Venice to Varanasi: Meet the Italian who is in love with Hindi

从威尼斯到瓦拉纳西: 爱上印地语的意大利人

“ Aap kya lengi?” That question in shuddh Hindi from a bearded Venetian makes me wonder if I’ve downed too many glasses of prosecco, the sparkling local wine. But no, I’ve actually managed to bump into a Hindi-speaking Italian who rattles off words like sandarbh and vyakaran with total ease, and a Banarasi accent.

一个留着大胡子的威尼斯人用印度语问道:“Aap kya lengi?”，我还以为自己喝多听错了。实际上没有听错，我真的遇到过一个讲印地语的意大利人，他能脱口说出像sandarbh和vyakaran这样的词，还带贝拿勒斯口音。

The beard and the Banarasi aside, one instantly thinks of our Italian bahu Sonia Gandhi who, incidentally, also belongs to a contrada (hamlet) in the Veneto region. But unlike Sonia Maino’s love affair that started in Cambridge, Marco Zolli’s fascination for India was sparked off by a Hindi course he did in a Venetian university.

撇开大胡子和贝拿勒斯口音不提，人们马上就会想到我们印度意大利人索尼娅·甘地，顺便提一句，她也来自威尼托地区的一个小村子。但与索尼娅始于剑桥的恋情不同，马尔科•佐利对印度的迷恋源于他在威尼斯一所大学上的一门印地语课程。

“It wasn’t yoga or spirituality that drew me like other foreigners. I was just a 17-year-old who wanted to expand his world view. And to understand a culture, one has to learn its language,” says the 44-year-old.

这位44岁的男子称：“和其他外国人不同，吸引我的不是瑜伽，也不是灵性。当时我只有17岁，我想要扩展自己的世界观。要了解一种文化，就必须学习它的语言”

So at the age of 20, he headed to a language school in the hill station of Landour, Mussoorie for a three-month course. “Instead of partying with the other foreign students, I spoke and played with the local kids. In those three months, I fell crazily in love with this rich and complex language.” He did go back to Venice to finish his PhD thesis on a Bhisham Sahni novel but then kept returning to India. Soon, he got an offer to teach Italian at Delhi University.

20岁的时候，他前往位于Mussoorie Landour山区避暑小镇的语言学校学习了三个月的课程。“我没有参加和其他外国学生的聚会，而是和当地的孩子们聊天、玩耍。在这三个月里，我疯狂地爱上了这门丰富而复杂的语言。他回到威尼斯，完成了关于Bhisham Sahni小说的博士论文，但之后又回到印度。不久，他找到了一份在德里大学教意大利语的工作。

“The funny thing is that my Indian colleagues taught in English and I taught in Hindi.”

“有趣的是，我的印度同事用英语授课，而我用印地语授课。”

Now, Zolli is a consultant who helps Italian firms understand the cultural nuances of doing business in India as well as running a Hindi school in Varanasi. “It’s a residential school with a focus on bolchal. People who work at the school speak Hindi, and some of them also a little Italian but there’s no English.” Students range from movie directors, journalists and even the occasional traveler. Meanwhile, he shuttles between Venice and Varanasi, with even his four-year-old daughter accompanying him so that she gets acquainted with the country early. “My wife also speaks Hindi. I don’t think I could have got married to someone who didn’t!

目前，佐利是一名顾问，帮助意大利公司了解在印度做生意的文化差异，并在瓦拉纳西经营一所印地语学校。“这是一所寄宿学校。在学校工作的人说印地语，有些人还会说一点意大利语，但不说英语。学生有电影导演，有记者，甚至游客。他穿梭于威尼斯和瓦拉纳西之间，他四岁的女儿也陪伴着他，以便她更早地了解这个国家。“我妻子也会说印地语。我想我不会和一个不说印地语的人结婚

What about his own struggles with learning Hindi? “The amazing thing about Hindi is its vocabulary which borrows from so many other languages like Urdu, Sanskrit and English. But it was really frustrating at first,” he says，recounting how he went in search of a ‘ tapak’ in Mussoorie when he felt chilly.

他在学习印地语时遇到什么困难呢?他说:“北印度语的神奇之处在于，它的词汇借鉴了乌尔都语、梵语和英语等许多其他语言。但一开始学的时候真的很沮丧。很多人不理解我说的什么”

As for Banaras, he describes it as “extra Bharat”. “Their zest for life is unique from the way they do masti to the way they grieve.” But isn’t he bothered by the dirt and the congestion? “You can find in India what is inside you. If there is gandagi inside in you, that’s what you’ll see.”

至于贝拿勒斯（瓦拉纳西的旧称），他将其描述为“世外印度”。“他们对生活的热情是独一无二的，从他们狂欢的方式到他们悲伤的方式。“但是他并不为尘土和拥挤而烦恼?。在印度，你可以发现你内心的归属”

印度时报读者的评论：

译文来源：三泰虎 http://www.santaihu.com/47672.html

外文：https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

amrish harekal

For a moment i taught Mrs. Sonia Gandhi ...

But still She should get inspire from this Guy.

我教过索尼娅·甘地夫人一段时间印地语……她还是应该从这家伙身上得到启发。

Shasti Brata

For a moment I thought this was going to be a revelation about the Sainted Sonja! Alas, she still continues to read from a Romanticized script, with no real love for any Indian language. Just Indian money, that is all she yearns for.

遗憾的是，她仍然对印度语言没有真爱。只有印度的钱是她所渴望的。

amrish harekal • 4 hours ago

Now he will proclaim to be a expert in Hindi and Hinduism. This has been the case with many foreigners. US and European human departments in universities are full of books degrading to India and Hinduism.

