The Diamond Nose-pin鉆 石 鼻 圈

文/賓杜·V.什里德哈 譯/聞春國

By Bindu V. Shridhar

帕塔看了一眼鏡中的自己。她雖說三十有五，卻依然楚楚動人。她那飽滿的前額上沁出了幾粒汗珠，在陽光下閃閃發(fā)光。一雙杏眼涂上了眼影，顯得更加烏黑發(fā)亮；深紅色朱砂粘在皮膚上還沒有洗去，散發(fā)著檀木的香味；前額正中點了一顆鮮紅色的吉祥痣。她知道自己長得天生麗質，即使是穿著這件褪了色的舊棉布莎麗也毫不遜色。

[2]帕塔喜歡絲綢莎麗、精美的食物、珍珠寶石這類的奢侈品，喜歡它們所具有的那種誘人的魔力?？伤恼煞蛭魍呃皇且粋€平凡、樸實的普通職員。他在稅務辦公室工作，上要照顧年邁的父母，下有兩個半大的孩子。毫無疑問，他們買不起任何稍微有點奢侈的東西。

[3]帕塔對著鏡子審視著自己的臉。這應該是童話中公主的臉。兩只小耳墜吊在她的耳垂上，還有一只小小的金制鼻圈在她那乖巧的鼻子上閃著金光。帕塔不由得嘆息了一聲，要是自己有只鉆石鼻圈該多好?。?/p>

Pattu glanced at herself in the mirror.At thirty five, she was still beautiful.A few drops of water shone on her fair forehead. Her almond shaped eyes were darkened with kajal and the fragrance of sandalwood and vermilion still clung to her skin. She applied a bright red kumkum dot on her forehead. She knew she looked wonderful, even in the faded green cotton sari.

[2] Pattu loved luxury. She loved silk saris, fine food, jewelry and all the glamour attached to them. Her husband Sivaraman was a simple, honest and straightforward fellow. He worked at the collector’s office. He had aged parents to take care of and two small children who outgrew their clothes every few months. Needless to say, they could not afford anything even remotely luxurious.

[3] Pattu studied her face in the mirror. It could have belonged to a princess. Two tiny studs adorned herears and a small gold nose-pin glistened on her pert little nose. Pattu sighed. If only she could have a diamond nosepin.

[4]她曾在金匠鋪里看過一只非常漂亮的鼻圈，上面鑲有八顆鉆石、一顆紅寶石。自從看了那一眼之后，她便念念不忘。那只鉆石鼻圈的尺寸正適合她，那顆顆鉆石似乎在朝她熱情地眨著眼睛。帕塔知道自己永遠也不可能擁有它，可她還是問了一下價錢。

[5]“兩萬盧比?！苯鸾掣嬖V她，“這種藍色鉆石在整個印度也算最好的。你再也找不到成色比這更好的了?！?/p>

[6]帕塔將那只鉆石鼻圈小心翼翼地握在手中，轉動著，在朝霞的映照下，那鉆石發(fā)出耀眼的光芒。

[7]“拉曼太太買了一只，跟這一模一樣?！?/p>

[8]拉曼太太是帕塔的鄰居。她的丈夫與西瓦拉曼同在一個辦公室，但比西瓦拉曼高一個級別。拉曼太太隨時都想讓她記住這一點，而且也從來不會錯過任何一次在帕塔前面炫耀自己的絲綢莎麗和珠寶首飾的機會。

[4] She had seen a lovely besari(nose-pin) with eight diamonds and a single ruby at the goldsmith’s house.She had fallen in love with it at first sight. It was just the right size for her, and the diamonds blinked at her invitingly. She knew she could never own it, but she asked the price anyway.

[5] “Twenty thousand rupees,” the goldsmith told her. “The best blue diamonds in the whole country. You don’t get stuff like this anymore.”

[6] She held the nose-pin in her hands carefully and turned it so that it shone brilliantly in the morning light.

[7] “Mrs. Raman has bought one, just like this.”

[8] Mrs. Raman was Pattu’s neighbour.Her husband was at a level higher than Sivaraman and Mrs. Raman never allowed her to forget that. Nor did she ever miss an opportunity to flaunt her silks and jewelry in front of Pattu.

[9] Pattu had often complained about the woman to Sivaraman.

“The man takes money under the table. Otherwise how do you think he can afford to live like he does?”Sivaraman told her.

