Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

The Chinese wife of a sinologist at the university gave him private lessons. Every week he spent six hours with her andtwice as many at home practicing reading and writing Chinese characters.His teacher, an inexorably conscientious lady, lacked inspiration and flexibility. Occasionally they had a lighter momenttogether, like when Konrad discovered some etymological meaning in a character which she, because of long familiarity,had not noticed. She shook her head when Konrad showed her a character that quite obviously was composed of awoman and water or liquid and had the meaning of you. A liquid woman? He asked. It was the intimate you, sheexplained. Konrad laughed, "y-o-u," caressing an imaginary woman. She giggled holding her hand over her mouth. No, ithad no such connotation.Through her Konrad met Vitali Alekseev, a young Russian sinologist, who had visited China for several months in 1907.Alekseev, an unpretentious man with a sympathetic round face and an easy laugh, freely shared his excitement and hisexperiences in this enigmatic country with Konrad.Finding a Central-Asian Sufi connection turned out to be more difficult. The Central-Asian Moslems in St. Petersburg,harassed and spied upon by the police, pretended to have no idea what a tekke or a Sufi was. He needed a personalintroduction. Henri Halvejian finally sent him the post-office-box address of an Armenian named Grigor who hadconnections to the St. Petersburg Sufiya. A meeting was arranged.Konrad had to wait a long time before a swarthy Armenian-looking man, of about his age, appeared. Konrad mentionedHenri’s name. Grigor took him to a chaihane, a teahouse, where they "might find" a Sufi sheikh.The dark, smoke-filled room at the chaihane was crowded with Central-Asian men. They sat down at a table and theArmenian ordered tea. Nothing happened for half an hour. then an older man got up from a table across the room, cameover, greeted the Armenian, nodded to Konrad, and sat down with them.Beyond a doubt the man was a true Sufi. His bearing, his sparing gestures, and his intelligent, penetrating dark eyeswhich looked straight through Konrad at one moment, only to probe his very heart a second later. A formidable aurasurrounded him. Konrad shuddered, this man was far more impressive than good-hearted Henri and much morepossessed than Persephone."Are you Georgian?""No.""Where are you from? You speak Russian with a strong accent.""I am German."The sheikh’s tense wariness relaxed, he became more friendly. "How did you get introduced to the Armenian Halveji inTiflis? Who was their sheikh?""Persephone, but she is Syrian-Greek, not Armenian.""I know her. She is a knowledgeable woman. Are you a goldsmith, because you know Henri Halvejian?"Now Konrad began to realize that this was a ritual examination, the sheikh was fully informed. But Konrad couldunderstand the sheikh’s suspicion, his existence in St. Petersburg was a delicate matter. In addition the Sufi masterchooses his student, not the student his teacher.Konrad explained that he was neither an initiated member of the Halveji nor a goldsmith, but a professor of botany at theuniversity. He had learned to work in gold under Henri’s tutelage to improve his concentration, and Henri had introducedhim to the Halveji."Can you show me a sample of your work?"Konrad smiled. He had expected such a question. Undoubtedly the sheikh had asked for a sign by which to recognizehim. He pulled Alexandra’s necklace from his pocket and handed it to the sheikh.The man carefully inspected the workmanship and let the necklace run between his slender hands. A smile of pleasedrecognition went across his intelligent face."Good work! Did you design it or Henri?"Konrad explained that he had spent several weeks dreaming up the design. The necklace had been his first piece ofjewelry, a gift for his fiancé and present wife.The sheikh’s eyes narrowed. Almost rudely he asked. "So what do you want, to become my dance student or mygoldsmith apprentice?"Konrad had not considered either, he really wanted to find a contact in Samarkand. He realized that he could not ask foran introduction directly nor refuse this offer."It is not up to me to want to become either, but I would like to try to prove to you that I am a serious student of both."Serious and fully inscrutable, the sheikh said. "I am inviting you to become my student. My name is Anastasios El-Zafaran after the place of my origin in Syria. I own a small goldsmith shop. I invite you to visit me there."El-Zafaran pushed a piece of paper toward Konrad with the address of the store in Russian and suggested that it wouldbe better to separate now and each go his own way.The sheikh rose, nodded at them, and left the teahouse. A few minutes later Grigor indicated that they could leave.Konrad paid for the tea and they parted down the street.On the tram home Konrad reviewed this strange meeting. Pleased with himself he chuckled, I have learned how to make159