文/宾杜·V.什里德哈 译/闻春国

By Bindu V. Shridhar

帕塔看了一眼镜中的自己。她虽说三十有五，却依然楚楚动人。她那饱满的前额上沁出了几粒汗珠，在阳光下闪闪发光。一双杏眼涂上了眼影，显得更加乌黑发亮；深红色朱砂粘在皮肤上还没有洗去，散发着檀木的香味；前额正中点了一颗鲜红色的吉祥痣。她知道自己长得天生丽质，即使是穿着这件褪了色的旧棉布莎丽也毫不逊色。

[2]帕塔喜欢丝绸莎丽、精美的食物、珍珠宝石这类的奢侈品，喜欢它们所具有的那种诱人的魔力。可她的丈夫西瓦拉曼只是一个平凡、朴实的普通职员。他在税务办公室工作，上要照顾年迈的父母，下有两个半大的孩子。毫无疑问，他们买不起任何稍微有点奢侈的东西。

[3]帕塔对着镜子审视着自己的脸。这应该是童话中公主的脸。两只小耳坠吊在她的耳垂上，还有一只小小的金制鼻圈在她那乖巧的鼻子上闪着金光。帕塔不由得叹息了一声，要是自己有只钻石鼻圈该多好啊！

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]她曾在金匠铺里看过一只非常漂亮的鼻圈，上面镶有八颗钻石、一颗红宝石。自从看了那一眼之后，她便念念不忘。那只钻石鼻圈的尺寸正适合她，那颗颗钻石似乎在朝她热情地眨着眼睛。帕塔知道自己永远也不可能拥有它，可她还是问了一下价钱。

[5]“两万卢比。”金匠告诉她，“这种蓝色钻石在整个印度也算最好的。你再也找不到成色比这更好的了。”

[6]帕塔将那只钻石鼻圈小心翼翼地握在手中，转动着，在朝霞的映照下，那钻石发出耀眼的光芒。

[7]“拉曼太太买了一只，跟这一模一样。”

[8]拉曼太太是帕塔的邻居。她的丈夫与西瓦拉曼同在一个办公室，但比西瓦拉曼高一个级别。拉曼太太随时都想让她记住这一点，而且也从来不会错过任何一次在帕塔前面炫耀自己的丝绸莎丽和珠宝首饰的机会。

[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]帕塔经常在西瓦拉曼面前抱怨这个女人。

“她的丈夫肯定在私下接受了别人的贿赂。你想想，要不然他怎么会过得如此奢侈呢？”西瓦拉曼劝导她。

“不管怎样，至少他能让自己的家人过上了好日子。他们家里现在什么都不缺！”帕塔毫不留情地反驳道。

西瓦拉曼不再言语。帕塔的话深深地刺痛了他的心，只是他从未让它流露出来。

[10]日子一天天地过去了，帕塔内心的痛苦也在与日俱增。钻石鼻圈成了她挥之不去的一个心病。越是看到拉曼太太的钻石鼻圈，她就越想得到它。渐渐地，她对自己的家庭、丈夫和自己的孩子们失去了兴趣。她常常在镜子面前花上好几个小时，想象着自己戴上那钻石鼻圈后会有多么美丽。没有哪一天她不是对西瓦拉曼唠叨个没完。

[11]突然有一天，西瓦拉曼买回一只钻石鼻圈：上面镶有八颗钻石、一颗红宝石，和她在金匠铺里看到的完全一样。这让她大吃一惊，也让她兴奋不已。帕塔压根儿就没有想到去过问一下丈夫从哪里得到这么多钱。她的心里只想着钻石鼻圈，如今她终于如愿以偿了。帕塔戴上钻石鼻圈，在镜子前面反复打量着自己。那一颗颗钻石在光线照射下放出璀璨夺目的光彩。帕塔看起来简直像一位美丽的女神。帕塔暗笑道，瞧她拉曼太太还有什么神气的！

[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]帕塔展示着自己刚刚得到的钻石鼻圈，无论走到那里都要戴着它。左邻右舍无不对她的钻石鼻圈投以羡慕的眼光，称赞帕塔戴着这只鼻圈是何等的娇媚，甚至连平时对她冷眼相看的拉曼太太也不得不承认帕塔的钻石鼻圈和她的不相上下。

[13]虚荣心得到了满足之后，帕塔比以前更加关爱她的丈夫和孩子。她的心里又恢复了往日的热情。然而，随后不久她便注意到西瓦拉曼的眼神总躲躲闪闪，好像有什么事要瞒着她似的。每当帕塔问及此事，他不是有意避开便是转移话题。显而易见，西瓦拉曼的心上有一种沉重的负罪感。

[14]几个星期后，便发生了一桩拘捕事件。

所有邻居都聚集在这栋房子的周围。帕塔从市场采购回来，便听到了一条传闻：税务办公室的什么人在接受贿赂时被当场发现了。帕塔听了大惊失色。

[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]几个星期来一直在苦苦折磨她的疑虑如今变成了现实。现在，她终于明白了这钻石鼻圈的钱从何而来。想到这，帕塔的心中涌起无限的悔恨：丈夫那样做全都是因为她。多少年来，丈夫光明磊落、从没有做过任何见不得人的事，如今却为了她而接受别人的贿赂，断送了自己的前程。一切都是因为她的虚荣心以及对那么一块毫无用处石头的迷恋！帕塔的眼里噙满了泪水。

[16]此时此刻，那钻石鼻圈一下子失去了往日的魔力。只要能挽救丈夫，帕塔准备放弃一切。

[17]警察已经就有关指控着手进行调查，并且将西瓦拉曼带走了。帕塔甚至没赶上看丈夫一眼。她站在路旁，流着眼泪，心里痛苦不堪。

[18]不知什么时候，帕塔听到有人在喊着自己。她转过身去，看见丈夫西瓦拉曼正朝自己走来。她简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。

[19]西瓦拉曼看见她的脸庞挂满了泪痕：“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. ■

“我还以为你被警察逮捕了！”帕塔几乎哭成了泪人。

[20]西瓦拉曼吃了一惊。要不是事态严重，帕塔肯定会取笑他气愤的表情。

“你怎么会这么想呢！”

[21]“唉，你不是给我买了那只钻石鼻圈吗？我知道靠我们自己是买不起的！我也看得出来，你的心里一直非常内疚，最近又……所以，我猜想你一定是接受了别人的贿赂。”

[22]“亏你想得出！不过，你说得也没错。我也确实为那只钻石鼻圈感到内疚……”西瓦拉曼心想，这是自己袒露内心愧疚的最好机会。这种愧疚感一直压在他的心上，让他喘不过气来。

帕塔刚刚放松的神经又紧张起来。

[23]“帕塔，希望你听了之后要挺得住……”显然，西瓦拉曼心里还有几分紧张，“就是关于那只钻石鼻圈……”

“它怎么啦？”

“嗯，钻石鼻圈……”西瓦拉曼结结巴巴地说。

“看在老天的分上，你快点说吧！”

“嗯，那只钻石鼻圈其实是假的！”说完，西瓦拉曼似乎感到心里一下子轻松了许多。 □