One of New Delhi’s Only Female Auto Rickshaw Drivers

⊙ By Sonia Narang

翻译：Wendy

One of New Delhi’s Only Female Auto Rickshaw Drivers

一名新德里女司机的故事

⊙ By Sonia Narang

翻译：Wendy

到印度去的游客一进入首都新德里市区，就会注意到马路上的机动三轮车大军。便宜、快捷的机动三轮车是当地人和游客喜爱的交通工具。在这几乎清一色的男性大军中，屈指可数的女性司机尤为引人注目。也许，她们每人都有着各自不一样的故事，现在我们来听听她们中的一员有着怎样的人生经历。如果你有机会到新德里，不妨试着寻找她们的身影吧。

As I was driving throughDelhi注注： 印度首都新德里包括老德里（Delhi）与在其基础上扩建的新区，官方名称是新德里，有时也称作德里。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 [΄rɪkʃɔ:] n. 黄包车

2) tailored suit 女式西服

3) cruise [kruːz] v. 慢速行车

4) crowded [΄kraʊdɪd] adj. 拥挤的，挤满人的

5) earning [΄зːnɪŋ] n. 收入

6) risky [΄rɪskɪ] adj. 危险的，冒风险的

7) drunken [΄drʌŋkən] adj. 醉的

8) aspiration [ˌæspə΄reɪʃ(ə)n] n. 志向，抱负

9) nomination [ˌnɒmɪ΄neɪʃ(ə)n] n. 提名，任命

词汇辨析：over time与overtime

相信大家对overtime都很熟悉，它是“加班、超时”的意思，但千万不要把它与over time混淆。词组over time指“经过一段时间，随着时间的推移”，用以表达某事的发生或发展不是在短时间内实现的，如学习成绩的提高、或对某人感情的变化等。虽说对表示的时间并无特殊限制，但通常不指较短的时间，如分钟、小时等，如：Her obsession with a slim body fadedover time.（随着时间的推移，她对苗条身材的痴迷渐渐消退。）

去年春天，我在印度首都德里驾车行驶时，看到了罕见的一幕：一个妇女身穿一套雪白的西服，驾驶着一辆机动三轮车——一种在德里随处可见的三轮车。

这座城市有大约五万五千辆机动三轮车穿行在拥挤的街道上，开这种车历来是男人的工作。但是，苏尼塔·乔杜里从来就不是因循守旧的人——她是这座城市里极少数女性机动三轮车司机中的一员。

“我从来都不在乎社会上的人们怎样想，”她说，“如果只遵循社会习俗生活，你就无法养活自己。”

乔杜里来自一个守旧的家庭，家人并不赞同女性在外面工作。于是，她十多年前离开家乡来到了德里。

“我没有钱或学历可以养活自己，”她说，“我只有一身力气，还有为了生活要做点什么的决心。”

由于获取机动车运营牌照很困难，她在打了一段时间的散工后，又奋斗了三年才得到机动三轮车牌照。有好几年时间，乔杜里每天要花8美元（约合人民币55元）租用机动三轮车，只能用所剩无几的收入来维持日常开支。“我睡在车里，在火车站的公共厕所里换衣服及做好开工前的准备。”她说。

后来，她得到了政府贷款，买了自己的机动三轮车，再慢慢地用几年的时间还清了贷款。尽管好几年过去了，她仍然没有将自己的工作情况告诉家人。

“我能吃饱，可以用自己挣到的钱交房租，能够做到收支平衡，”她说。她每天的平均收入是10美元（约合人民币69元）。

乔杜里说这是一份危险的工作，她与警察打交道也不容易。但是，她下定决心要继续开机动三轮车。她会避开那些喝醉了的乘客，她说如果有人威胁她，她会表现得很强硬，毫不客气。

“这就是工作，如果有什么不好的事一定要发生，你就是坐在家里也会出事，”她说。

乔杜里同时对自己的政治抱负毫不掩饰。她在印度2012年副总统选举中递交了提名申请表。尽管没有成功，但她不是那类轻言放弃的人。