讀點好英文:The Song of Kahunsha 沒有悲傷的城市

The Song of Kahunsha 沒有悲傷的城市

[加]阿諾什·艾拉尼（Anosh Irani）

在1993年的孟買，十歲的祥弟，自幼在孤兒院長大。他在腦海中構(gòu)筑出一個祥和美好的樂土“卡洪莎”，意即“沒有悲傷的城市”。面臨孤兒院的拆遷，祥弟從院長口中得知父親下落，隨即帶著自己沾染血跡的嬰兒衣，展開了尋父之旅。他面對的不是夢想中的樂園，而是充滿暴力與黑暗的孟買大街。祥弟與一對流浪街頭的姐弟結(jié)伴同行，卻又落入了黑道老大阿能拜的魔掌，更在當(dāng)?shù)匾蛔《冉躺駨R的爆炸事件后，參與一場謀害無辜穆斯林家庭的血腥復(fù)仇行動。童年終要結(jié)束，美夢也總會清醒，哪個城市沒有悲傷？身處殘酷修羅場的祥弟被迫快快長大，他能否找到親生父親？

Guddi throws the twig away and wipes her hands on her brown dress.

And begins to sing.

What follows is something Chamdi has never imagined.

Guddi's voice suggests that her throat contains magical things, impossible things. It is as though colours are singing, and each colour is a note.Chamdi's skin breaks into ripples, and if he could fly he would go straight into the glass windows of the nearby classroom and come out unharmed.Such is the beauty of Guddi's voice.

The leaves in the trees move gently, as though the trees have felt her song, and dust rises in the air, and swirls about in a playful dance.

By the time Guddi finishes, Chamdi knows that this song is the beginning of something unearthly. So he will use unearthly words to tell her how lovely the song is.He leans towards her and whispers in her ear,“Khile Soma Kafusal.”

“What?”she says, slowly catching her breath.

“Khile Soma Kafusal,”he repeats softly.

“What does that mean?”

“It is spoken in the Language of Gardens. Someday I will tell you what it means.”

“Where is that language spoken?”

“In Kahunsha.”

“Kahunsha?”

“The city of no sadness. One day, all sadness will die, and Kahunsha will be born.”

As Chamdi whispers his secret to Guddi, he forgets, for a second, that it is night. Everything around him is luminous—the leaves, the red hair ribbon, the gravel is waiting to burst.

Guddi flicks the hair off her face and her brown eyes widen. Her eyelashes seem to lengthen—they stretch out as if to reach Ghamdi.

“Don't be an idiot,”she says.“How can such a place exist?”

“Because of your song. Your song is so beautiful that it has the power to create a whole new city.”

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Yes. And I will lose it again, and again, and again, until we are happy.You, me, Sumdi, Amma, the baby, even Dabba.Someday, we will all live together in Kahunsha.”

NINE

A group of boys sit on a handcart and smoke. Sumdi is amongst them, seated next to the smallest boy, whose head is shaved.Chamdi watches the boys pass a cigarette from hand to hand, and wait for it to come back to them.One of the boys has a tin can and he drums on it.The bald one who sits next to Sumdi starts drumming too, but he does so on Sumdi's polio leg, and then puts his ear to it, as though he expects it to emit a sound.The boys have a good laugh.Then Sumdi starts to speak and Chamdi realizes that Sumdi is telling them a story.It is about how his ribs will one day turn into tusks.Chamdi chuckles because Sumdi is doing is a terrible job of telling the story.

Chamdi wishes Mrs. Sadiq were next to him right now, so she could offer him good advice.He knows what she would say, that it is wrong to steal.Jesus would have been of no use right now.Jesus always stayed silent.

“Go to sleep,”says Sumdi.

“No, I'll stay awake for a while.”

“And do what?”

“Think.”

“About what?”

“Anything. I'll dream.”

“How can you dream while you're awake?”

“That's the best kind of dream.”

