Arunachalam Muruganantham: How I started a sanitary napkin revolution!

Translator: Jenny Zurawell Reviewer: Thu-Huong Ha

翻译人员: Wu Fan 校对人员: Eric Cheng

So I tried to do a small good thing for my wife.

我打算为我妻子做点小事

It makes me to stand here,

而那件事使我站在这里

the fame, the money I got out of it.

那件事也使我取得了荣誉和财富

So what I did, I'd gone back to my early marriage days.

这个故事要从我刚结婚的时候说起

What you did in the early marriage days,

你刚结婚时候都干些什么？

you tried to impress your wife. I did the same.

要想给妻子留个好印象，对吧，我也是一样。

On that occasion, I found my wife

偶然，我发现我妻子

carrying something like this.

这样子拿着一样东西

I saw. "What is that?" I asked.

我问：“那是什么呀？”

My wife replied, "None of your business."

我妻子回答：“不关你的事。”

Then, being her husband, I ran behind her

但是，我是她丈夫呀，我悄悄跟着她

and saw she had a nasty rag cloth.

看见她好像有块脏抹布

I don't even use that cloth to clean my two-wheeler.

脏得我甚至不想用它来擦屁股

Then I understood this -- adapting that unhygienic method

我很快明白了她拿着这个不卫生的东西的原因

to manage her period days.

她来月经了

Then I immediately asked her, why are you [using] that unhygienic method?

我当时就问她，你怎么用这种不卫生的东西？

She replied, I also know about [sanitary pads],

她回答说，我也知道有卫生巾

but myself and my sisters, if they start using that,

但我和姐妹们如果用卫生巾的话

we have to cut our family milk budget.

我们就没有那么多钱买牛奶了

Then I was shocked. What is the connection between

我被她的话震惊了

using a sanitary pad and a milk budget?

用卫生巾和买牛奶有什么联系？

And it's called affordability.

通常人们称之为：经济负担能力

I tried to impress my new wife by offering her a packet of sanitary pads.

于是我打算给我的新婚妻子买了一大盒卫生巾来博取她对我的好印象

I went to a local shop, I tried to buy her a sanitary pad packet.

我走进一家小店买了一盒卫生巾

That fellow looks left and right,

卖东西的伙计左右看看

and spreads a newspaper, rolls it into the newspaper,

铺开一张报纸，裹着它

gives it to me like a banned item, something like that.

递给我，像是在做贼一样

I don't know why. I did not ask for a condom.

我想：他在干嘛呢？我又不是要买避孕套

Then I took that pad. I want to see that. What is inside it?

然后我就打量着那个盒子，我想看看里面有什么

The very first time, at the age of 29,

那时候我29岁

that day I am touching the sanitary pad, first ever.

第一次接触到卫生巾

I must know: How many of the guys here have touched a sanitary pad?

我很想知道，在座有多少男士碰过卫生巾？

They are not going to touch that, because it's not your matter.

这不管我们男士的事？对吗？

Then I thought to myself, white substance, made of cotton --

我琢磨开了，白色的，不就是棉花吗

oh my God, that guy is just using a penny value of raw material --

天哪，成本才几分钱而已

inside they are selling for pounds, dollars.

他们竟然卖好几美元

Why not make a local sanitary pad for my new wife?

我为什么不为我的新妻子做一点卫生巾呢？

That's how all this started, but after making a sanitary pad,

这就是故事的起因。可是做好之后

where can I check it?

我到哪儿去检验一下呢？

It's not like I can just check it in the lab.

实验室好像不干这个

I need a woman volunteer. Where can I get one in India?

我需要一个女性志愿者，可是在印度

Even in Bangalore you won't get [one], in India.

甚至在班加罗尔（印度南部城市），没有

So only problem: the only available victim is my wife.

所以唯一的受害者就只能是我妻子了

Then I made a sanitary pad and handed it to Shanti -- my wife's name is Shanti.

我拿着做好的卫生巾对 Shanti 说，对了，她的名字

"Close your eyes. Whatever I give,

“闭上眼，猜猜是什么

it will be not a diamond pendant

很可惜不是个钻石项链

not a diamond ring, even a chocolate,

也不是钻石戒指，甚至不是巧克力

I will give you a surprise with a lot of tinsel paper rolled up with it.

这个东西是用纸做的

Close your eyes."

请闭上眼睛吧“

Because I tried to make it intimate.

我想要把事情搞得亲密一些

Because it's an arranged marriage, not a love marriage.

因为这是父母安排的婚姻，不是恋爱婚姻

(Laughter)

（笑）

So one day she said, openly, I'm not going to support this research.

