The protagonist of the story is named Mahnandia, a Dalit class in India. India has a caste system that has been passed down for thousands of years, dividing people into several hierarchies. The highest rank is called Brahman, who is a priest and has the right to interpret the teachings of Hinduism (Brahmanism); the second is The Sadiri, who is the ruler of the country and participates in military and political affairs, such as the founder of Buddhism that we are familiar with, Shakyamuni Buddha, is the Chatili caste; the third is the Vedas, that is, the agro-industrialists, who have their own assets and are the creators of the wealth of the country; the fourth is the Shudra, who mainly serves as servants and has no assets; in addition to these four castes, there is another kind of person called the untouchable. Also called Untouchables or Dalits, they do the dirtiest and most tiring work. This strict caste system still deeply affects everyone in India. And Mahonandia broke the cage of the caste system and won a double harvest of love and career.
Born in the Indian state of Odisha, Mahanandia loved painting since he was a child, and he was born with this talent, self-taught. To support his family, he began painting portraits of passers-by on the streets of the capital, New Delhi, writing in Hindi for 10 minutes to paint a portrait of a person, a painting of 10 rupees (about 1 yuan). Since he was a pariah, no one was willing to ask him to paint at first, but there were always curious people, and the people who began to let him paint were very satisfied, and many people came to let him paint. Some customers even praised his paintings as artists, and his paintings were published several times in the newspaper and became famous. His ideal was to study at an art academy, but because of his caste, he had no connection with the university. And often suffered from white eyes, and even someone punched and kicked him.
In India, where many people believe in astrology, Mahanandia's mother hired an astrologer to divinate the future for her son. The astrologer told Mahanandia's mother that her son would soon meet his wife for the rest of his life, and that he was from a distant country, a talented musician, a Taurus, and that the rich could buy a forest. The astrologer's words gave Mahanandia a glimmer of hope to his bleak home. Mahnandia's mother told her son what the astrologer had said, and Mahhnandiya did say to her mother: "Don't believe those unbridled prophecies, we can only eat with our mouths now, we are untouchable untouchables, and such a good thing cannot come to our house." ”
A few months later, in 1975, when Mahanandia was 24 years old, one night in the winter of that year, he welcomed his last customer, a 19-year-old Swedish girl, Charlotte von Shedwin, who had come to India on holidays to study in the UK. She heard that there was a street painter in New Delhi who was good at portrait painting, so she approached Mahanandia and asked him to paint one for herself. Mahanandia was deeply attracted to Charlotte as soon as she saw her, that blonde hair, a pair of big eyes that flashed, maybe this is love at first sight. Mahanandia may have been too nervous to see the woman he liked, he did not satisfy Charlotte, just as Charlotte was ready to leave, Mahanandia asked her to come back tomorrow and repaint her for free. The next day came, And Mahanandia still didn't satisfy her, so for days Machanandia asked Charlotte to repaint it the next day. Seeing this, everyone understands that Mahenandia is the one who pursues his sweetheart in the most clumsy way. During the few days of painting for Charlotte, Machanandia remembered the astrologer's prophecy, and he chatted with Charlotte and learned that she came from Sweden thousands of kilometers away, majored in music at university, and her family was a Swedish nobleman, and she really had a forest of her own. Mahanandia felt so incredible, could it be that what the astrologer said was true?
In these few days, Charlotte saw Mahanandia's clumsy and cute careful thinking, and she was also attracted to Mahanandia's simplicity and talent, and the two quickly fell in love. The identity of the two of them did not bring trouble to their love. They talked about music, art, literature, and the two of them were together, as if there was an endless topic every day. Although they have not known each other for a long time, they seem to have traveled through time and space, as if they have known each other for a long time. Mahanediya brought Charlotte home to meet her parents and held a simple traditional Indian wedding.
Time flies, after all, Charlotte is here to travel, and the day she leaves has arrived. Charlotte bought Mahanandia a plane ticket to Sweden. However, Mahnandia wanted to make a name for himself and went to Sweden to find Charlotte. As she parted, Mahanendiya comforted Charlotte, saying that she would soon find Charlotte.
At that time, this distinction may have been a farewell, when there was no telephone, no mobile phone, no network, underdeveloped information, and still a distant foreign country, could their love continue?
A year later, Mahanandia has not saved enough money for a plane ticket to Sweden, which is sad that Mahhnandia has never forgotten his promise to Charlotte. Mahnandia, who was making trouble on the street, suddenly had a flash of inspiration, why not ride a bicycle to Sweden to find his wife. This is undoubtedly a crazy idea. In January 1977, Mahanandia sold all his belongings except paintbrushes and paints for 60 rupees, bought a second-hand bicycle, and took 200 rupees (about 20 yuan) to get ready to go, and his mother said: "Must I go?" Mahanandya replied, "Yes, otherwise I will regret it for the rest of my life." ”
In this way, Mahanandia went on the road, during the day he earned some money by painting, and at night he slept in the wild, sometimes he could not eat at all, but all this could not resist the thought of his wife. At that time in the 1970s, many countries were not so strict in visas, and even when they encountered strict countries, perhaps his perseverance touched the heavens, and there was always someone to get a visa for him. Some people in Pakistan and Afghanistan can still understand Hindi, and some well-meaning innkeepers provide him with free food and accommodation. In other countries, although the language is not understood, he can always express his meaning through painting. From this point of view, art has no borders. Mahanandia traveled through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Italy, Germany, Denmark and other countries, spanning more than 6,000 kilometers and more than 120 days before finally reaching the Swedish border on May 28. After arriving at the Swedish border, border inspectors asked him about the purpose of coming to Sweden, saying that he had come by bicycle to find his lover. The inspector couldn't help but laugh, "You came from India by bicycle, can you not tease us, big brother." "It wasn't until border inspectors called Charlotte's house that they knew it was all true. The inspectors, touched by Mahanandia's perseverance and courage, released him. In this way, Mahanandia crossed thousands of rivers and mountains and finally came to Charlotte's hometown of Gothenburg.
At first, Charlotte's parents were also opposed to the two of them being together, but seeing ThatHanandia was thousands of miles away from India, this perseverance was also deeply moved from the bottom of his heart. In 1978, Mahnandia and Charlotte were officially married.
After marriage, Mahanandia and Charlotte had a pair of children. In Sweden, Mahnandia continued his studies in painting. Today, Mahenandia is a well-known painter in Sweden and a senior advisor to the Swedish government on culture and art.
On 4 January 2012, Mahanandiya received an honorary doctorate from the University of Culture and Arts of Utkar, India, and was appointed Ambassador of Sweden by the State of Inorissa. Charlotte also worked hard in the music industry.
Today, Mahanandia and Charlotte are old, and although their faces are getting older, they still respect and love each other. In this flash, the two of them have walked hand in hand for more than 40 years.
This may be what love should look like, it crosses races, it crosses classes, it crosses distances, it spans time. Holding the hand of the son, growing old with the son. What has changed is the vicissitudes of the years, and what has not changed is my love for you!