ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lakshmi Pratury - Connector
Lakshmi Pratury is the host of The INK Conference and was the co-host of TEDIndia 2009.

Why you should listen

After two decades in marketing, venture capitalism and social entreprenuership, Lakshmi Pratury turned her focus toward linking her home country of India more tightly with the American community. Her firm, Ixoraa Media, runs meetings and events to spark dialogue and make connections. In 2009, she co-hosted TEDIndia and saw such a warm response to the conference that she founded The INK Conference, in partnership with TED, that would pick up where TEDIndia left off. Watch the INKTalks channel  to see some of the brilliant ideas shared at the INK Conference. Pratury blogs at Lakshmi's Lounge.

She worked at Intel for 12 years as a marketer and evangelist, then moved to a VC firm, Global Capitalist Partners. At GCP, she focused on connecting India's legendary software-development community with US tech. She began to focus more strictly on relationship-building with her move to the America India Foundation, where she founded the AIF's Digital Equalizer program, offering technology education to some 80,000 children and 2,000 teachers in India. She also launched the AIF Summit for social entrepreneurs from India.

More profile about the speaker
Lakshmi Pratury | Speaker | TED.com
TED2007

Lakshmi Pratury: The lost art of letter-writing

勒斯米柏維谈「写信」

Filmed:
715,735 views

勒斯米柏维忆起手写信件这个消逝的艺术,并且分享她父亲生前亲手写给她的一些笔记。 她那简短而动人的谈话, 可能会启发你开始动手写信。
- Connector
Lakshmi Pratury is the host of The INK Conference and was the co-host of TEDIndia 2009. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
So I thought, "I will talk about death死亡."
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我原先在想:「我会谈论死亡。」
00:14
Seemed似乎 to be the passion today今天.
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那似乎是我今天要跟你分享的主题。
00:16
Actually其实, it's not about death死亡.
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但事实上,我将分享的与死亡无关。
00:18
It's inevitable必然, terrible可怕, but really what I want to talk about is,
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死亡是不可避免而又令人愄惧的,但我真正想谈论的是
00:21
I'm just fascinated入迷 by the legacy遗产 people leave离开 when they die.
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我被人们死去时所留下的遗产吸引着
00:24
That's what I want to talk about.
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这就是我想分享的主题。
00:26
So Art艺术 Buchwald布赫瓦尔德 left his legacy遗产 of humor幽默 with a video视频
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如包可华(Art Buchwald) 透过影像留下他那一丝幽默
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that appeared出现 soon不久 after he died死亡, saying,
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影带在他死后随即出现,说着:
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"Hi你好! I'm Art艺术 Buchwald布赫瓦尔德, and I just died死亡."
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「嗨! 我是包可华(Art Buchwald),我刚刚死了。」
00:36
And Mike麦克风, who I met会见 at Galapagos加拉帕戈斯, a trip which哪一个 I won韩元 at TEDTED,
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我透过TED的旅程,在加拉巴哥(Galapagos)遇到米可
00:41
is leaving离开 notes笔记 on cyberspace网络空间 where he is chronicling记载
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当时他透过互联网在个人空间上记述
00:45
his journey旅程 through通过 cancer癌症.
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他患上癌症的经历。
00:48
And my father父亲 left me a legacy遗产 of his handwriting手写
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而我的父亲则透过一些信件和一本记事本
00:52
through通过 letters and a notebook笔记本.
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留下他那手写的遗产。
00:54
In the last two years年份 of his life, when he was sick生病,
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爸爸在他生命中的最后两年,在生病的状态中,
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he filled填充 a notebook笔记本 with his thoughts思念 about me.
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把他对我的看法都写满在记事本上。
01:02
He wrote about my strengths优势, weaknesses弱点,
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他写下我的长处和短处
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and gentle温和 suggestions建议 for improvement起色,
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并提出一些能助我改正的方法
01:09
quoting引用 specific具体 incidents事故, and held保持 a mirror镜子 to my life.
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同时亦引用特殊的例子,为我的生活提供反思。
01:15
After he died死亡, I realized实现 that no one writes to me anymore.
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在他离世后,我发现没有人再写信给我了。
01:20
Handwriting手写 is a disappearing消失 art艺术.
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书写这门艺术正渐渐地消失。
01:23
I'm all for email电子邮件 and thinking思维 while typing打字,
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我平日会用电子邮件,也会一面思考一面打字
01:26
but why give up old habits习惯 for new?
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但为何要为了新的事物而舍弃旧有的习惯?
01:29
Why can't we have letter writing写作 and email电子邮件 exchange交换 in our lives生活?
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为何书信和电子邮件不能与我们的生活融合在一起?
01:33
There are times when I want to trade贸易 all those years年份
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有一段时间我因为太忙碌而没有坐下来跟我父亲聊聊天
01:39
that I was too busy to sit with my dad and chat with him,
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有时,我真的很想换回那几年
01:43
and trade贸易 all those years年份 for one hug拥抱.
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然后再以那些时光来换爸爸的一个拥抱。
01:49
But too late晚了.
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可是已经太迟了。
01:51
But that's when I take out his letters and I read them,
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但每当我拿出并细阅他的信
01:57
and the paper that touched感动 his hand is in mine,
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我感到与他紧密相连,
02:00
and I feel connected连接的 to him.
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因为他触摸过的那张信纸就在我手中。
02:03
So maybe we all need to leave离开 our children孩子
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也许,我们需要留给我们的孩子的不是金钱上的遗产
02:07
with a value legacy遗产, and not a financial金融 one.
