雙語閱讀：印度富二代爲何不快樂

摘要：我兒時看到的那個塵土飛揚、危險重重並且毅然決然的印度要有趣得多。她指的是她在恰爾肯德邦的童年時光。她說，那時的印度給她的印象是村落、村莊政治、貧窮、許多歡聲笑語以及非常牢固的社會關係。

The Problem With Delhi's Rich Kids

A woman I went to college with in New Delhi, now 29, lives in her family home on Prithviraj Road, one of the toniest parts of the capital. She has a shiny new convertible BMW 3 series, bought by her father. She doesn't have a job.

我在新德里讀大學時的一位同窗現在和家人住在Prithviraj Road，這是新德里最時髦的地區之一。她今年29歲，有一輛嶄新的寶馬三系敞篷車，是她爸爸買給她的。她沒有工作。

印度富二代爲何不快樂

She called me recently and we met for lunch. She looked dull and withdrawn. She told me she was extremely depressed and felt that her life wasn't worth living. She isn't the only Delhi rich kid to feel this way.

最近她給我打電話，我們一起吃了一頓午飯。她看起來無精打采，還略顯孤獨。她告訴我，她感到極度沮喪，並且感覺她的生活毫無價值。她並不是德里唯一一個有這種感覺的富家子女。

Sanjay Chugh, a Delhi-based psychiatrist, says he treats three or four young, wealthy, unhappy patients a day. 'Such children are often brought up being told that they have nothing to worry about and that money can take care of everything,' he said.

德里精神病醫生丘格(Sanjay Chugh)說，他每天都會治療三、四個年輕、有錢，但是不快樂的患者。他說，這些孩子在成長過程中經常被告知他們無需擔憂任何事，錢能解決一切問題。

Often, newly wealthy parents don't want their children to go through the hardships they experienced growing up, Mr. Chugh says. But they fail to teach them there is more to life than fancy drinks, new toys and branded clothes.

丘格說，通常剛當上父母的有錢人不希望他們的孩子經歷他們成長過程中的艱辛。但他們沒有告訴孩子生活中有更多比花俏的飲品、新玩具和名牌服裝更重要的事情。

On a recent evening at a posh lounge in Delhi, I saw Prada and Gucci-clad teenagers arrive in Lamborghinis, Jaguars and Porsches. They air kissed and went to the bar. 'Hedonism is back,' a note on bar's website says.

最近一個晚上在一家時髦的酒吧，我看到一羣身穿普拉達(Prada)和古奇(Gucci)的青少年分別開着蘭博基尼(Lamborghinis)、捷豹(Jaguars)和保時捷(Porsches)來到這裏。他們打了飛吻，然後進入這家酒吧。這家酒吧的網站上說：享樂主義回來了。

After an hour or so of drinking, a chubby guy in the group got the bill. 'Oh, just 60? Not bad,' he said loudly. It was 60,000 rupees ($1,000.)

在對飲大約一個小時後，他們當中一個較胖的男孩拿到賬單。他大聲說，才60?真不錯。他指的是60個1000盧比，也就是6萬盧比(合1,000美元)。

An acquaintance in Delhi says she spends most afternoons in her apartment, sitting on the couch drinking beer and smoking marijuana.

一位在德里的現年30歲的熟人說，她下午大部分時間都呆在公寓裏，坐在沙發上喝啤酒和吸大麻。

'I always got what I wanted, and that's just how it works and always will,' the 30-year-old said. When she was 13, she asked her parents for a top of the range laptop, and she got it. 'Apart from this, you are not getting anything this year, except that holiday in Cairo,' she quotes her parents as saying.

她說：我總是能得到我想要的，我的生活就是這樣，並且永遠都會這樣。當她13歲時，她曾要求父母給她買一個高端筆記本電腦，然後她就如願以償了。她引述她父母當時的話說，除了這個，今年你不能要其他任何東西，去開羅度假除外。

Mr. Chugh says many young patients are in denial of their depression.

丘格說，許多年輕患者不願承認他們患有抑鬱症。

He says situations and symptoms often include a need for instant gratification, an abundance of money, feelings of emptiness and lack of purpose, minimal parental supervision, and alcohol and drug addiction.

他說，他們的處境和症狀通常包括需要即時滿足感、金錢富足、有空虛感、缺失目標、很少受到父母監督以及菸酒成癮。

'They never learnt how to be responsible for themselves and those around them, and they keep moving from one thing, place, or person to another in pursuit of happiness,' he said.

