Theirs is a feel good, heart warming, inspiring, hard to match, and a true love story.
He was a poor artist from the untouchable Hindu Dalit caste. She was a blue-eyed beautiful blonde from Swedish nobility visiting India when she asked him to make her portrait in ten minutes for Rs 10 in 1975 in Delhi.
What happened next is nothing less than a fairy tale. After spending a month together Mahanandia and Charlotte Von Schedvin got married. She soon returned back to her country. Mahanandia sold everything he had, bought a cycle, and begun his pedaling journey with only 80 dollars in his pocket Januray 22, 1977.
After a mammoth 6,409 kilometer (3,982 miles) journey spanning eight countries and all sorts of challenges natural to traveling Mahanandia arrived in Europe four years later in May 1981. He took train from there to finally arrive in Sweden.
Mahandia and Charlotte got married are have been living in Sweden for the last 40 years. They have two grown up children- Sid and Emelie.
The unique love story has got a novel written which is selling like a hot cake.
Mahandia says that he loves Charlotte as much today as when they met by chance in Delhi in 1975.
