"India is a country which dazzles me because it's all of life. Given its diversity, it is amazing how it still holds itself together." <a >More Coverage </a>
Life of Pi is such an Indian story, and not just because a Pi Patel sets sail from Pondicherry. Like all great stories, it's a tale well told, and one that has so much more to tell than the tale. The man, Booker award-winning author Yann Martel, talks to Sanjay Suri. Excerpts
Your story begins in India and unfolds in the middle of nowhere. Why India for a start?
Could this book belong to an Indian tradition of seemingly fantastic stories that also tell an essential truth?
Pi Patel is Hindu, Christian, Muslim. Is this suggesting some sort of universality?
Has the Booker from this Indian tale made your memories of India grow any fonder?
Are Indian writers in English picking up on some of these things?
Would you like to see Life of Pi translated into Indian languages?