终于有一天，她坦白的告诉我，她不再支持我的研究了

Then other victims, they got into my sisters.

后来也就来了别的牺牲者，我的姐妹

But even sisters, wives, they're not ready to support in the research.

即使是姐妹和妻子，她们也不支持我

That's why I am always jealous with the saints in India.

这就是我为什么妒忌印度的圣人

They are having a lot of women volunteers around them.

他们总是有那么多女性志愿者围着他们

Why I am not getting [any]?

为什么我就没有？

You know, without them even calling, they'll get a lot of women volunteers.

你知道，那些圣人不用开口，就有许多女性志愿者过来了

Then I used, tried to use the medical college girls.

我去找那些医学院的女孩

They also refused. Finally, I decide,

她们也拒绝了我。最终，我决定

use sanitary pad myself.

我自己用

Now I am having a title like

我感觉我真像那个

the first man to set foot on the moon.

第一次在月球上留下脚印的 Armstrong

Armstrong. Then Tenzing [and] Hillary, in Everest,

或者是登上珠穆朗玛峰的 Tenzing 和 Hillary

like that Muruganantham is the first man

我，Muruganantham 是全世界第一个

wore a sanitary pad across the globe.

穿着卫生巾的男人

I wore a sanitary pad. I filled animal blood in a football bottle,

我穿着卫生巾，还弄些动物血在瓶子里

I tied it up here, there is a tube going into my panties,

我把瓶子绑在这儿，再插一根管子通到我的内裤里

while I'm walking, while I'm cycling, I made a press,

当我走路骑车的时候，我按一下那个瓶子

doses of blood will go there.

血就会流到“那儿”

That makes me bow down to any woman in front of me

这件事让我对女人非常敬佩

to give full respect. That five days I'll never forget --

那五天的实验我一辈子也忘不掉

the messy days, the lousy days, that wetness.

五个混乱，肮脏，潮湿的日子

My God, it's unbelievable.

天哪，真是难以置信

But here the problem is, one company is making napkin

问题是，工厂可以用棉花

out of cotton. It is working well.

做出很好的餐巾纸

But I am also trying to make sanitary pad with the good cotton. It's not working.

我同样用好棉花，就做不出好用的卫生巾

That makes me to want to refuse to continue this research and research and research.

这让我很沮丧，甚至不再想继续试验

You need first funds.

而且实验也是需要资金的

Not only financial crises, but because of the sanitary pad research,

还并不只是资金

I come through all sorts of problems, including

这些研究还给我带来了一系列的麻烦, 比如：

a divorce notice from my wife.

一封来自妻子的离婚申请书

Why is this? I used medical college girls.

为什么？就因为那些医学院的女孩

She suspects I am using as a trump card

她怀疑我做实验只是个借口

to run behind medical college girls.

从而可以去追那些女孩

Finally, I came to know it is a special cellulose

最终，我终于了解到了一种特别的纤维素

derived from a pinewood, but even after that,

从松树中获得，但即使这样

you need a multimillion-dollar plant like this

照样也需要价值上百万的机器

to process that material. Again, a stop-up.

来处理这些原料。所以，工作又停顿下来

Then I spend another four years to create my own

接着，我又用了四年时间开发我自己的机器

machine tools, a simple machine tool like this.

一个简单的机器，看起来像这样

In this machine, any rural woman can apply the same

这个机器使得任何乡下的妇女都能处理原材料

raw materials that they are processing in the multinational plant,

和那些跨国公司处理的过程一样

anyone can make a world-class napkin at your dining hall.

卫生巾人人都可以在餐厅里就做出来，还是世界级的

That is my invention.

这就是我的发明

So after that, what I did,

发明这台机器之后，我干了什么呢

usually if anyone got a patent or an invention,

通常如果有人得到了个专利或者发明了一样东西

immediately you want to make, convert into this.

他想做的第一件事就是把它变成这个（钱）

I never did this. I dropped it just like this,

我没有这么做，我就这样放下了（钱）

because you do this, if anyone runs after money,

因为我想，任何只追逐金钱的人

their life will not [have] any beauty. It is boredom.

生命并不会快乐，只会空虚。

A lot of people making a lot of money, billion,

很多赚大钱的人

billions of dollars accumulating.

积累了几十亿

Why are they coming for, finally, for philanthropy?

最后都干什么去了呢？做慈善了

Why the need for accumulating money, then doing philanthropy?

那为什么要有钱了再去做慈善呢？

What if one decided to start philanthropy from the day one?

