ExceptfortheMarabarCaves,whicharesomedistanceaway,thecityofChandraporeisnotatallextraordinary.ItsbazaarsrunalongthebankoftheGanges,hardlydistinguishablefromtherubbishleftbythatgreatriver.Itsstreetsarenarrow,itstemplesareunimpressive,andeverythinginitlooksasifitismadeofmud.WhentheGangesfloods,whichhappensoccasionally,housesfallandpeoplearedrowned,butthegeneralshapeofthetownremains,likesomelowbutpermanentlysurvivingformoflife.
　　Inland,thereisalargesportsground,andahospital.Therailwaystationisonasmallhill,andbeyondtherailwaythelanddropsawayandthenrisesagainsteeply.OnthissecondhilllivetheEnglishcommunity.Viewedfromtheirneatbungalows,Chandraporeappearsatotallydifferentplace–acityofgardens,atropicalforestwashedbyawideriver.Betweenthebungalowsarestraight,well-keptroads;ared-brickclubhouseandashopareconvenientlysituatednearby.Thereisnothingespeciallyuglyhere,butonlytheviewisbeautiful;theEnglishcommunitysharesnothingwiththecityexceptthearchoftheskyabove.
　　Byday,theblueoftheskyturnspaleandbecomeswhiteintheheat;afterthesunhasgonedown,orangemeltsupwardsintosoftestpurple.Butatnightitisblueagain,andthenthestarshanglikelampsfromanenormouslyhighroof.Therearenomountainsaround;thelandliesflat,risesalittle,thenisflatagain.Onlyinthesouth,whereagroupoffistsandfingersstandoutagainstthesky,istheendlessspaceinterrupted.ThesefistsandfingersaretheMarabarHills,containingtheextraordinarycaves.
　　除了距離市區(qū)一段路程的馬拉巴山洞，昌德拉普爾市全無特別之處。市集沿著恒河河岸擺開，幾乎與這條宏偉的河流帶來的垃圾結(jié)為一體。街道狹窄，寺廟平淡無奇，每樣?xùn)|西看起來都像是用泥做的。恒河間或發(fā)水時，房屋倒塌，人員溺亡，但這座城的基本形態(tài)卻屹然不動，就像是某種永恒存在的低等生物。
　　內(nèi)陸有一個大型運動場和一家醫(yī)院。火車站建在一座小山上。過了車站，地勢陡降，隨后又驟然上升。在第二個高坡上，就是英國人的社區(qū)。從他們齊整的獨棟別墅往山下眺望，昌德拉普爾呈現(xiàn)出完全不同的面貌——一座花園城市，一片任寬闊河流沖刷的熱帶叢林。別墅之間是筆直整潔的道路；一所紅磚俱樂部和一家商店位置近便。這里沒有丑陋不堪的事物，只有美麗的風(fēng)景。除了頭頂?shù)纳n穹，英國人社區(qū)與這座城市再無共同之處。
　　白天，蔚藍的天空在炙熱中變得蒼白。太陽落山后，橘色自下而上地熔化為最柔和的紫色。到了夜晚，天空重新回歸為藍色，此時的星星就像掛在極高屋頂?shù)拿鳠簟Ｋ闹軟]有山巒，大地平坦伸展，偶有小的起伏。只有在城的南面，錯落的拳指直指天空，這片無際的大地才被割斷。這些拳指就是馬拉巴山，山里有很多不同尋常的洞穴。