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而是那种拥有真正的价值和意义的遗产。
02:10
A value for things with a personal个人 touch触摸 --
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透过触碰去留下有价值的物品--
02:13
an autograph签名 book, a soul-searching自我反省 letter.
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一本手写书,一封真摰的信。
02:17
If a fraction分数 of this powerful强大 TEDTED audience听众
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假如这些甚有影响力的TED观众的其中小部分
02:20
could be inspired启发 to buy购买 a beautiful美丽 paper --
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能被感动而去买一张漂亮的纸--
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John约翰, it'll它会 be a recycled回收 one -- and write a beautiful美丽 letter
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约翰,那会是一张环保再生纸-- 然后写一封美丽的信
02:27
to someone有人 they love, we actually其实 may可能 start开始 a revolution革命
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给他们深爱的人,我们或许要开始实行一个大变革
02:30
where our children孩子 may可能 go to penmanship书法 classes.
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让我们的孩子去上手写课。
02:33
So what do I plan计划 to leave离开 for my son儿子?
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那么,我应该留些什么给我的儿子呢?
02:37
I collect搜集 autograph签名 books图书, and those of you authors作者
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我在搜集手写书, 同时也在搜集一些唱片, 翠丝。
02:39
in the audience听众 know I hound猎犬 you for them --
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而坐在观众席上的一些作家都知道
02:42
and CDs光盘 too, Tracy特雷西.
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我正为这出版的事宜而紧跟著他们--
02:44
I plan计划 to publish发布 my own拥有 notebook笔记本.
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我亦计画出版自己的笔记。
02:48
As I witnessed目击 my father's父亲的 body身体 being存在 swallowed吞食 by fire,
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在我目睹我父亲的遗体被火吞噬时,
02:52
I satSAT by his funeral葬礼 pyre柴堆 and wrote.
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我坐在他葬礼的柴火旁,写下
02:56
I have no idea理念 how I'm going to do it,
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我不知道我将如何过日子
02:57
but I am committed提交 to compiling编译 his thoughts思念 and mine
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但后来我决定要将他和我的一些想法
03:00
into a book, and leave离开 that published发表 book for my son儿子.
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辑录成一本书、出版, 然后留给我的儿子。
03:04
I'd like to end结束 with a few少数 verses经文 of what I wrote
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我想以一首我在父亲葬礼中写的短诗
03:06
at my father's父亲的 cremation火葬.
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来结束今天的分享。
03:08
And those linguists语言学家, please pardon赦免 the grammar语法,
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语言学学者们, 请饶恕我的文法
03:11
because I've not looked看着 at it in the last 10 years年份.
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因为我至少有十年没读到这首诗了。
03:13
I took it out for the first time to come here.
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这是我第一次将它公开在这里。
03:16
"Picture图片 in a frame, ashes灰烬 in a bottle瓶子,
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「在相框中的照片,在瓮里的骨灰,
03:20
boundless漫漫 energy能源 confined受限 in the bottle瓶子,
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无穷的力量被紧封于瓮内
03:23
forcing迫使 me to deal合同 with reality现实,
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它迫使我面对现实
03:26
forcing迫使 me to deal合同 with being存在 grown长大的 up.
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迫使我逐渐成长。
03:29
I hear you and I know that you would want me to be strong强大,
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我确实听到你的话, 而我知道你想我坚强
03:33
but right now, I am being存在 sucked down, surrounded包围
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但此刻, 我被这些肆虐的情绪浪潮
03:37
and suffocated窒息 by these raging愤怒 emotional情绪化 waters水域,
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吞没、包围,这一切令我窒息
03:40
craving to cleanse洁净 my soul灵魂, trying to emerge出现
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就如你所敎导一样
03:43
on a firm公司 footing立足点 one more time, to keep on fighting战斗 and flourishing芊芊
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我渴望我的灵魂能被洗涤, 让我能尝试浮出水面
03:49
just as you taught me.
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再一次踏稳每一步, 继续奋斗和茁壮地成长。
03:51
Your encouraging鼓舞人心的 whispers耳语 in my whirlpool涡流 of despair绝望,
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当我陷入绝望的漩涡时, 我听到你在我耳边低声鼓励我、
03:55
holding保持 me and heaving起伏 me to shores海岸 of sanity明智,
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扶持我、并把我拉到岸边, 使我清醒,
04:00
to live生活 again and to love again."
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让我能重生和再次去爱。」
04:02
Thank you.
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谢谢。
Translated by Feiman Luk
Reviewed by L Ren

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lakshmi Pratury - Connector
Lakshmi Pratury is the host of The INK Conference and was the co-host of TEDIndia 2009.

Why you should listen

After two decades in marketing, venture capitalism and social entreprenuership, Lakshmi Pratury turned her focus toward linking her home country of India more tightly with the American community. Her firm, Ixoraa Media, runs meetings and events to spark dialogue and make connections. In 2009, she co-hosted TEDIndia and saw such a warm response to the conference that she founded The INK Conference, in partnership with TED, that would pick up where TEDIndia left off. Watch the INKTalks channel  to see some of the brilliant ideas shared at the INK Conference. Pratury blogs at Lakshmi's Lounge.

She worked at Intel for 12 years as a marketer and evangelist, then moved to a VC firm, Global Capitalist Partners. At GCP, she focused on connecting India's legendary software-development community with US tech. She began to focus more strictly on relationship-building with her move to the America India Foundation, where she founded the AIF's Digital Equalizer program, offering technology education to some 80,000 children and 2,000 teachers in India. She also launched the AIF Summit for social entrepreneurs from India.

More profile about the speaker
Lakshmi Pratury | Speaker | TED.com