What is Swami's relationship with his father?

W. T. Srinivasan is Swami's father. He is a successful attorney, and provides a comfortable lifestyle to his family. He is very serious and puts a great deal of pressure on Swami to succeed academically, which partially causes Swami to run away in fear of his father's reaction after he thinks he is expelled from the Board High School. However, he does care deeply for his son and greets his return with joy and total forgiveness. He also somewhat encourages his son to speak up for himself, defending him when he experiences anti-Hindu sentiment from his scriptures teacher. This does have some limits however, such as the anti colonialism protests. While Swami's father approves of them in general, he does not want his son or any other children to get caught in the fray.