The Indian Village Where Girls Rule一個珍愛女孩的印度村莊

巴維亞·多爾 涂杰

Shyam Sunder Paliwal cracked open the pod and the blood-red seeds dribbled out. Holding it in his palm， he offered the fruit of the sindoor1 shrub up for inspection.

The plant， which produces the vermilion2 powder that Indians often apply on their foreheads for cosmetic and religious purposes， doesn’t normally grow in this region. But it is one of many types of trees that now grow in Piplantri， a collection of six connected hamlets in Rajasthan in north-west India.

In 2005 when Paliwal became the sarpanch3， or village head， marble mining had denuded4 the hills; the surrounding land was parched and the foliage degraded. And like in most of India， daughters here were viewed as a financial burden and devalued compared to sons， who typically help support their parents economically.

Then in 2007， Paliwal’s 17-year-old daughter Kiran died following a bout of dehydration5. Heart-broken but eager to honour her memory， his family planted a tree near the entrance of the village in her name. As Piplantri’s leader， Paliwal thought， why not turn this one-off event into a wider programme？ Soon， other villagers began to follow his lead.

Now， every time a girl is born in Piplantri， villagers plant 111 trees an auspicious number for local Hindus to both honour her and to regenerate the environment.

“If we can do it in one girl’s name， why not do it in every girl’s name？” said Paliwal. The region now has more than 350，000 trees， from mango and gooseberry to sandalwood， neem， peepal and bamboo， growing across the once-barren lands and covering an estimated 1，000 hectares.

In recent years， Paliwal’s simple idea has expanded into a broader eco-feminist movement. Along with tree planting， new parents of daughters also sign an affidavit6 saying they won’t marry them off before they turn 18 and will let them finish school. Villagers also chip in7 to open a fixed-deposit account for each girl with Rs 31，000 （￡305） that she can access once she turns 18， either for her education or to help pay for her wedding. What’s more， Piplantri’s growing forest is now serving as an example of how Indian villages can literally go green while improving their water management.

Under leafy cover， and with warnings to watch out for snakes and scorpions， Paliwal led me to a small clearing with a single， slender burflower tree near the village’s entrance. It was the first tree he planted， now surrounded by scores of others.

Though villagers plant the 111 trees for each girl born year-round， every August during the monsoon8， a special tree-planting ceremony takes place for all girls born in the preceding 12 months. Paliwal estimates that about 60 girls are born each year in this 5，500-person village. Grown girls who had trees planted in their names now come to tie rakhi bracelets9 around saplings， considering them siblings to be venerated during the festival of Raksha Bandhan10.

As Piplantri’s trees have grown， its groundwater level has increased and a marked cultural shift has improved the status of women. Nikita Paliwal （no relation to Shyam Sunder）， now 14， was among the first girls to have trees planted in her name. Now， she hopes to become a doctor and work for the poor. “We should also stand on our own feet，” she said.

Wearing a bright red sari11 and a broad smile， Nanubhai Paliwal， Nikita’s aunt， said she had two sons but as Piplantri started honouring its girls， she started wishing for granddaughters. Now she has two， and trees were planted when they were born.

“Earlier they were considered a burden. Now we don’t think that way，” she said. “We have no particular desire for sons.” She then looked around， pointing at all the trees. “It was a small village. We worked hard， we made it special. And this way we get employment and income， too.”

The village has set up women’s cooperatives that create products from aloe vera， such as juices， food items and gels， to sell in the village. In the coming year， they plan to expand to products made from gooseberries， bamboo and honey， all of which have been planted or cultivated as part of the village’s greening efforts.

Villagers also plant 11 trees whenever someone dies. All of the planting takes place on communal land spread through the village that had previously been illegally developed. Shyam Sunder pointed to the mountains in the distance， carved out and deeply mined， but showing nascent12 vegetation.

“Where there is mining， there is degradation，” he said. “We have been working to offset this.”

Yana Paliwal （no relation to Nikita or Shyam Sunder）， who is just two years old， doesn’t understand yet that trees have been planted in her name or that her parents have high hopes for her. Her mother， Sangeeta Paliwal， who moved to Piplantri after marrying 12 years ago， had little access to education as a girl but is determined her daughter should study first and think of marriage later. Sangeeta used to cover her face out of modesty， following the conservative practice of ghunghat13 in her own village， but not in Piplantri. Here， she was able to finish her college degrees through distance learning， she drives， and she has started working.

“Things have changed，” she said.

希亞姆·孫達爾·帕里瓦爾打開一個果莢，血紅色的種子撒落出來。他把這些朱砂色灌木的果實捧在手心，讓我查看。

這種植物能產(chǎn)生朱紅色的粉末，印度人經(jīng)常在化妝或舉行宗教儀式時將它涂抹在額頭上。這種植物在這一地區(qū)本不常見，但它現(xiàn)在卻是比布蘭曲村種植的許多樹種之一。比布蘭曲村位于印度西北部拉賈斯坦邦，由六個相連的小村莊組成。

2005年，帕里瓦爾成為該村村長。彼時，大理石開采導致山體裸露;礦山周圍土地干涸，植被退化。和印度大部分地區(qū)一樣，與通常在經(jīng)濟上能夠幫襯父母的男孩相比，這里的女孩不受重視，被視為經(jīng)濟負擔。

2007年，帕里瓦爾17歲的女兒基蘭因脫水死亡。家人傷心不已，渴望以某種形式紀念她。于是，他們在村口附近以她的名義種了一棵樹。作為村長，帕里瓦爾想，何不把這件個人的事推廣成一個項目，讓大家廣泛參與呢？很快，村民們紛紛跟隨他的腳步。

