One of Dee's friends was an Indian boy whose father worked on an oil rig.

ECONOMIST: Dee Brown

That the shipwrecked hero, a young Indian boy named Piscine Molitor Patel -- "Pi" for short -- didn't have another human soul to talk to for 200 days presented another significant challenge.

CNN: Review: 'Life of Pi' is bold and wondrous

Koushik's parents, who emigrated from Calcutta to Ontario in the '60s, had him studying classical Indian music when he was a boy.

NPR: Koushik Bends Genres To His Will

The film tells the story of a boy who strays into the Indian side of the border by mistake.

BBC: Pakistan film makes India record

They appreciate his Indian roots and his inspiring rise from shoe-shine boy to presidential candidate.

ECONOMIST: Peru

The great wonder, it's true, was surrounded by Chinese pagodas, dancing pavilions, camera obscuras, Indian bazaars, and sideshows featuring counting pigs and a man named Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Inventing Niagara'