Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

Affectionately,Lexako VI. 12. 1904She received a note by return messenger.Dear Lexako,Will you permit me to call you by this affectionate name? I shall pick you up at your house with our car at eight sharp.Expecting to be baffled!Your pseudo-YogiThe event turned out to be a glittering gathering of the rich and beautiful people of St. Petersburg without a trace of aséance. Chauffeured cars crowded the access to the electrically illuminated palais of Prince Volkonsky. Liveriedattendants held the car doors open and collected the guests’ cartes de visites on silver platters. Amused she noticed thatVladimir, with a slight of hand, retrieved his card unnoticed. The men wore black tie and the ladies fashionable dresses.Alexandra was glad to wear a conservative blouse and a loose skirt down to her ankles which would not attract anyunwanted attention.The entire ground floor had been opened to the guests, a buffet was laid out in the dining room, and attendants circulatedamong the crowd with fruit juices and iced yogurt drinks. Disappointed, Alexandra could not detect any smell of hashish.They wandered around. In a one room a photo of Mme. Blavatsky’s broad, pock-marked face with the protruding eyesframed by a black shawl, looked down on her famous books: Isis Unveiled, The Secret Doctrine, The Voice of Silence, allin English, printed in America—for sale at horrendous prices!Alexandra shook her head. "Do the Theosophists need money?" she asked Vladimir with a derisive laugh.They met far fewer people whom they knew than Alexandra had expected. But the next room held a surprise: of allpeople they ran into Marti Sisakian!She did not recognize him at first. He wore a Moslem cassock over baggy pants tied at the ankles, soft, leather boots,and a turban. A gaily-colored shawl was wound around his waist."Marti," cried Alexandra hugging him, "have you converted to Islam? Where is Izabel, is she hiding in a chador? What isthis getup, and where have you been all these years?"Two years ago Marti and Izabel had gone to Armenia and never returned.Marti blushed and retorted. "Where is Konrad?" And with an inquisitive look shook Vladimir’s hand. "You have not gotdivorced, Alexandra, during your crazy medical studies?"Alexandra laughed. "Of course not, Konrad is in Munich and Vladimir volunteered to escort me to this party. Butseriously, what are you doing here among the Theosophists?""Impetuous Georgian friend, one question at a time. I am selling my paintings, the labor of the past two years. And the‘Moslem getup,’ as you call it, is a simple sales ruse. I am as poor a Moslem as I am a bad Christian or Theosophist. Youwill find Izabel somewhere among this crowd of wealthy sympathizers of the enigmatic Blavatsky. She is hiding in veryregular clothes.""You two, Theosophists?" Alexandra asked with raised eyebrows."Chère Alexandra, we joined the Theosophists in Paris a long time ago. For obvious reasons we didn’t talk about that onthe train from Berlin, and later you were so single-mindedly preoccupied with exploring your reality that you never foundout! But how is Otto? He had just been born when we left for Yerevan. Did you have any more children since then?""No, he is our only one so far. He is four and keeps me and a governess on our toes. I just finished my medical degree,and for the first time I am able to devote myself entirely to him and the pleasures of St. Petersburg. You must come andsee us soon. When did you get back?"Marti placed his hands behind his ears and bowed deeply in a mock-Muslim gesture. "Congratulations! Izabel was notsure that you two would survive this ordeal. We returned from Samarkand two weeks ago. But come, let me show youthe paintings, they tell all that has happened to us."Along the walls hung a number of colorful paintings interspersed with photographs, obviously scenes in Armenia andCentral Asia."Izabel took these photographs. She has become quite good at that. Look here, you know this view."A picture of the Blue Bath in Tiflis hung next to one showing Marti, sitting on a dais, being scrubbed with copiousamounts of soap suds by a bath attendant.She laughed. "I like this one especially. You spent some time in Tiflis?""We spent two months in Georgia, then we moved on to Yerevan. Look, here are the paintings from Armenia. We lovedit, the sun, the colors, the people. There are so many stones in Armenia, you cannot believe it. This is Mount Araratfloating above the clouds seen from Yerevan. The ruins of Svartnots in Echmiadzin. This is a scene in a village at the footof the lava flows of Mt. Alagöz. The people bake lavash and hang the bread on clotheslines to dry."Marti jumped from painting to painting excitedly rowing with his arms. She had never seen him so animated. She lookedcarefully at the paintings. What did they have to do with Theosophy? His palette consisted of bold, passionate, strongcolors, yellow and dark reds dominated, the shadows were deep blue. Bright green vines between red lava stones. The68