Being both a skilled mechanic and a designer, in the 90s Arthur was occupied with expensive car tuning in Moscow. His lifestyle at those times absolutely matched his occupation. It had been going on until Arthur, going to show his sick brother to a doctor in India, had his blood test done. He had leukemia. In India Arthur spent 6 years and came back being a completely different person.
Olya is a lawyer by profession and a yoga teacher as well. Constantly seeking an opportunity to be useful for the society, she has numerously participated in social and eco-projects, and travelled a lot. But projects came to an end, and so did travels, and coming back to Moscow Olga felt the inner question stir in her mind again: was there any sense in the consumer lifestyle or rather not?
Arthur, people are usually unlikely to rearrange their life for no reason. How come that you gave up your successful and highly demanded business in Moscow to stay in India for 6 years and came back only to move soon again? Was it your physical disease that became the starting point?
Arthur: No, at that point the disease was secondary. Just imagine: after the useless therapy in Switzerland I decide to take my brother to India, to Sayat Baba, hoping he would cure him. And there they send me to a person that can actually help us. On the second day after meeting with that healer, my brother, who could not move, with his fear of “glass bones”, already walks on crutches…
Olga: It was a Zen master. According to the statistics, he cured 300 000 people 10 years ago. But he had been a Taiwanese mob boss before. Once, they threw him off the mountain. All broken, he crawled on all fours to the village where a master came across him and taught him to cure himself. That’s how his life changed radically. Now, he travels round the world spending 2 or 3 weeks at each place and curing people.
Arthur: After that I arrived in Moscow, signed over the business to my pupils on condition that they would send me a certain amount monthly, and returned to India. Surely, they wouldn’t send me a penny. (laughs) I had some money on Forex, so I flipped it around and lived on it. And it was exactly the time when Merkel succeeded Schröder. One exchange quotation got substituted by another one, and I lost my remaining money. Moreover, my friend and I rented a house and paid a year’s rent in advance. But it turned out that the owner had been cheating on us for 2 months. As a result, we beat him up and got to prison. Me – with my leg broken in a motorbike accident. That’s when everything got started. My ego was absolutely jacked up, so I needed a fresh start.
Photo by Hidden Art Studio
Arthur's photos
Photo by Hidden Art Studio
Photo by Hidden Art Studio
Pretty Green by Artur and Olga
I have had a chance to get acquainted with a truly amazing couple – Arthur and Olga. Their life abounds with unexpected twists and unusual decisions so much that it might have been a fascinating movie.
Not long ago Arthur and Olga moved to Georgia, to be precise – to a place in the suburbs of Batumi, right next to the national park Mtirala. They have built eco-cottages, and during the warm season they are welcoming those who are eager to take a break from the hectic life and taste their freedom. In the future Arthur and Olga are going to arrange the place for winter rest, too. But so far they spend winters in Batumi and pay daily visits to a cat and two dogs guarding their Pretty Green (same-name with the film LaBelleVerte).
We spent a few hours talking about the causes of such changes in life, about Georgia and India. Here is what came out from my attempts to convert a talk into an interview format:
I cannot help asking – what is there in India to provide such an effect?
It is another reality. It feels as though you jumped out of an aquarium, which you consider to be the entire world, into the sea. And then you look back and realize that all the aquarium reality was simply drawn for you. In India, one can really meet people who walk on water or hang in the air. It is not a demonstration but a practice on their way to self-perfection, and they proceed further after they have achieved the desirable. One might see it by chance if he appears at a lake at 4 am. But as soon as they notice you watch them, the magic will stop taking place.
Everybody has a dream, and absolutely everybody would love to get engaged in a favorite occupation which would also yield a good income. But few people have courage for that. The majority keeps going to the unloved work for the sake of a surefire salary, insurance and pension. A single step away scares them, as they are afraid of losing their financial stability. The more family obligations they have, the deeper their fear becomes. How did you manage to go beyond these limitations? Do these typical apprehensions have some factual background?
Arthur: I started my car-tuning business penniless. I started it just because I liked it, and soon my business skyrocketed. I’m not a businessman. Well, in fact, I can be a businessman, but I don’t like selling myself for money. I just do what I like for as much or little money as I want, and as much time as I need for it, that’s all. But to come to this plain understanding, I had to spend so many years going into the red and getting into trouble. It was a very useful experience of learning the human nature, because the customers are government people, oligarchs, those moody bitches and all, they are just totally horrible people, each of them luring you into a trap. In addition to that, they are very greedy. Actually, making a machine is like setting sail with a person for long months. But having gained some experience, soon I could choose some customers and refuse others. Then I began to enjoy my work.