“You have to be drunk for that to happen. Or on ganja.But you must not even know what ganja is.”

“No.”

“Ganja is what poor people use to distract themselves from their miserable lives. But even that costs money.”

“That's why I dream. Dreams are free.”

“Why are you so strange?Why can't you be normal and spit on the road or shit in your pants?”

“Tell me, what's the one thing you really want in your life?”asks Chamdi.

“I want to leave Bombay.”

“That's not a dream.”

“Why not?”

“Running away is not a dream. Anyway that is Bulbul's dream.”

“Who the hell is Bulbul?”

Chamdi looks at Guddi. She smiles and then closes her eyes quickly as though a massive bout of sleep has suddenly come over her.

“She is Bulbul?”asks Sumdi.“That terror, you called her a nightingale?You really are a dreamer. Now go to sleep.”

“Not before you answer my question.”

“Why can't you let me be?Go and talk to the rat if you are lonely. Here, I'll lift the box and you can enter that hole and dream in the dark.”

“What's the one thing you really want?”

“You won't let me sleep till I answer your question, will you?”

“No.”

“Okay, I'll tell you.”

“Truthfully.”

“Yes, truthfully.”Sumdi glances over at his sister. Her eyes stay closed.Amma stirs and then settles.A police jeep rushes past the bus stop.Ghamdi quickly imagines three blue-and-yellow-striped tigers roaring behind the jeep, serving as its siren.The police-tigers go to places the jeep cannot.They pick out the scent of thieves much better than any policeman.And they will look after the children of Bombay, treat them as their own cubs.

“Okay,”says Sumdi, holding his stiff leg.“I'll tell you.”

“Good.”

“But you can never repeat this to anyone. Not even back to me.And after we have had this stupid conversation, you'll let me sleep in peace.Even if God comes and starts cooking mutton biryani in the middle of the road you'll not wake me.”

“I promise.”

“You see this leg of mine?I've never been able to run. Even when I walk, I feel heavy.It's as though all my anger collects in this leg and it gets heavier and heavier.Even when my father died, I couldn't run to him.I got there last, after Amma and my sister.Sometimes I just wish that I wouldn't feel so heavy So I really wish, you know, a waking dream just like yours in a way, that I will one day……No, it's stupid.I’m sleeping.”

“Go on, Sumdi.”

“What's the point?What I wish for is impossible.”

“Why wish for what's possible?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it's like that.”

“I want to fly,”he whispers.“That's my dream. I, Sumdi, will one day fly all over Bombay, see every gulley, see all the shops, movie theatres, gambling dens, brothels, cock fights, cricket matches, and once I am done, I will fly over the sea like a champion bird, and never ever stop.I will keep on flying for the rest of my life.”

“That's a wonderful dream,”says Chamdi.

“But it can never come true, so what's the use?”

Chamdi does not say anything. He wants to tell Sumdi about Kahunsha.How police-tigers will patrol the streets to keep them safe, how there will be flowers everywhere, how all the water taps will gush forth pure rainwater, and how, most of all, no one will be deformed and people will not hurt each other.

古蒂把那根小樹枝扔出去，在棕色裙子上擦了擦手。

然后她開始唱起歌來。

古蒂的歌聲有著不可思議的魔力，好像是五顏六色的，每個音符都是一種顏色。祥弟的心整個蕩漾了起來，如果他能飛的話，他會直接朝旁邊教室的窗戶飛進(jìn)去，然后又原樣飛出來，這就是古蒂歌聲的美妙之處。

樹葉輕輕地?fù)u著，好像也聽到了古蒂的歌聲，地上的塵土飛到空中旋轉(zhuǎn)，像是在頑皮地跳舞。

古蒂唱完一首歌，祥弟覺得這首歌一定來自另一個世界，因此他決定用另一個世界的語言告訴古蒂這首歌有多么好聽。他湊過去在古蒂耳邊說：“Khile Soma Kafusal?！?/p>

