The Remarkable Story Of A Man Who Cycled From India To Sweden To Meet His True Love

When Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia was little, his mother told him about his prophecy. He was told that his fate involved marrying someone from a faraway land that belonged to a high-class family. He never thought about this too much, but after 17 years he met someone that would turn his world upside down. Since he was from a lower caste in India, he never imagined that his life would take him where he was years later. This story will definitely make you believe in fate.

Where It Began

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Back in 1949, Pradyumna Kumar “PK” Mahanandia was welcomed by his parents in the humble village of Kandhapada, which lies in the middle of the river and mountains in the Odisha district, all the way in India. India has a social caste system and since Mahanandia was born to the lowest caste, he faced discrimination and poverty when he grew up as a child.

Victim Of Bullying

Odisha India - A True Love Long Distance Relationship

When interviewed years later, he would recollect his memories and remember the humiliation and frustration he went through as a youngster. He would face ridicule when he went to temples or holy places. “People started throwing stones. I was below the dogs and cows. Those things, I never forget,” he said and remembers people washing if he ever came near them.

School Life

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Mahanandia was not even allowed to sit in his classrooms. They were afraid he would “pollute” someone. But then one day, there was a British school inspector who visited the school with his wife where he was kept at the back of the classroom. To Mahanandia, this incident was still clear in his memory and could still remember what happened that day at his school.

A Kind Gesture

School for an Untouchable in India - A True Love Long Distance Relationship

The inspector gave a garland to one of his classmates who sat in front, but his wife came to the back to give hers to Mahanandia. “She could see I was an outcast. She touched my head and said, ‘Your lovely curly hair,’” he explained. Although this was such a trivial matter and may not be so grand to others, it sparked a change in his life and his outlook on life as a whole as well.

A Response

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The day he was given the garland by the school inspector’s wife, Mahanandia hurried home so that he could show what he had received to his mother and made a proclamation saying, “Mum, I’m in love with the school inspector’s wife.” She gave a very strange response to the young boy who was filled with excitement, “We’re not going to arrange any marriage for you.”

The Palm Leaf

Indian Prophecy - A True Love Long Distance Relationship

Mahanandia could not grasp the meaning of his mother’s response as it was fairly common to practice arranged marriages in India. The culture in India has many people following the system of arranged marriages but he was just 9 years old then, so he did not understand his mother’s words. She proceeded to show him a palm leaf bearing something which would change his entire course of life.