经济学人55:醉生梦死的人

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　　文艺；书评；印度新小说；醉生梦死的人；

　　Narcopolis. By Jeet Thayil.

　　《Narcopolis》，Jeet Thayil著。

　　The official history of Mumbai attributes the city's rise to its natural harbour and textile industry. But before cotton mills came to dominate the landscape, Mumbai's merchants grew fat exporting opium¹ to China. The city's main schools of art and architecture and its best public hospital are named for a pioneer of the trade, Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, as is a 2.4km elevated road that cuts through the old city.

　　官方史记载孟买的崛起源于天然港口和纺织业。但在印度纺织厂占主导地位前，孟买的商人已经从向中国出口鸦片的贸易中获得丰厚利润。这座城市的艺术建筑设计学院和一流的公历医院就是以一个贸易先驱者詹姆塞特吉·吉吉博伊（Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy）的名字命名的，，他也出资修建一条2.4千米的高架道路，横穿这个古老的城市。

　　In the shadow of that viaduct lies Shuklaji Street, Mumbai's last connection with opium. “It wasn't much of a street,” notes Dom Ullis, the narrator of Jeet Thayil's debut² novel, “Narcopolis”, but it was the epicentre of vice³: prostitutes, drug dealers⁴ and petty criminals. Dom arrives here to partake in Mumbai's (Mr Thayil calls it Bombay) love affair with opium just as it is drawing to a close, some 150 years after it started.

　　Shuklaji街就座落在这座高架桥附近，它是孟买与鸦片的最后联系。“它不像一个街道” Jeet Thayil处女作《Narcopolis》的主人公说。因为这里是罪恶中心：嫖娼，毒品交易，小偷小摸盛行。Dom Ullis讲述孟买与毒品的渊源，仿佛置身于150年前孟买毒品伊始到结束的场景。

　　Dom drifts in and out of Rashid's, an old-fashioned opium den⁵ where pipewallahs prepare your smoke for you and serenity⁶ prevails. Rashid's is a clearing house for characters and stories. Dom meets Rumi, a wife-beater and failed businessman; he brings Xavier, an angry old artist; he befriends Dimple, a eunuch prostitute who in turn tells the story of Mr Lee, a Chinese exile. Then there is Rashid himself, who watches—and fruitlessly resists—as his graceful⁷ world of opium-eaters is rendered obsolete⁸ by the nightmare of low-grade heroin⁹. Mumbai forgets opium as those who loved it either die or burn out their brains.

　　Dom漫步在一个老式的鸦片窝点拉希德， 在那里有人为你准备好烟卷，寂静袭来。拉希德是各色人物进出和讲述众多故事的场所。Dom遇到鲁米，鲁米实施家庭暴力，曾经经商却一败涂地；DOM引荐了一个愤怒的老艺术家泽维尔；并和男妓 Dimple成了朋友，Dimple讲述一个遭流放的中国人李先生的故事。还有房子的主人拉西德——徒劳的抵抗——当看着自己优雅的鸦片世界被梦幻般劣质海洛因遗忘。那些吸食鸦片的人或者死亡或者冲昏了头脑，孟买也被鸦片遗忘。

　　A reformed addict¹⁰, Mr Thayil has had personal experience with the world he describes. But he is also a published poet, who wields¹¹ his words with care. His efforts are there to be seen. Admirably, Mr Thayil resists the urge to insert himself into the narrative¹². Dom Ullis is mostly absent, giving the reader nothing. The only way to keep track of the book's chronology is through the conversations. New cars, soft drinks and coffee shops indicate the passage of time as India's economy creaks open. Ugly, brutal¹³ references to Muslims mean that 1993, when the city erupted in religious riots, has left its scars. And if it's ecstasy¹⁴ and MDMA, it must be 21st-century Mumbai.

　　一个遭改造的毒枭Mr Thayil，用自己的亲身经历描述这个世界。他也是位有名望的诗人，小心翼翼的驾驭自己的文字。他的努力有目共睹。备受赞誉的是，Mr Thayil抑制着插进叙述着的欲望。因Dom大部分时间不在场 ，读者无法追溯时间。唯一可以晓知书中年代的是书中的谈话。随着印度经济开放，新车，饮料和咖啡店暗示时光的流逝。书中提及丑恶暴力的穆斯林时，意味着1993年爆发了宗教暴乱，并给穆斯林带来伤痕。而当书中提到迷幻药和摇头丸时，那一定是21世纪的孟买。

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