The Amazing Story of the Man Who Cycled from India to Europe for Love

In writing you want the reader to be grabbed within the first few sentences so they want to keep reading. It's pretty impressive when that intrigue happens with the title of the book before the reader even gets the cover open. A man rode a bicycle from India to Europe for love? Now that's a story I'd like to read. Unfortunately that's not exactly the bulk of the story told in Per J. Andersson's piece of long form travel journalism/history/biography here. Instead it's a blend of Indian history with a heavy emphasis on the caste system and the plight of the Dalits (untouchables) through the eyes of one man who eventually followed the woman he loved to Sweden.

Padyumna Kumar (known as PK) was born in a small village in India. His family show more were Dalits and this fact colored every day of his life, from school to worship to others' treatment of him in general. Despite the many, many road blocks placed in his path, PK was intelligent, artistic, and determined so he moved to New Delhi in search of a better life and perhaps also in search of the woman mentioned in the prophecy made when he was just a baby that declared he would marry a woman from far away, outside the country. Andersson tells of PK's life in the capital, occasionally veering from it to tell of a young Swedish girl, Lotta, who had a fascination with and a pull towards India. The bulk of the story, however, is not Lotta's life, it is PK's, which weaves in the injustice and inequity in the social system in India but also shows the incredible experiences and helping hands that PK found in progressive and friendly people as he eked out a living in New Delhi and as he eventually sets off on his bicycle to reunite with Lotta.

The book has a long, slow build-up that made it unfortunately easy to put aside in lieu of other reading. It also seems to be unable to decide if it is the story of a poor Dalit artist in a slowly changing India or a love story or a history or a travelogue. It has elements of all of these, leaving the book to feel unfocused and clumsy. Perhaps this is a function of the translation but I suspect not. This is a true story and should have all the nuance of a good non-fiction work but it doesn't really. PK is the best fleshed out while Lotta lacks the depth to be the real person she is and their love is presented as almost fait accompli simply because it's fated. It is supposed to be such a strong love that PK chooses to hop on his bicycle to find her many thousands of miles away and yet there's little given to the reader to actually show how that love came about. There is a lot of the book to get through before PK starts out on his crazy journey but the actual journey and his life in Sweden with Lotta are given fairly short shrift in the end. I don't know whether I wanted a more sweeping love story or a deeper history or a more detailed travelogue but that is perhaps the biggest problem with the book: it gives you just a tiny bit of each and none of them stand on their own as complete in the end. show less

Part travel book, part history of India, part dating and love story, wonderfully varied and interesting book.

En chsrmig historia som är sann om en ung Indier som cyklar från New Delhi till Borås för kärlrkens skull. Samtidigt får vi en inblick i hur det är att leva i Indien, hur kast systemet fungersr mm.
Lärorik bok som man minns efteråt

This is the fictionalized version of the true story of a young man, PK, who had a very rough life in India as a member of the untouchable caste, and who fell in love with a Swedish girl he met while she visited India. I found all the background of his life in India was fascinating, and how the official policy today is that the caste system is abolished but in fact, this evil system is very much alive. A palm leaf prophesy as PK grew up in a remote poor village predicted his marriage to Lotta, which seemed wildly unlikely at the time. As a young man PK gained some fame in India for the portraits he painted on the streets, and which was how he supported himself. On his long arduous bike ride to Sweden his ability to draw portraits earned show more him money and got him out of difficulties with the law and with obtaining visas. Will he complete his journey and win the heart of Lotta? Read the book if you want to find out. show less

A very interesting book that tells the story of Pradyumna Kumar, an artist from an oppressed untouchable community in Orissa, India who followed his prophecy to live in a new world, never dreamt of before. The book is simply written and very easy to read. It is a good way to learn about all the implicit and explicit ways a person's caste is perceived and treated in India. It doesn't hold back any details. Although initially, it sounds more like a third person narrative, by the middle of the book you start relating with PK. His adventures are extraordinary but believable. You learn about the lives of the westerners on the hippie trail in the 1970s. It's real and genuine, because of the successes and failures we see in PKs life. My show more favorite parts are understanding the naivete of the main character, his honest and true love for his Lotta. I would definitely recommend this book to someone keen to learn about the caste system in India, from the perspective of someone growing up in a rapidly 'developing' and 'modern' country and yet facing the systemic challenges that have plagued society for millennia. It doesn't romanticize it or commercialize it like movies such as Slumdog Millionaire. show less

This book follows the story of Jagat Ananda Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia, or PK for short. PK was born in the Indian and grew up during the 1970's in a family of “untouchables”. His place in the caste system determined most things in his young life, how he was treated at school, where he could work and even regulated how he could worship. His treatment at the hands of teachers and other students had a lasting effect on PK and as a result he left his home village and set out for New Delhi to become an artist. Despite setbacks and hardships PK managed to make a name for himself drawing portraits.

During his early childhood a prophecy predicted that PK would marry a woman from far away, perhaps from another country. While in the capital show more PK meet Lotta, a Swedish girl traveling around India. And although they fell in love she decided to return to Sweden. In order for PK to find her there a year later he resorted to a bicycle, traveling across continents to eventually reach his destiny.

This book is filled with details of life in India during the 1970's, which I found very interesting. I did, however, feel a little disappointed that Lotta, seemed at times a ghost. The reader doesn't get to know her more than superficially. Since we get to know PK inside and out, it would have been nice if Lotta could have been more prominent in the story, especially in the second half of the book. I also expected a little more in depth coverage of PK's life in Sweden over the years. Despite these weaknesses it was an interesting tale of the determination and struggle of one man tying to find his place in society and the love of his life.

Thanks to LibaryThing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
More reviews at: www.susannesbooklist.blogspot.com show less

A charming love story but also an informative book about the caste system in India. The main character PK is from the Untouchable class and suffers much discrimination because he is from this class. The book delivers a lot of information about Indias caste system while proving very entertaining. If you enjoy love stories you might enjoy this book.