Background
P.K. Mahanandia was born on 1949 in an Odia weaver family, in Kandhapada village of Athmallik Sub-division in the district of Dhenkanal, Odisha, India.
P.K. Mahanandia was born on 1949 in an Odia weaver family, in Kandhapada village of Athmallik Sub-division in the district of Dhenkanal, Odisha, India.
He did schooling at Mahendra High School, Athmallik and then joined Visva-Bharati to study art, despite his selection at the art school, it became impossible to pay the fee and he had to return home. He later joined Government college of art & crafts, Khallikote, Odisha to study art To satisfy his quest for art he joined College of Art, Delhi to study Fine Arts in 1971.
Pradyumna fondly called as PK was an expert in making portraits.
While studying in Delhi College of Art, he shot into fame as portraiture by drawing the portrait of Indira Gandhi. He sought permission from authorities to sit under holy fountain at Connaught Place and draw portraits.
lieutenant is here that he met Charlotte. She was a student in London who had driven all the way to India on a van in 22 days went to visit PK, to make a portrait of her.
Charlotte had to return to Sweden and asked Pradyumna to come with her, but he decided that someday he would go on his own.
After she left, the two kept in touch through letters. PK and Lotta(name given by PK to Charlotte) married again in 1979. They have a son Siddharth(Karle) a daughter Emelie.
They are currently living in Charlotte"s home town Boråson
My tribe worshiped the forces of nature – fire, air, water - we did not personify them. My blues are the real sky.
My greens are the nature as she is. To my motherland’s people, the sun is the highest God, the God of creation and life.
The faces? Faces fascinate medical
In every face there are a million different faces, a million different expressions. I want to penetrate this mystery – why are there all these expressions? What is the true nature of man? Art can reveal it to us. Pradyumna is well known in Sweden as an artist and is working as an Adviser, Art and Culture, under the Swedish Government.
Swedish Government in honour of their love has made films to document this immortal love of the century.
His paintings have been exhibited in major cities of the world and have found places in the prestigious United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund greeting cards. On 4 January 2012, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree (Degree of Honoris Causa) from Utkal University of Culture (UUC) in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha state, India.
He was also designated as the Oriya Cultural ambassador to Sweden by the Government of Odisha. Renowned Bollywood film maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali is planning to make a film on the love story of PK Mahanandia and Charlotte.
