Living infinitely (Life of Pi)

My last read was a novel written by Yann Martel a Canadian author and it was called the Life of Pi.

The book was published in 2001 and received a number of awards crowned by the Booker prize in 2002.

It follows the story of a young Indian boy who at 16 is travelling to Canada from India by a Japanese ship called Tsimtsum, in the middle of the pacific ocean it sinks and he is the sole survivor.

Well, he was not exactly the sole survivor:  on the lifeboat floating the pacific he is accompanied by a Zebra, a Chimpanzee, a hyena and a 450 pounds royal Bengal tiger!

The book recounts the story of Pi, who survived 227 days in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a wild Tiger as his sole companion (the other survivors were gradually eliminated by the Tiger)

The book raises many philosophical questions about the way we interpret God's "mysterious" ways. Whether we believe or not... There is no preaching in the book, only questions that are raised in the beginning and left for the reader to answer in the end after accompanying Pi throughout his amazing journey.

I was intrigued by the topic because of Mr.Martel's vision of the book and his wonderful storytelling technique.

But I was more intrigued by the way Pi adapted and evolved his character and skills according to his extraordinary circumstances.

How did a mere 16 year old boy who showed no interest in anything other than a special interest in spirituality and theology (hardly any survival skills!). How did he survive storms, sharks, the lack of food and water, the mental pressure of being alone in the pacific and above that having a fierce tiger on board!

I finished the book just in time of the New Year and started thinking hardly about this amazing capability of survival that we have and most of us die without testing it.

New Year is time for resolutions, and I don’t want to find myself lying on a boat someday in the middle of the pacific while my only skills are counting numbers and preparing spreadsheets! I decided that my current lifestyle is just too limited to my capabilities, why did I resolve to living so small? Why shouldn't I start spreading some wings and try them?

Is it late? Off course not! I hope you try yourself more often as well because you'll pretty much amaze yourself.

Hashem Fouad

Jan,2011