In this passage, Arun goes swimming in the ponds near the Patton's house, accompanied by Mrs. Patton and Melanie. Arun savors the feeling of jumping into the water and feeling weightless: he's so used to being bottled up and repressed that the slightest display of fun is a liberation.

There's a deeper meaning to Arun's experience in the passage: he's so used to pleasing other people, and being "swept along" in other people's visions (his parents, the Pattons, etc.) that he treats swimming as a rare case of living "for himself," and himself alone. Notice that the passage is meant…