In 1975, Charlotte Von Schedvin met Indian artist PK Mahanandia in Delhi. Ms. Schedvin flew all the way from Sweden to India after hearing about Mr. Mahanandia’s art and deciding to commission him to create a portrait of her.
Dr. Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia had only recently begun to establish himself as an artist. He was a lowly art student at Delhi’s College of Art.
As fate would have it, they both fell in love when Mr. Mahanandia was painting her portrait. He was smitten by her beauty, and she was smitten by his simplicity.
By the time Ms. Von Schedvin had to leave, the duo decided to get married. In an old interview with BBC, Mr. Mahanandia said, “She wore a sari when she met my father for the first time. I still don’t know how she managed. With blessings from my father and family, we got married according to tribal tradition.”
As her leaving date approached, she asked her spouse to accompany her. Ms. Mahanandia, on the other hand, had to finish his education first. She had him agree to accompany her to her home in Boras, Sweden, a textile town.
The two communicated via letters.
When he planned to see Ms. Von Schedvin after a year, Indian artist PK Mahanandia realized he didn’t have enough money to buy an airline ticket. He sold everything he had and purchased a bicycle.
During the course of the next four months, he crossed Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey. His cycle broke down many times on the way and he even had to go on without food for days. But nothing could break his will.
He started his journey on January 22, 1977, and he would cycle for around 70 km every day.
“Art came to my rescue. I made portraits of people and some gave me money, while others gave me food and shelter,” he told BBC.
He reached Europe on May 28- via Istanbul and Vienna, and then traveled to Gothenburg by train.
The two officially got married in Sweden.
“I had no idea about European culture. It was all new to me, but she supported me at every step. She is just a special person. I am still in love just as I was in 1975,” he told BBC.
The couple now lives in Sweden with their two children and he continues to work as an artist.
