One of New Delhi’s Only Female Auto Rickshaw Drivers

⊙ By Sonia Narang

翻譯：Wendy

One of New Delhi’s Only Female Auto Rickshaw Drivers

一名新德里女司機的故事

⊙ By Sonia Narang

翻譯：Wendy

到印度去的游客一進入首都新德里市區，就會注意到馬路上的機動三輪車大軍。便宜、快捷的機動三輪車是當地人和游客喜愛的交通工具。在這幾乎清一色的男性大軍中，屈指可數的女性司機尤為引人注目。也許，她們每人都有著各自不一樣的故事，現在我們來聽聽她們中的一員有著怎樣的人生經歷。如果你有機會到新德里，不妨試著尋找她們的身影吧。

As I was driving throughDelhi注注： 印度首都新德里包括老德里（Delhi）與在其基礎上擴建的新區，官方名稱是新德里，有時也稱作德里。last spring, I spotted a rare sight: A woman in a bright white2)tailored suitdriving an auto rickshaw, one of Delhi’s many three-wheeler vehicles.

55,000 auto rickshaws3)cruisethe city’s4)crowdedstreets, and it’s traditionally a man’s job to drive these vehicles. But, Sunita Chaudhary, one of the city’s only female auto rickshaw drivers, has never been the type to follow traditions.

“I’ve never cared about what society thinks,” she said. “You can’t feed yourself if you follow society.”

Chaudhary’s conservative family didn’t approve of women working outside the home. So, she left her hometown more than a decade ago, and came to Delhi.

“I did not have money or the education to support myself,” she said. “All I had was the strength and determination to do something in life.”

After working odd jobs, she struggled for three years to get an auto rickshaw license, due to the difficult nature of getting a commercial vehicle license. For years, Chaudhary rented an auto rickshaw for $8 a day, leaving little money leftover for daily spending. “I would sleep in the auto, and get ready and change clothes at the public toilets at the railway station,” she said.

Eventually, she received a government loan to buy her own auto rickshaw, and she paid it back over time. Several years later, she still hasn’t told her family about her job.

“I eat well, and I can pay off my rent with the money that I earn. I make ends meet,” she said. Her daily5)earnings: $10 on average.

Chaudhary says it’s a6)riskyjob and she’s also been having trouble dealing the police. But, she’s determined to keep driving. She avoids7)drunkenpassengers and if someone threatens her, she says she acts tough and rude.

“Work is work, and if something bad has to happen, it can happen if you’re sitting at home,” she said.

Chaudhary also talks openly about her political8)aspirations. She filed for9)nominationin India’s 2012 vice presidential election. She didn’t win, but she’s not the type to give up.

1) rickshaw [?r?k??:] n. 黃包車

2) tailored suit 女式西服

3) cruise [kru?z] v. 慢速行車

4) crowded [?kra?d?d] adj. 擁擠的，擠滿人的

5) earning [?з?n??] n. 收入

6) risky [?r?sk?] adj. 危險的，冒風險的

7) drunken [?dr??k?n] adj. 醉的

8) aspiration [??sp??re??(?)n] n. 志向，抱負

9) nomination [?n?m??ne??(?)n] n. 提名，任命

詞匯辨析：over time與overtime

相信大家對overtime都很熟悉，它是“加班、超時”的意思，但千萬不要把它與over time混淆。詞組over time指“經過一段時間，隨著時間的推移”，用以表達某事的發生或發展不是在短時間內實現的，如學習成績的提高、或對某人感情的變化等。雖說對表示的時間并無特殊限制，但通常不指較短的時間，如分鐘、小時等，如：Her obsession with a slim body fadedover time.（隨著時間的推移，她對苗條身材的癡迷漸漸消退。）

去年春天，我在印度首都德里駕車行駛時，看到了罕見的一幕：一個婦女身穿一套雪白的西服，駕駛著一輛機動三輪車——一種在德里隨處可見的三輪車。

這座城市有大約五萬五千輛機動三輪車穿行在擁擠的街道上，開這種車歷來是男人的工作。但是，蘇尼塔·喬杜里從來就不是因循守舊的人——她是這座城市里極少數女性機動三輪車司機中的一員。

“我從來都不在乎社會上的人們怎樣想，”她說，“如果只遵循社會習俗生活，你就無法養活自己。”

喬杜里來自一個守舊的家庭，家人并不贊同女性在外面工作。于是，她十多年前離開家鄉來到了德里。

“我沒有錢或學歷可以養活自己，”她說，“我只有一身力氣，還有為了生活要做點什么的決心。”

由于獲取機動車運營牌照很困難，她在打了一段時間的散工后，又奮斗了三年才得到機動三輪車牌照。有好幾年時間，喬杜里每天要花8美元（約合人民幣55元）租用機動三輪車，只能用所剩無幾的收入來維持日常開支。“我睡在車里，在火車站的公共廁所里換衣服及做好開工前的準備。”她說。

后來，她得到了政府貸款，買了自己的機動三輪車，再慢慢地用幾年的時間還清了貸款。盡管好幾年過去了，她仍然沒有將自己的工作情況告訴家人。

“我能吃飽，可以用自己掙到的錢交房租，能夠做到收支平衡，”她說。她每天的平均收入是10美元（約合人民幣69元）。

喬杜里說這是一份危險的工作，她與警察打交道也不容易。但是，她下定決心要繼續開機動三輪車。她會避開那些喝醉了的乘客，她說如果有人威脅她，她會表現得很強硬，毫不客氣。

“這就是工作，如果有什么不好的事一定要發生，你就是坐在家里也會出事，”她說。

喬杜里同時對自己的政治抱負毫不掩飾。她在印度2012年副總統選舉中遞交了提名申請表。盡管沒有成功，但她不是那類輕言放棄的人。