他說，他們從未學過如何對他們自己和周圍的人負責，他們對東西、地方或者人的興趣總是在變，以追求快樂。

Samir Modi, managing director of Modi Enterprises and father of two teenage girls, believes there are two different approaches to raising children. 'You either spoil them or you make them realize the value of money,' he said.

Modi Enterprises的董事總經理莫迪(Samir Modi)是兩個十幾歲女孩的父親。他認爲撫養孩子的方式無外乎兩種。他說，你要麼溺愛他們，要麼讓他們意識到金錢的價值。

His daughters have some luxuries, he said, but they get a set allowance each month. 'They have to manage within it, no matter what,' he said. If you give children all the money they want, they won't have a reason to work for it in the future, he added.

他說，他的女兒有一些奢侈品，但他們每月有固定的零用錢，他們只能在這個額度內滿足自己的開銷，無論發生什麼。他補充說，如果子女想要多少錢你都滿足他們，他們以後就沒有理由爲賺錢而去工作。

'It is our job as parents to lead by example and set clear objectives and boundaries for our children,' he said.

他說，以身作則併爲孩子設定清楚的目標和界限，這是我們作爲父母的職責。

Radhika Borde, a social scientist who spent her formative years in New Delhi, comes from a privileged background and her grandmother left her a handsome inheritance when she died.

社會學家博爾德(Radhika Borde)曾在新德里度過了她的性格形成時期，她來自特權階層，她的祖母在離世後給她留下了一大筆遺產。

'I lived in Delhi during the period of my undergraduate education and had the typically glamorous lifestyle of people my age,' she said in a recent interview. 'Very soon however, I started to find it quite boring.'

她最近在接受採訪時表示：我在讀大學本科時住在德里，過着同齡人那種典型的紙醉金迷的生活，但是不久我就開始發現這種生活非常無聊。

'The India of dirt, danger and determination that I saw as a child was far more interesting,' she said, referring to her childhood in Jharkhand. 'This was the India of villages, village politics, poverty, many smiles, laughter and strong social ties,' she said.

她說：我兒時看到的那個塵土飛揚、危險重重並且毅然決然的印度要有趣得多。她指的是她在恰爾肯德邦的童年時光。她說，那時的印度給她的印象是村落、村莊政治、貧窮、許多歡聲笑語以及非常牢固的社會關係。

Ms. Borde left New Delhi. She divides her time between the Netherlands, where she is getting a PhD in environmental science, and rural Jharkhand.

博爾德已經離開新德里。她目前一部分時間在荷蘭，攻讀環境科學博士學位，一部分時間是在恰爾肯德邦度過。

Mr. Modi's children and Ms. Borde appear to be in a minority.

莫迪的孩子和博爾德的情況似乎只佔少數。

'Unfortunately, this problem is increasing day by day and it will be more serious in the future,' said G. Satyanarayana, a sociology professor at Osmania University in Hyderabad. '[Parents] have no time to spend with children and inculcate essential values needed for a rooted, balanced and healthy life.'

海得拉巴奧斯馬尼亞大學(Osmania University)社會學教授薩蒂亞納拉亞納(G. Satyanarayana)說，不幸的是，這個問題正在日益加劇，未來將會更加嚴重。(父母們)沒有時間與他們的孩子共處，教給他們根基牢固、平衡並且健康的生活需要的基本價值觀。

'Modern society is rational and rigid, whereas postmodern society is irrational and flexible by definition. Delhi transformed into a postmodern society about two decades ago. Naturally the behavior of kids born in the postmodern era reflects the postmodern culture,' he added.

他說，現代社會是理性的和刻板的，而後現代社會根據定義是不理性的和靈活的。德里在大概20年前轉變爲後現代社會，在這個時期出生的孩子的行爲自然就反映出後現代文化特徵。

I met my college friend at her mansion again. She sipped her tea, munched on cookies and stared blankly at a huge rock on her finger. She said she had just got engaged to an investment banker and will have a beautiful house on Baker Street in London. Apart from that, she barely spoke to me.

我與那位大學同窗在她的豪宅又見過一次面。她當時一邊小口抿茶，一邊吃着餅乾，茫然的盯着她手指上帶的那塊巨大的寶石。她說，她剛剛與一位投資銀行家訂婚，她將在倫敦貝克大街擁有一棟漂亮的住房。除此之外，她幾乎沒怎麼和我說話。