現(xiàn)如今，在比布蘭曲村，每有一個女孩出生，村民們就會種下111棵樹——對于當?shù)氐挠《冉探掏?，這是一個吉祥數(shù)字。他們以這種方式紀念每個女孩的出生，并使自然環(huán)境再生。

“如果我們能以一個女孩的名義這么做，為什么不為每個女孩這么做呢？”帕里瓦爾說。目前，這個地區(qū)擁有超過35萬棵樹，在這片曾經(jīng)貧瘠的土地上，種植了從芒果、醋栗到檀香、楝樹、菩提和竹子等各種植物，占地估計有1000公頃。

近年來，帕里瓦爾這個簡單的想法已經(jīng)發(fā)展成一場更為廣泛的生態(tài)女性主義運動。除了種樹，新生女兒的父母還會簽署一份宣誓書，承諾在女兒18歲之前不會把她嫁出去，并讓她們完成學業(yè)。村民們還集資為每個女孩開設一個3.1萬盧比（約合305英鎊）的定額存款賬戶。年滿18歲以后，女孩可以用這筆錢支付教育或婚禮的費用。此外，隨著森林覆蓋率越來越高，比布蘭曲村現(xiàn)已成為印度村莊的一個范例，告訴人們?nèi)绾卧诟纳扑Y源管理的同時真正做到綠色環(huán)保。

帕里瓦爾帶我穿過枝繁葉茂的樹叢，并提醒我當心蛇和蝎子。我們來到村口附近的一塊小空地，那里有一棵細長的團花樹。這是他種下的第一棵樹，現(xiàn)在它的周圍已有幾十棵樹了。

除了為每個出生的女孩種下111棵樹，在每年8月的季風雨季期間，村民們還會為過去12個月出生的所有女孩舉行一場特殊的植樹儀式。帕里瓦爾估計，在這個5500人的村莊，每年大約有60個女孩出生。已經(jīng)以自己名義種了樹的成年女孩會來到小樹苗周圍，為它們系上“護身繩”，把它們也當作“兄妹節(jié)”上要護佑的兄弟。

隨著比布蘭曲村的樹木生長，地下水水位上升，文化上的顯著轉(zhuǎn)變也提高了女性地位?，F(xiàn)年14歲的尼基塔·帕里瓦爾（與前文的希亞姆·孫達爾·帕里瓦爾無親戚關系）屬于第一批擁有以自己名義種植的樹木的女孩。現(xiàn)在，她希望長大后當醫(yī)生，為貧困人群服務?！拔覀円矐撟粤Ω??！彼f。

尼基塔的伯母納努拜·帕里瓦爾身穿亮紅色的紗麗，笑容燦爛。她說自己有兩個兒子，隨著女孩開始在村子里受到尊重，她開始希望能早點抱上孫女。現(xiàn)在她已經(jīng)有了兩個孫女，她們出生時，村里也給種了樹。

她說：“早些時候，女孩被視為一種負擔?，F(xiàn)在大家不這么想了，沒有人特別想要兒子。”然后她環(huán)顧四周，指著所有的樹說：“這是個小村莊。我們通過努力讓它變得與眾不同。這么做的同時，我們也得到了工作和收入?！?/p>

村里成立了婦女合作社，生產(chǎn)蘆薈制品，如果汁、副食和凝膠，在村里銷售。接下來的一年，他們計劃拓展產(chǎn)品種類，生產(chǎn)包括以醋栗、竹子和蜂蜜等為原料的制品，所有這些原料都是村莊種植和培育樹木等綠化工作的一部分成果。

每當村里有人過世，村民也會種下11棵樹。所有種植活動都是在村子的公共土地上進行的，這些土地以前曾遭到非法開采。希亞姆·孫達爾指著遠處的一座座山，那些山因深度開采而滿目瘡痍，但現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)長出了新生植被。

“哪里有礦產(chǎn)開采，哪里就有生態(tài)退化?！彼f，“我們一直在努力彌補。”

雅娜·帕里瓦爾（與前文的尼基塔和希亞姆·孫達爾無親戚關系）只有兩歲，她還不明白，人們已經(jīng)以她的名義種下了樹;她也不知道，父母對她有很高的期望。12年前，她的母親桑吉塔·帕里瓦爾結婚后搬到了比布蘭曲村。桑吉塔小時候幾乎沒有上過學，但她堅定地認為，她的女兒應該先完成學業(yè)，再考慮結婚。因為老家村里的保守習俗，桑吉塔過去須用面紗遮臉來保持端莊形象，但在比布蘭曲村不用這樣。在這里，她得以通過遠程教育拿到大學文憑，還可以開車，而且已經(jīng)開始工作。

“一切都變了。”她說。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

1 sindoor“朱砂色”一詞在印地語中的發(fā)音。? 2 vermilion朱紅色的。? 3 sarpanch（一些南亞國家的）村長。? 4 denude使裸露，使光禿。

5 dehydration脫水。? 6 affidavit宣誓書。? 7 chip in湊錢，共同出資。

8 monsoon印度的季風雨季（每年7月至9月）。? 9 rakhi bracelet護身繩，保護繩，兄妹繩。? 10“保護繩節(jié)”，亦稱“兄妹節(jié)”，每年8月的滿月之日舉行。在這一天，印度婦女無論老少，都會把彩色絲線織成的繩子和花朵系在自己兄弟輩的手腕上，表示保護、幫助和友愛之情。

11 sari紗麗，一種以絲綢為主要材料制成的裹身長巾，是印度、孟加拉國、巴基斯坦、尼泊爾、斯里蘭卡等國婦女的傳統(tǒng)服裝。

12 nascent新生的，新興的。? 13 ghunghat印度婦女的面紗。

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