大学生出书讲述印度文化之旅

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

就读于北京大学的周利群和沈逸鸣各自攻读着一门不同寻常的专业——梵语和印地语。

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，来自南亚学系的27岁的研究生周利群和22岁的本科生沈逸鸣联手推出了第一本由在读大学生编撰的印度旅游指南。

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

书名叫《菩提树下，恒河水上》。

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

这一切都要从他们2010年底前往新德里开始的为期一年的语言课程说起。

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

去年年初，应朋友之邀，周利群和沈逸鸣开始在博客上发布他们的游记。

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

他们描述了胡里节的欢乐场面，人们会向心爱的人身上泼洒五颜六色的颜料。

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

他们用微妙的笔触来讲述了锡克教，一个信奉正直与协作的宗教。

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

正当他们的游记在朋友圈和旅游杂志中广为传播时，一位编辑向二人发出英雄帖，邀请他们出书。

Their travel routes cover large parts of India.

他们的旅行路线覆盖了印度的大部分地区。

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

周利群说："对于在北京这个大都市住了六年的我来说，在印度所见到的就像是一幅幅令人愉悦的全新影像。"

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

不论去到哪里，他们都感觉自己被暖色调的古老建筑以及色彩各异的莎丽服包围。

"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.

"当我读到《摩诃婆罗多》中的一首诗时，便爱上了印度。《摩诃婆罗多》是一部印度史诗，讲述了那勒王子和妲玛言狄公主之间的爱情故事，内容十分精彩。"周利群说道。

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.

周利群喜爱印度文学，而合著人沈逸鸣则主修印地语，正好在二人研究印度社会文化与宗教方面起到了互补作用。

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，两人拜访了死亡之城——瓦拉纳西。在这个被誉为印度宗教首都的城市，死者在河边被火葬，骨灰也被撒向恒河。

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

"轮回是印度教的核心信仰。他们相信骨灰被撒向恒河之中，来生会更好。"沈逸鸣说。

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

沈逸鸣和周利群站在岸边，目睹了很多包裹着布料和点缀着鲜花的尸身渐渐地被大火吞噬。

"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.

周利群说："他们的家人看上去如此安静。尽管很难去判断在他们毫无表情的面孔下是否藏有一丝不安。但我能感觉到一股令人安静的宗教力量。"

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?

当二人穿行于印度大地之上时，周利群开始思考：当我们匆匆度日的时候，难道不该驻足思考片刻吗？

"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.

"我曾经看到一个人在河边冥思。在橙黄色夕阳的照耀下，他看起来是那么的空灵。这让我想起伊丽莎白•吉尔伯特在《美食、祈祷和恋爱》一书中所描述到的：冥思就是要到达一个国度，在那里，上帝在你身上的体现就是你自己。"周利群说道。

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

沈逸鸣说："我们的书只是我们印度文化朝圣之旅的成果之一。"

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

"也许我们需要沉思多年，才能明白我们从这次印度之行中真正收获了什么。"