“什么？”古蒂說，慢慢地喘著氣。

“Khile Soma Kafusal?！毕榈苡州p輕地說了一遍。

“這是什么意思？”

“這是花園語言，我以后告訴你是什么意思。”

“這種語言在哪兒用??？”

“在卡洪莎。”

“卡洪莎？”

“沒有悲傷的城市。有一天這個世界所有的悲傷會消失，而卡洪莎就會出現(xiàn)?！?/p>

祥弟在把他的秘密偷偷告訴古蒂的時候，他有一刻忘了那是在夜晚。他周圍的一切都染上了光暈——樹葉、紅發(fā)帶和碎石子。

古蒂把垂到臉上的頭發(fā)抹開，睜大了褐色的眼睛。她的眼睫毛好像變長了，好像要伸出來碰到祥弟一樣。

“別傻了，”她說，“怎么可能有這樣的地方呢？”

“因為你唱的歌，那首歌太美了，它能創(chuàng)造出一個嶄新的城市?！?/p>

“你是不是精神不正常了？”

“對，我還會一次又一次地這樣，直到我們過上快樂的生活。你，我，桑迪，艾瑪，艾瑪?shù)暮⒆?，還有達(dá)巴，有一天我們會在沒有悲傷的城市生活在一起?！?/p>

九

一幫孩子坐在手推車上抽著煙，桑迪也在里面，他坐在那個最小的孩子旁邊，那個孩子頭剃得光光的。祥弟看見那幫孩子輪著抽一支香煙，有個孩子在敲著一個馬口鐵罐，桑迪旁邊的那個光頭孩子也開始敲，不過他敲打的是桑迪那條壞腿，敲完了又趴在上面聽，好像是想聽聽會發(fā)出什么聲音。男孩們哈哈大笑，然后桑迪開始說話，祥弟意識到桑迪是在給他們講故事，講的是他的肋骨怎么突然變成了長牙。祥弟偷偷笑了，因為桑迪講得可不怎么樣。

祥弟希望薩迪克夫人這時候就在他身邊，能給他點兒忠告。他知道薩迪克夫人會說什么，偷東西是不對的。耶穌這時候沒什么用，他總是沉默著。

“睡吧?！鄙５险f。

“不，我還想再待會兒?！?/p>

“做什么。”

“想事情。”

“想什么？”

“什么都想，我喜歡夢想?！?/p>

“你醒著的時候怎么夢想？”

“那是最好的夢。”

“你得喝醉了才能夢得到，或者抽印度大麻，但是你沒準(zhǔn)兒連大麻是什么都不知道?！?/p>

“的確不知道?！?/p>

“大麻是窮人用來逃避悲慘命運的東西，但這也要花錢?！?/p>

“這就是我要夢想的原因，夢想不要錢。”

“你怎么這么怪？你為什么不能正常點，在路上吐痰，或者拉在褲子里？”

“告訴我你真正想要的是什么？”

“我想離開孟買?！?/p>

“這不是夢想?！?/p>

“為什么不是？”

“逃離不是夢想，不管怎么樣吧，那是布布的夢想。”

“布布到底是誰？”

祥弟看著古蒂，她突然笑了一下，然后趕快閉上眼睛，好像沉重的睡意突然來襲一樣。

“她是布布？”桑迪問，“真可怕，你給她起了個夜鶯的名字，你可真夠能做夢的。現(xiàn)在去睡吧?！?/p>

“你先回答我的問題?！?/p>

“你為什么要纏著我？如果你閑得慌，就去跟老鼠說話吧?？矗野押凶幽闷饋?，然后你就鉆進(jìn)洞里做夢了?！?/p>

“有什么東西是你真正夢想要得到的嗎？”

“我不回答你的問題，你就不讓我睡了，是嗎？”

