When Yann Martel won the Man Booker Prize in 2001 for his book, ‘Life of Pi’, many applauded his writing style, his imagination & the ability to build characters. Look at the protagonist – Piscine Patel, who was teased as Pissing patel, and his ingeniousness to rechristen himself as ‘Pi’. Tremendous & Terrific!

I, however, feel that it was the ‘better life’ that spruced up the novel beyond the reading experience & took us to a world where Orange Juice, the Orangutan secures a place in our hearts by his sheer orangutan nature  & when the spotted hyena kills Orange Juice, it rips off our hearts in pieces. I remember getting irritated & undergoing phantom sensation in my legs when the Grant’s Zebra gets injured or shall we say, mauled by the heartless, selfish spotted Hyena. 

My favorite was Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger, who could swim & sunbathe. That guy had a sense of privacy & personal space. It just totally connected with my introvert nature (Okay, ambivert) & I just fell for him. After establishing perimeters, Pi never felt threatened, endangered or uncomfortable. Pi, the human, could trust Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger. And that was what the most beautiful thing about the book – because it was a promise of a better life lurking around.

In my travels to the far-flung places of the country as well as to the next door’s, I absolutely loved exploring the better life that’s a reminder that the treasure is just out there. You only have to look!

Oh! Did I just steal lines from the movies, ‘Up’ & ‘Prestige’? Well! I might have been inspired. And after all, when you are travelling to India, treasure is better than adventure because the latter awaits you at every nook and corner. 🙂

Here is the better life from India:

Let me know how you liked the pictures or ‘the better life’. And do share any pictures that may go up here. I would love to credit you.

Cheers to travelling!