Swami Madhava Chaitanya,
It took PK five months to cycle to Sweden and reunite with his wife. He arrived in Boras on 28 May 1977. After getting information from the immigration department about his wife Charlotte Von Schedvin's noble family background PK got to doubt whether she would come to receive him or not. But his fears were ill-founded.
When Charlotte learned about the man from India who cycled all the way, she came and received her husband with unbridled happiness. Her parents accepted PK as a part of their family. Then they got married in 1979 according to customary Swedish rites.
Though some friends and relatives thought their “holiday romance" wouldn't last, the couple has been together in Sweden for 43 years. They have two children, Sid and Emelie. After 43 years of marriage, PK serves as the Odisha Cultural Ambassador of India in Sweden and lives with his wife Charlotte, and 2 children in Sweden.
PK’s interest in art and culture has taken him to most of the countries in the world. His paintings have been exhibited in major cities of the world and have found places in the prestigious UNICEF greeting cards.
Recently some news reporters asked PK. "Today, there is a wave of migration from poorer nations to Europe. Do you think your journey would be possible now?"
He said: "Yes. If there is a will there is a way. Everything is possible! It depends on how you think. It’s harder today, for sure. But it’s still possible. Fear and doubt are our two worst enemies. That’s what makes life difficult".
And the reporters asked him, You've been happily married to Charlotte for more than 40 years. Please share with us your secret of a happy marriage.
PK replied: "I have one secret. There is no secret! [Laughs] Marriage is a union not only physically but also spiritually. Recognizing that allows love to grow like ripples on water.
When I enter the house, I park my ego outside. The ego is connected to the mind. I call my human mind a mad monkey".
As fate had turned PK to look West for his future, it had also pushed Von Schedvin to look East. Alongside Von Schedvin's music-teaching career and PK’s art, the pair has dedicated themselves to promoting indigenous arts and offering cultural scholarships to the Indian Dalits community.
Two years ago PK was awarded an honorary doctorate from his state university, and in 2005 nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
PK said in the interview “I landed on my old school's football field." He said, smiling: “Love has given me the power to forgive the people throwing stones at me. They need education. I'm glad that our story is giving people hope".
PK and Charlotte Von Schedvin's love life traveled in the right direction and they gained world recognition as a result. I heard that a famous Bollywood movie director approached them to create a movie based on their life.
In my view, PK didn’t do enough for his own society. He maintained a kind of silence about what he could do for his own community that was suffering. An incident that took place a few days ago in Odisha, the PK's home state, proves that even after forty-three years, there has been no significant change in society. August 25th Indian news channels report will prove my view. "Around 40 Dalit families were subjected to social boycott for over a fortnight after a 15-year-old girl plucked flowers from the garden of an upper-caste man in Odisha's Dhenkanal district", officials said on Sunday.
"Their ordeal ended following the intervention of police and administration", a police officer said. The incident took place in Kantio Kateni village in the Tumusinga police station area.
This incident is not the first or last, it is a continuity. Which changes have happened in human society from 1977 to 2020 within forty-three years? I think it is very necessary to know in which direction our living world is moving, what is our future.
The final part of this story I will use to do that. It will be uploaded very soon.