Concerning the money fear point – when I found myself in India with no money in the pockets, all I needed would come to me by itself, quite naturally. And I ceased to want anything. When you don’t want anything, God gives you exactly what you need and even more. On the contrary, when you want, your desires are left unsatisfied – and you are restless. I have travelled in Himalaya without a penny for 2 years. In the wood there was a decent two-story house belonging to me, and when I left for single tracking, I would take only a change of underwear. When I could find nothing to eat in the wood, there came shepherds who were glad to treat me to some food and water. After that the fear vanished. If you have no fears and believe it to turn out well, it does turn out well. If there is much wishing and desiring, you are to have a hard time struggling. You break your bones, crash all around and then think – for what?
How about family?
Well, one needs to prove this to his family and assure it that this is how it actually works. It is probably the most complicated part.
Letting wishes go and accepting the gifts of the Universe, it is wonderful. But there has to be somebody to work as the creative power himself.
Olga: Our family is exactly the one that juxtaposes the both approaches. I personify the second one. I strive for creation, without it I have no inspiration to live. I’m constantly striving for something. The main point here is, it is not selfish demanding but following the call of the soul. Our most often dialogue is as follows: “Don’t worry, God will give! – How come? Let’s create!” For me, it is indeed a great challenge, as I have to attain inner flexibility and acceptability. To learn to recognize that thin boundary where one really had better let go and take it easy and where one should spare no effort to put his visions into life.
Olya, what was Arthur’s return to Moscow like? What changed in his environment?
Olga: When Arthur left Moscow, he was a successful businessman among the best ones (many people still cannot understand why he should have left such a business). And in 6 years he came back to appear such a guru who people were drawn to, though he did nothing for it except for his simple existence. It was as though he provided the atmosphere of a pause, the opportunity of reconsideration, and people got to be drawn to him. And at some moment he realized the necessity of creating such a place where people will exactly be able to take a break, to make an inner pause. In reality, no special teaching or concepts are needed for that. One should simply come, fill to the brim, breath out, and that will do. Thus, we started looking for a place.
Why not in India?
Olga: In India, downshifting is completely classical – it is wonderful for its very existence. But the man’s life when he acquires a family, that’s us (laughs), supposes something in-between.
What attracted you to Georgia? You have visited so many countries…
Arthur: People. They are open-hearted, kind, cheery.
Olga: We got the first impression of Georgia when we crossed the Georgian boundary on our way from Armenia. It is perfectly clean, people treat you politely: “Hello, we are pleased to welcome you here! If you need something, stop a patrol car, they will help you”. The roads are smooth. We go out, and the ground is literally merry, as though it were flooded with happiness. Sunshine and nature just as I like it. I say, “Look, Arthur, what a beautiful country!” We were in Bali, and Arthur decided that we had to leave Moscow, as it was the dead end for us. So he arrived in Georgia, made friends there, found this corner, and wrote to me: “I’ve found such a place, we will live right in the reservation”. That’s how we just packed our things, rented the flat and appeared here, without any guarantees.
Olya, why did you choose this very name for the cottage?
Olga: We named this place conformably to the film “La Belle Verte”.
So, people come to the “Pretty Green” to restore their inner harmony. Do they really manage this?
Olga: We even intend to make a photo gallery “before and after”. Indeed, people leave the place different, genuine, comforted. We often take masters to the cottage, arrange retreats. People learn about us through the grapevine. Random people never come.
Do you often communicate with locals?
Olga: Yes, we do, with all Russian-speaking locals. The only things that are getting in the way are the language barrier and the fact that we don’t drink (laughs). One can hardly oppose the centuries-old tradition. But anyway, Sonya (the daughter) goes to our neighbors in the morning and they bring her back in the evening. It would be impossible in Moscow to act that way.
The people are simple and kind. I remember my arriving here from Moscow. I was driving X5, horribly under pressure. And there was a car driving constantly next to me. I got really mad. I leveled off my car and saw a man talking to somebody. I was about to express all my irritation, when he suddenly turned to me and kind of apologized with an amiable smile on his face: “I’m sorry, sister, I didn’t see you!” And I suddenly felt much better. The person was simply talking, and I got so mad! It was so awkward. That local friendly and relaxed quality is really captivating, I can tell you.
Arthur: And their desire to help is almost an instinct.
Summer photos of La Belle Verte
What are your plans as for the development of the camping?
Olga: We have got excited about building something truly inspiring. Tree houses, bungalows, hammocks immersed in jungles and flowers… For adults there would be yoga, master-classes of painting, eco-cooking, making eco-cosmetics, a pottery workshop. For children we intend to create a rope camp and a trampoline. But the major point is atmosphere. For this, we possess the magic of the Mtirala reservation, where body and soul relax together.
Click to find the facebook page of La Belle Verte and the web-site
P.S. Actually, the interview format does not allow me to provide in detail the story of Arthur’s stay in India, so it stops at the most exciting part! I wasn’t prepared for such an amazing topic either. But I hope to return to it once more, in summer, and see LaBelleVerte in green.
P. P. S. special thanks to Ina who accompanied me to the interview in Batumi and created wonderful photos specially for waystogeorgia.com. You can find Ina's Hidden Art Studio on facebook.