“At least, He takes good care of his family and sees to that they never want for anything!” Pattu retorted bitterly.

Sivaraman flinched, but he never let Pattu know how deeply she had wounded him.

[10] As days passed, Pattu grew more and more bitter. The diamond nose-pin had become an obsession. The more she saw Mrs. Raman with the nose-pin, the more she wanted it. She started losing interest in her home, her husband,her children. She often spent hours in front of the mirror, imagining how she would look with the diamond nose-pin.Not a day passed without her nagging Sivaraman about it.

[9]帕塔經(jīng)常在西瓦拉曼面前抱怨這個女人。

“她的丈夫肯定在私下接受了別人的賄賂。你想想，要不然他怎么會過得如此奢侈呢？”西瓦拉曼勸導她。

“不管怎樣，至少他能讓自己的家人過上了好日子。他們家里現(xiàn)在什么都不缺！”帕塔毫不留情地反駁道。

西瓦拉曼不再言語。帕塔的話深深地刺痛了他的心，只是他從未讓它流露出來。

[10]日子一天天地過去了，帕塔內心的痛苦也在與日俱增。鉆石鼻圈成了她揮之不去的一個心病。越是看到拉曼太太的鉆石鼻圈，她就越想得到它。漸漸地，她對自己的家庭、丈夫和自己的孩子們失去了興趣。她常常在鏡子面前花上好幾個小時，想象著自己戴上那鉆石鼻圈后會有多么美麗。沒有哪一天她不是對西瓦拉曼嘮叨個沒完。

[11]突然有一天，西瓦拉曼買回一只鉆石鼻圈：上面鑲有八顆鉆石、一顆紅寶石，和她在金匠鋪里看到的完全一樣。這讓她大吃一驚，也讓她興奮不已。帕塔壓根兒就沒有想到去過問一下丈夫從哪里得到這么多錢。她的心里只想著鉆石鼻圈，如今她終于如愿以償了。帕塔戴上鉆石鼻圈，在鏡子前面反復打量著自己。那一顆顆鉆石在光線照射下放出璀璨奪目的光彩。帕塔看起來簡直像一位美麗的女神。帕塔暗笑道，瞧她拉曼太太還有什么神氣的！

[11] Then suddenly one day,Sivaraman surprised her with the nosepin. The same besari with the eight diamonds and single ruby. Pattu was overjoyed. It did not cross her mind to question her husband as to where he had got so much money from. She wanted the nose-pin and she had it. She was thrilled. She put it on and admired herself in front of the mirror. The diamonds glittered in the light. Pattu looked like a goddess. Pattu smiled to herself. Now let Mrs. Raman showoff!

[12] Pattu flaunted her newly acquired possession. She wore it everywhere.All her neighbours admired the nosepin and commented on how lovely Pattu looked. Even the unflappable Mrs.Raman grudgingly acceded that Pattu’s diamonds were as good as hers.

[13] With her obsession satisfied,Pattu became more loving and attentive to her husband and children. Her old warmth resurfaced. It was then that she began to notice Sivaraman’s withdrawal. It was almost as if he was hiding something from her. Whenever she tried to question him, he walked away or changed the subject. But some guilt weighed heavily on Sivaraman and it was showing.

[12]帕塔展示著自己剛剛得到的鉆石鼻圈，無論走到那里都要戴著它。左鄰右舍無不對她的鉆石鼻圈投以羨慕的眼光，稱贊帕塔戴著這只鼻圈是何等的嬌媚，甚至連平時對她冷眼相看的拉曼太太也不得不承認帕塔的鉆石鼻圈和她的不相上下。

[13]虛榮心得到了滿足之后，帕塔比以前更加關愛她的丈夫和孩子。她的心里又恢復了往日的熱情。然而，隨后不久她便注意到西瓦拉曼的眼神總躲躲閃閃，好像有什么事要瞞著她似的。每當帕塔問及此事，他不是有意避開便是轉移話題。顯而易見，西瓦拉曼的心上有一種沉重的負罪感。

[14]幾個星期后，便發(fā)生了一樁拘捕事件。

所有鄰居都聚集在這棟房子的周圍。帕塔從市場采購回來，便聽到了一條傳聞：稅務辦公室的什么人在接受賄賂時被當場發(fā)現(xiàn)了。帕塔聽了大驚失色。

[14] It was a few weeks later that the arrest occurred.

