764. In any case, we are not here
to talk about bananas or meerkats.Copy !req
765. Look, I've just told you a long story
and I'm very tired.Copy !req
766. We are here because a Japanese
cargo ship sank in the Pacific.Copy !req
767. Something I never forget.Copy !req
768. I lost my whole family.Copy !req
769. Get him some water.Copy !req
770. We don't mean to push you.Copy !req
771. And you have our deepest sympathies.Copy !req
772. But we have come a long way...Copy !req
773. and we are no closer
to understanding why the ship sank.Copy !req
774. Because I don't know.Copy !req
775. I was asleep. Something woke me up.Copy !req
776. It could have been an explosion,
I can't be sure.Copy !req
777. And then the ship sank.Copy !req
778. What else do you want from me?Copy !req
779. A story that won't make us
look like fools.Copy !req
780. We need a simpler story for our report.Copy !req
781. One our company can understand.Copy !req
782. A story we can all believe.Copy !req
783. So, a story without things
you've never seen before.Copy !req
784. That's right.Copy !req
785. Without surprises.
Without animals or islands.Copy !req
786. Yes. The truth.Copy !req
787. So, what did you do?Copy !req
788. I told them another story.Copy !req
789. Four of us survived.Copy !req
790. The cook and the sailor
were already aboard.Copy !req
791. The cook threw me a lifebuoy
and pulled me aboard...Copy !req
792. and Mother held on to some bananas
and made it to the lifeboat.Copy !req
793. The cook was a disgusting man.Copy !req
794. He ate a rat.Copy !req
795. We had food enough for weeks,
but he found the rat in the first few days...Copy !req
796. and he killed it,
dried it in the sun and ate it.Copy !req
797. He was such a brute, that man.Copy !req
798. But he was resourceful.Copy !req
799. It was his idea to build
the raft to catch fish.Copy !req
800. We would have died in those
first few days without him.Copy !req
801. The sailor was the same man who
brought rice and gravy, the Buddhist.Copy !req
802. We didn't understand much of
what he said, only that he was suffering.Copy !req
803. He had broken his leg
horribly in the fall.Copy !req
804. We tried to set it as best we could,
but the leg became infected...Copy !req
805. and the cook said that we had
to do something or he'd die.Copy !req
806. The cook said he'd do it,Copy !req
807. but Mother and I had
to hold the man down.Copy !req
808. And I believed him, we needed to do it.Copy !req
809. So...Copy !req
810. I kept saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."Copy !req
811. And he just kept looking at me.
His eyes were so...Copy !req
812. I'll never understand the point
of that man's suffering.Copy !req
813. I can still hear him.Copy !req
814. The happy Buddhist,
he only ate rice and gravy.Copy !req
815. We didn't save him, of course.Copy !req
816. He died.Copy !req
817. The morning after,
the cook caught his first dorado...Copy !req
818. and I didn't understand
what he had done at first, but Mother did...Copy !req
819. and I had never seen Mother so angry.Copy !req
820. "Stop whining and be happy," he said.Copy !req
821. "We need more food or we'll die.
That was the whole point."Copy !req
822. "What was the whole point?"
Mother asked.Copy !req
823. "You let that poor boy die in order
to get bait, you monster!"Copy !req
824. The cook got furious.Copy !req
825. He started towards her
with his fist raised...Copy !req
826. and Mother slapped him hard,
right across the face.Copy !req
827. I was stunned.Copy !req
828. I thought he was going
to kill her right then.Copy !req
829. But he didn't.Copy !req
830. The cook didn't stop at bait either, no.Copy !req
831. The sailor...Copy !req
832. He went the same way the rat went.Copy !req
833. The cook was a resourceful man.Copy !req
834. It was a week later that he...Copy !req
835. Because of me.Copy !req
836. Because I couldn't
hold on to a stupid turtle.Copy !req
837. It slipped out of my hands
and swam away.Copy !req
838. And the cook came up and he punched me
on the side of my head...Copy !req
839. and my teeth clacked and I saw stars.Copy !req
840. I thought he was going to hit me again...Copy !req
841. but Mother started
pounding on him with her fists...Copy !req
842. screaming, "Monster, monster!"Copy !req
843. She yelled at me to go to the raft.Copy !req
844. I thought she was coming with me,
or I'd never have...Copy !req
845. I don't know why
I didn't make her go first.Copy !req
846. I think about that every day.Copy !req
847. I jumped over and turned back
just as the knife came out.Copy !req
848. There wasn't anything I could do.Copy !req
849. I couldn't look away.Copy !req
850. He threw her body overboard.Copy !req
851. And then the sharks came.
And I saw what they...Copy !req
852. I saw.Copy !req
853. The next day, I killed him.Copy !req
854. He didn't even fight back.
He knew he had gone too far...Copy !req
855. even by his own standards.Copy !req
856. He'd left the knife out on the bench,
and I did to him what he did to the sailor.Copy !req
857. He was such an evil man,
but worse still, he...Copy !req
858. He brought the evil out in me.Copy !req
859. And I have to live with that.Copy !req
860. I was alone in a lifeboat...Copy !req
861. drifting across the Pacific Ocean.Copy !req
862. And I survived.Copy !req
863. After that, they had no more questions.Copy !req
864. The investigators didn't seem
to like the story, exactly.Copy !req
865. But they thanked me,
they wished me well, and they left.Copy !req
866. So the stories...Copy !req
867. both the zebra and the sailor...Copy !req
868. broke their leg.Copy !req
869. And the hyena killed
the zebra and the orangutan.Copy !req
870. So... the hyena is the cook.Copy !req
871. The sailor is the zebra.Copy !req
872. Your mother is the orangutan.Copy !req
873. And you are...Copy !req
874. the tiger.Copy !req
875. Can I ask you something?Copy !req
876. Of course.Copy !req
877. I've told you two stories about
what happened out on the ocean.Copy !req
878. Neither explains what caused
the sinking of the ship...Copy !req
879. and no one can prove
which story is true and which is not.Copy !req
880. In both stories, the ship sinks...Copy !req
881. my family dies and I suffer.Copy !req
882. True.Copy !req
883. So, which story do you prefer?Copy !req
884. The one with the tiger.Copy !req
885. That's the better story.Copy !req
886. Thank you.Copy !req
887. And so it goes with God.Copy !req
888. Mamaji was right.Copy !req
889. It's an amazing story.Copy !req
890. Will you really let me write it?Copy !req
891. Of course.Copy !req
892. Isn't that why Mamaji sent you here,
after all?Copy !req
893. My wife is here.Copy !req
894. Do you want to stay for dinner?
She's an incredible cook.Copy !req
895. I didn't know you had a wife.Copy !req
896. And a cat and two children.Copy !req
897. So, your story does have a happy ending.Copy !req
898. Well, that's up to you.Copy !req
899. The story is yours now.Copy !req
900. "Mr. Patel's is an astounding story
of courage and endurance...Copy !req
901. "unparalleled in the history of shipwrecks.Copy !req
902. "Very few castaways can claim
to have survived so long at sea...Copy !req
903. "and none in the company...Copy !req
904. "of an adult Bengal tiger."Copy !req
905. We have a guest. Let me introduce you.Copy !req
906. - Hi.
- Hi.Copy !req
907. Nice to meet you.Copy !req
908. Adita.Copy !req