从现在就开始呗

That's why I am giving this machine

所以我把这台机器送给

only in rural India, for rural women, because in India,

所有印度乡下的女性，因为在印度

[you'll be] surprised, only two percent of women

只有百分之二的女性买得起卫生巾

are using sanitary pads. The rest, they're using a rag cloth,

其余的，都用脏布

a leaf, husk, [saw] dust, everything except sanitary pads.

甚至是树叶，泥土，就是没有卫生巾

It is the same in the 21st century. That's why I am going

同样是21世纪（怎么差别那么大咧）。我决定

to decide to give this machine only for poor women across India.

无偿把机器贡献给贫穷的印度农村

So far, 630 installations happened in 23 states

至今，已经有630套这样的设备安置在

in six other countries.

不同国家的不同地方 （他不是说只给印度吗……）

Now I'm on my seventh year sustaining against

现在，已经是我和那些商业巨头们较量

multinational, transnational giants -- makes all MBA students a question mark.

的第七个年头——这让所有的MBA学生纳闷

A school dropout from Coimbatore, how he is able to sustaining?

一个从 Coimbatore 辍学的家伙，怎么能干这么久？

That makes me a visiting professor and guest lecturer in all IIMs.

因此他们邀请我去所有的印度管理学院做演讲

(Applause)

（掌声）

Play video one.

播一段视频

(Video) Arunachalam Muruganantham: The thing I saw in my wife's hand, "Why are you using that nasty cloth?"

（视频）Arunachalam Muruganantham： 我问我妻子：“你怎么能用那么脏的布头？”

She replied immediately, "I know about napkins, but if I start

她立刻回答：“如果我用卫生巾

using napkins, then we have to cut our family milk budget."

我们就不得不少喝牛奶”

Why not make myself a low-cost napkin?

为什么不为自己做一种低成本的卫生巾呢？

So I decided I'm going to sell this new machine

因此我决定把这种机器卖给（您不是说好了要送的吗？）

only for Women Self Help Groups.

自助小组（贫困地区的人们组成的，互相帮助的小团体）

That is my idea.

这是我的主意

AM: And previously, you need a multimillion investment

以前，你需要几百万投资

for machine and all. Now, any rural woman can.

去买设备。现在，任何乡下的妇女都可以

They are performing puja.

这个视频是她们在礼拜（印度教）

(Video): (Singing)

（视频）（演唱）

You just think, competing giants,

你想一下，要和商业巨头对抗

even from Harvard, Oxford, is difficult.

就算你是哈佛，牛津来的也很困难

I make a rural woman to compete with multinationals.

但我让一个乡下女人能够对抗跨国公司

I'm sustaining on seventh year.

而且坚持了七年

Already 600 installations. What is my mission?

已经600套了。我接下来的任务是什么？

I'm going to make India

我要让印度的女性，在我的有生之年

[into] a 100-percent-sanitary-napkin-using country in my lifetime.

全部用上卫生巾

In this way I'm going to provide not less than a million

还有，我要在印度农村提供

rural employment that I'm going to create.

不少于100万个就业机会，靠这台机器

That's why I'm not running after this bloody money.

这就是为什么我不急于追求血钱

I'm doing something serious.

我要做些大事

If you chase a girl, the girl won't like you.

如果你只是去追女孩，女孩不一定喜欢你

Do your job simply, the girl will chase you.

如果你埋头干你的事，女孩会主动来追你

Like that, I never chased Mahalakshmi.

真的，我从来没追过 Mahalakshmi.

Mahalakshmi is chasing me, I am keeping in the back pocket.

是 Mahalakshmi （第二个老婆？）追的我

Not in front pocket. I'm a back pocket man.

我没上心，我无所谓

That's all. A school dropout saw your problem in the society

就这样，我从一个不用卫生巾的社会里

of not using sanitary pad.

看到了问题

I am becoming a solution provider. I'm very happy.

我提供了解决方案，我非常快乐

I don't want to make this as a corporate entity.

我不想去办什么大企业

I want to make this as a local sanitary pad movement

我就想让那些当地用不起卫生巾的女性们用上卫生巾

across the globe. That's why I put all the details

全球也一样。这就是为什么我公开全部资料

on public domain like an open software.

就像一个公共开放的软件

Now 110 countries are accessing it. Okay?

现在有110个国家开始引进它了，很好？

So I classify the people into three:

我把人们分成三种情况

uneducated, little educated, surplus educated.

没受过教育，受过少许教育和受过很好教育

Little educated, done this. Surplus educated,

受过少许教育的人，做了这个

what are you going to do for the society?

而受高等教育的人，你们都为社会做了些什么呢？

Thank you very much. Bye!

非常感谢，再见！

(Applause)

（鼓掌）