All the neighbours had gathered round the house. Pattu was returning from the market when she heard the rumor. Someone from the collector’s office had taken a bribe and had been caught red handed. Pattu was shell shocked.

[15] The niggling doubt that had been tormenting her for the last few weeks became a surety. Now she knew where the money for the besari had come from. She was overcome by a great feeling of remorse. Her husband had done it for her. He, who had never in his life even contemplated dishonesty,had accepted a bribe and wrecked his entire career. All because of her vanity and obsession for a worthless piece of stone! Tears welled up in Pattu’s eyes.

[16] The diamond nose-pin had lost all its glamour. Pattu was ready to forego anything, if only she could save her husband.

[17] The police had formed a ring around the accused and were leading him away. Pattu could not even catch one last glimpse of her husband. She stood by the road, desolate and tearful.

[18] Sivaraman called out to her. Pattu turned and caught sight of him coming towards her. She could not believe her eyes.

[19] Sivaraman saw her tear stained face. “Why on earth are you crying?”

[15]幾個星期來一直在苦苦折磨她的疑慮如今變成了現(xiàn)實?，F(xiàn)在，她終于明白了這鉆石鼻圈的錢從何而來。想到這，帕塔的心中涌起無限的悔恨：丈夫那樣做全都是因為她。多少年來，丈夫光明磊落、從沒有做過任何見不得人的事，如今卻為了她而接受別人的賄賂，斷送了自己的前程。一切都是因為她的虛榮心以及對那么一塊毫無用處石頭的迷戀！帕塔的眼里噙滿了淚水。

[16]此時此刻，那鉆石鼻圈一下子失去了往日的魔力。只要能挽救丈夫，帕塔準備放棄一切。

[17]警察已經(jīng)就有關指控著手進行調查，并且將西瓦拉曼帶走了。帕塔甚至沒趕上看丈夫一眼。她站在路旁，流著眼淚，心里痛苦不堪。

[18]不知什么時候，帕塔聽到有人在喊著自己。她轉過身去，看見丈夫西瓦拉曼正朝自己走來。她簡直不敢相信自己的眼睛。

[19]西瓦拉曼看見她的臉龐掛滿了淚痕：“你到底在哭什么？”

Pattu could hardly speak. “I thought the police had arrested you!”

[20] Sivaraman looked so taken aback at the statement that Pattu would have laughed at his indignant expression if the matter had not been so serious.

“What on earth made you think something like that!”

[21] “Well, you got me the diamond nose-pin. I know we can’t afford that!And you have been acting so guilty,lately... So I assumed you took the bribe.”

[22] “You and your assumptions! But you are right. I have reasons to feel guilty about the diamond nose-pin...”Sivaraman thought this was the best opportunity to confess his crime. The guilt was killing him.

Pattu felt apprehension threatening her relief.

[23] “Pattu, I hope you have the strength to bear what I am going to say...” Sivaraman was visibly nervous.“About that diamond nose-pin...”

“What about it?”

“Well, the Diamond nose-pin…”stuttered Sivaraman.

“For heavens sake, tell me quickly!”

“Well, the diamond nose-pin is a fake!” Sivaraman seemed relieved to get it out of his system. ■

“我還以為你被警察逮捕了！”帕塔幾乎哭成了淚人。

[20]西瓦拉曼吃了一驚。要不是事態(tài)嚴重，帕塔肯定會取笑他氣憤的表情。

“你怎么會這么想呢！”

[21]“唉，你不是給我買了那只鉆石鼻圈嗎？我知道靠我們自己是買不起的！我也看得出來，你的心里一直非常內疚，最近又……所以，我猜想你一定是接受了別人的賄賂?！?/p>

[22]“虧你想得出！不過，你說得也沒錯。我也確實為那只鉆石鼻圈感到內疚……”西瓦拉曼心想，這是自己袒露內心愧疚的最好機會。這種愧疚感一直壓在他的心上，讓他喘不過氣來。

帕塔剛剛放松的神經(jīng)又緊張起來。

[23]“帕塔，希望你聽了之后要挺得住……”顯然，西瓦拉曼心里還有幾分緊張，“就是關于那只鉆石鼻圈……”

“它怎么啦？”

“嗯，鉆石鼻圈……”西瓦拉曼結結巴巴地說。

“看在老天的分上，你快點說吧！”

“嗯，那只鉆石鼻圈其實是假的！”說完，西瓦拉曼似乎感到心里一下子輕松了許多。 □