大學生出書講述印度文化之旅大綱

Zhou Liqun and Shen Yiming study unusual majors – Sanskrit and Hindi – at Peking University.

就讀於北京大學的周利羣和沈逸鳴各自攻讀着一門不同尋常的專業——梵語和印地語。

This July, 27-year-old postgraduate Zhou and 22-year-old undergraduate Shen, both in the department of South Asian Studies, launched the first Indian travel guide written by university students.

今年七月，來自南亞學系的27歲的研究生周利羣和22歲的本科生沈逸鳴聯手推出了第一本由在讀大學生編撰的印度旅遊指南。

It is called Under the Bodhi Tree and Above the Ganges River.

書名叫《菩提樹下，恆河水上》。

It all began with their one-year stay in New Delhi for a language course in late 2010.

這一切都要從他們2010年底前往新德里開始的爲期一年的語言課程說起。

In response to requests from friends, Zhou and Shen posted their travel notes on a blog from early last year.

去年年初，應朋友之邀，周利羣和沈逸鳴開始在博客上發佈他們的遊記。

They depicted the fun and games of the Holi Festival, when everyone drenches their beloved ones with colored water.

他們描述了胡裏節的歡樂場面，人們會向心愛的人身上潑灑五顏六色的顏料。

They described Sikhism, a religion that reveres honesty and collaboration, with nuanced writing.

他們用微妙的筆觸來講述了錫克教，一個信奉正直與協作的宗教。

As their travel posts went viral among friends and travel magazines, they were challenged by an editor to write a book.

正當他們的遊記在朋友圈和旅遊雜誌中廣爲傳播時，一位編輯向二人發出英雄帖，邀請他們出書。

Their travel routes cover large parts of India.

他們的旅行路線覆蓋了印度的大部分地區。

"Having lived in cosmopolitan Beijing for six years, what I saw in India was like a new wave of delightful visual images," said Zhou.

周利羣說："對於在北京這個大都市住了六年的我來說，在印度所見到的就像是一幅幅令人愉悅的全新影像。"

Wherever they went, they had the feeling that they were surrounded by old buildings in warm colors and an array of multi-colored saris.

不論去到哪裏，他們都感覺自己被暖色調的古老建築以及色彩各異的莎麗服包圍。

"I fell in love with India when I read a poem in Mahabharata, an Indian epic, about the romance between prince Nala and princess Damayanti. It is so well-written," said Zhou.

"當我讀到《摩訶婆羅多》中的一首詩時，便愛上了印度。《摩訶婆羅多》是一部印度史詩，講述了那勒王子和妲瑪言狄公主之間的愛情故事，內容十分精彩。"周利羣說道。

Zhou loves Indian literature, while her fellow co-writer Shen majors in Hindi, which contributes to their complementary knowledge of the culture and religion of Indian society.

周利羣喜愛印度文學，而合著人沈逸鳴則主修印地語，正好在二人研究印度社會文化與宗教方面起到了互補作用。

In the winter of last year, the duo visited the city of the dead, Varanasi. In this religious capital of India, the dead are cremated on the river bank and their ashes thrown in the Ganges.

去年冬天，兩人拜訪了死亡之城——瓦拉納西。在這個被譽爲印度宗教首都的城市，死者在河邊被火葬，骨灰也被撒向恆河。

"Samsara is the core belief of Hinduism. They believe that being scattered in the Ganges will result in a better next life," said Shen.

"輪迴是印度教的核心信仰。他們相信骨灰被撒向恆河之中，來生會更好。"沈逸鳴說。

Shen and Zhou stood by the river bank, watching dozens of corpses wrapped in cloth, decorated with fresh flowers, gradually devoured by fire.

沈逸鳴和周利羣站在岸邊，目睹了很多包裹着布料和點綴着鮮花的屍身漸漸地被大火吞噬。

"The family seemed so composed. Whether there was underneath disquiet on those expressionless faces was hard to tell, but I could feel the tranquilizing power of religion," said Zhou.

周利羣說："他們的家人看上去如此安靜。儘管很難去判斷在他們毫無表情的面孔下是否藏有一絲不安。但我能感覺到一股令人安靜的宗教力量。"

As the pair wandered across India, Zhou got to thinking: as we gallop through our lives shouldn't we stop for a while to think?

當二人穿行於印度大地之上時，周利羣開始思考：當我們匆匆度日的時候，難道不該駐足思考片刻嗎？

"I once spotted a man meditating by a river," said Zhou. "He looked so ethereal against the orange sunset. It reminded me of what Elizabeth Gilbert described in Eat, Pray, Love, that meditation is about reaching a state where God dwells within you, as you," said Zhou.

"我曾經看到一個人在河邊冥思。在橙黃色夕陽的照耀下，他看起來是那麼的空靈。這讓我想起伊麗莎白•吉爾伯特在《美食、祈禱和戀愛》一書中所描述到的：冥思就是要到達一個國度，在那裏，上帝在你身上的體現就是你自己。"周利羣說道。

"Our book is just one of the achievements of our Indian culture pilgrimage," said Shen.

沈逸鳴說："我們的書只是我們印度文化朝聖之旅的成果之一。"

"Maybe we need years of contemplation to realize what we truly acquired from our stay in India."

"也許我們需要沉思多年，才能明白我們從這次印度之行中真正收穫了什麼。"