“對?！?/p>

“好，那我就告訴你?！?/p>

“講實話?！?/p>

“好，講實話。”桑迪瞅了他妹妹一眼，古蒂閉著眼睛，艾瑪動了一下又安靜下來了。一輛警車沖過公共汽車站，祥弟馬上想到三只藍(lán)黃相間條紋的老虎跟在警車后面吼叫著，像警車的警報器一樣。警察虎能到警車去不了的地方，它們比警察更能聞出賊的氣味，它們還能照看孟買的孩子們，像對自己的虎崽一樣。

“好，”桑迪說，他抓著自己那條僵硬的腿，“我告訴你?！?/p>

“好的。”

“但是你不能跟別人說，也不許再跟我重復(fù)。我們胡扯完之后，你就得讓我好好睡覺，就算上帝來了，開始在路當(dāng)中做羊肉香料飯，你也不能叫醒我。”

“我答應(yīng)你。”

“看到我這條腿了嗎？我從來都不能跑，就算走路都覺得沉重，就好像我的怒氣都積聚在這條腿上一樣，它變得越來越重。連我爸爸死的時候，我都沒法兒朝他跑過去，最后我總算在艾瑪和我妹妹后面到了那兒。有時候我只希望不會覺得這么沉重，你知道，就像你做白日夢一樣，我希望有一天……算了，太傻了，我去睡了?！?/p>

“講啊，桑迪。”

“這有什么意思??？我希望的東西是不可能實現(xiàn)的?！?/p>

“為什么要希望能實現(xiàn)的東西呢？”

“難道不是這樣嗎？”

“不是的?！?/p>

“那我想飛，”桑迪小聲說，“這是我的夢想。我，桑迪，有一天能飛遍孟買，看到每一條水溝，看到所有的商店、影劇院、賭場、妓院、斗雞、板球賽，一旦我看完了這些，我就像一只冠軍鳥一樣，飛過大海，一直不停，我這輩子就在天上飛著了?！?/p>

“這真是個很棒的夢想?！毕榈苷f。

“但這永遠(yuǎn)也不會成真，所以又有什么用呢？”

祥弟沒說話，他想跟桑迪說沒有悲傷的城市，警察虎怎么在街上巡邏，保護(hù)他們，怎樣到處都是花，水龍頭怎樣噴出純凈的雨水，而且最主要的是，沒有人會變成殘疾，人們也不會彼此傷害。

Genius is formed in quiet, character in the stream of life.

——Goethe

天才形成于平靜中，性格來自于生活的激流。

——歌德

實戰(zhàn)提升

作者介紹

阿諾什·艾拉尼，印度裔作家，在孟買長大，1998年移民加拿大。他不僅寫小說，也寫舞臺劇。2004年，他的首部長篇《那殘廢和他的護(hù)身符》引起文壇矚目。兩年后的第二部作品《沒有悲傷的城市》更是大放異彩，獲美國圖書館協(xié)會2008年“最佳青少年好書”提名，2007年加拿大廣播公司的“全民讀好書”選書，在加拿大和意大利均攻占暢銷排行榜，售出美國、法國、意大利、西班牙、希臘、以色列等九國版權(quán)。

單詞注解

magical[5mAdVikEl]adj.魔力的；不可思議的

luminous[5lu:minEs]adj.發(fā)光的；清楚的

cigarette[7sigE5ret]n.香煙，紙煙

whisper[5（h）wispE]v.低聲說；耳語；n.低語

名句大搜索

古蒂的歌聲有著不可思議的魔力，好像是五顏六色的，每個音符都是一種顏色。

古蒂唱完一首歌，祥弟覺得這首歌一定來自另一個世界。

祥弟沒說話，他想跟桑迪說沒有悲傷的城市，警察虎怎么在街上巡邏，保護(hù)他們，怎樣到處都是花，水龍頭怎樣噴出純凈的雨水，而且最主要的是，沒有人會變成殘疾，人們也不會彼此傷害。