A beautiful love story involving an Indian man and a young Swedish woman first began more than 40 years ago. This lovely couple has persevered despite all odds and is still together. Here is their unbelievable—yet completely accurate—story.
In 1949, Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia was born in a remote Indian village as a “untouchable.” After Kumar’s birth, an astrologer revealed a prophecy that stated that he was destined to wed a musician woman from a distant nation who is born under the sign of Taurus and owns a forest. According to Kumar, who spoke to National Geographic, “I strongly believed in the prophecy and now know that everything is planned on this planet.”
The man has a vivid memory of the day when prophecy came to pass. The lovely journey got underway on December 17, 1975. Kumar was a street artist back then. He was commissioned to create a portrait of Charlotte Von Schedvin, a stunning blonde with blue eyes. “When she appeared in front of my easel, I felt completely weightless. Such a feeling cannot be adequately expressed in words, he said. “I felt as though she was looking inside of me, like an X-ray machine, because her eyes were so blue, big, and round. The anxious young man requested Charlotte to return another day because he couldn’t successfully sketch the woman of his dreams the first time. He said, “I ended up doing three portraits because she ended up coming back three times. “After the second time, I felt, she’s the one! ” It turns out the mysterious foreign woman was born under the sign of Taurus, owns a forest and plays the flute, just as the prophecy said. “You will be my wife. We were destined to meet.” Kumar told his one real love.
Charlotte, who was 19 at the time, decided to give the young man a second chance because she wasn’t scared by his unexpected confession. Before Charlotte returned to her home country of Sweden, the two spent one to two weeks together.
The love story could’ve ended there, but young and determined Kumar decided not to let it happen. After a year and a half spent apart, the artist sold everything he had and bought a bicycle. With very little money and the support of a few kind individuals he encountered on the road, Kumar managed to travel 6,000 miles to visit Charlotte. “The hardest challenge on this long trek was my own thoughts, my doubts,” he remarked.
The two loves ended up arranging a traditional Indian wedding and have been together for more than 40 years now. The couple has raised two children together, and their love is as strong as ever.
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