现在他将宣布自己是印地语和印度教专家，很多外国人都这样。美国和欧洲大学的人类学系充斥着侮辱印度和印度教的书籍。

amrish harekal • 10 hours ago

She is dumb and egoist, after spending so many years in India, she is unable to speak in Hindi.

索尼娅太笨了，在印度呆了这么多年，都不会说印地语。

amrish harekal • 7 hours ago

I have met many foreigner speaking Hindi many years ago. I met American learning Tabla in Varanasi. He had shaved his head and looked like a Hindu "SHishya" but he was American caucasian. It was many many years ago. This reporter can meet many foreigners in  speaking Hindi and living like a true Hindu wearing Dhoti, Kurta with Tilak.

多年前，我遇到过许多讲印地语的外国人。我在瓦拉纳西遇到了学习手鼓的美国人。他剃了光头，是美国白种人，不过看起来像个印度人。那是很多年以前的事了。在维伦达文，你可以看到许多说印地语的外国人，他们像印度人一样系着多蒂腰布、穿着库尔塔衫（无领长袖衬衫），眉心点着红点。

Rohini Veliyyil • New Delhi • 4 hours ago

What''s so great about reading Hindi? Can u read bangla?

会说印地语有什么了不起的?你会说孟加拉语吗?

Dilbag Rai • Chandigarh • 9 hours ago

Hats off to Italian from Venus to have love for Hindi

向这位意大利人致敬，感谢他对印地语的热爱

asnani_rajesh Asnani • 50 mins ago

Hindi has become synonymous with India and the Indian subcontinent. It has become the de facto national language of India besides becoming more and more loved internationally especially with the popularity of Bollywood. Many Indians are at least trilingual with English as their international language and Hindi as their national language besides speaking their mother tongues.

印地语已成为印度和印度次大陆的代名词。除了在国际上越来越受欢迎，尤其是随着宝莱坞的流行，它已经成为印度事实上的民族语言。许多印度人至少会说三种语言，英语是国际语言，印地语是他们的母语。

RCH • 1 hour ago

It is only us Desis who disrespect our own rich Desi langs and have surrendered lock stock and barrel to a foreign tongue called English.. which is a reminder of our slavery to Britain..

只有我们才不尊重自己丰富的语言，而完全臣服于一种叫做英语的外国语言。这让我们想起了英国对我们的奴役。

Yash Parmar • 2 hours ago

The catching sentence in the whole article was that his collegue from India taught Italian using english language while an italian taught in Hindi. Ita not because his indian collegues didnt know hindi but they are ashamed of using hindi. The hate towards hindi language is cultivated from childhood especially

整篇文章中最吸引人注意的是：他的印度同事用英语授课教意大利语，而一个意大利人用印地语授课教意大利语。这并不是因为他的印度同事不懂印地语，而是因为他们羞于使用印地语，对印地语的仇恨从童年就开始了。

Pappu Pass or Fail • 2 hours ago

before HE..India is seen SHE not for Hindi luv but Dynasty power hungry..LOVE

印度人看不到索尼娅对印地语的喜爱，看到的是她对王朝权力的渴望

NSNS Shen • New York • 3 hours ago

What a difference between this Italian man and that Italian woman! Alas, if only she would learn a few things from him.

这位意大利男士和那个意大利女人（索尼娅）简直天差地别啊! 唉，要是索尼娅能从他身上学到一些东西就好了。

ChoukidarBindaasNeha • New Delhi • 4 hours ago

He is lucky that ogling indian males have not targeted his family members or maybe he is dumb enough not to notice

好在色迷迷的印度男性没有盯上他的家人，又或他很笨，没有注意到这一点

Basant Giri • 5 hours ago

Language and culture has fragrance of its native region. We should appreciate efforts of this Italian.

语言和文化具有浓郁的本土气息。我们欣赏这位意大利人的努力。

Rashtra premi • Rashtra premi • Dehli • 7 hours ago

Well done sir!! Those Indians who are ashamed to speak in Hindi or their mother tongue which it may be, shd learn something here....Hindi is beautiful

做得好，先生! !那些羞于说印地语或母语的印度人，他们应该从这位男士身上学到一些东西……印地语很动听。

Milton Mathews • 7 hours ago

Its News when an Italian speaks Hindi, when will it be News when an Indian speaks Italian?

一个会说印地语的意大利人，为什么这也能上新闻?

Deb Chatterjee • Location • 8 hours ago

It is the attitude which matters when learning a new language.

学习一门新语言时，态度很重要。

Rahul Rahul • 9 hours ago

These are Mediterranean s,they are not even white white people,they are a sort of colored like North north Indians,same BREED .and these people are most selfish people on planet Earth ,beware,Italians most selfish people on planet earth.

他是地中海人，不是白人，是一种有色人种，就像北美印第安人一样，是同一种族，这些人是地球上最自私的人，要小心，意大利人是地球上最自私的人。

Jai Ho • India • 10 hours ago

I wish "our imported Italians" had liked Hindi and Hindus.

我希望“我们这儿的意大利人”能喜欢印地语和印度教徒。

AROP • 10 hours ago

Pity is, even Hindi is taught in English in India. Trend must change.

遗憾的是，在印度，即使印度语也是用英语教授的，必须改变这种情况。

Vijay Banga • new delhi • 10 hours ago

People forget India''s own Sonia speaks flawless Hindi all day, you need not look for examples

大家忘了索尼娅能说一口流利的印地语。