Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho tweets photo of auto-rickshaw in Kerala named The Alchemist

Kochi, September 6

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Pradeep, an auto-rickshaw driver in Kerala, never thought that printing the name of Paulo Coelho in English and one of his bestsellers ‘The Alchemist’ in Malayalam behind his auto-rickshaw would make him famous.

But the author, who has over 15 million followers on Twitter, has made the auto-rickshaw driver, who is an avid reader of his books, an internet sensation in India.

“Kerala, India (thank you very much for the photo),” the Brazilian writer scribbled on Twitter after posting the photo of Pradeep’s auto-rickshaw carrying his name and that of his famous novel.

or Pradeep, his auto-rickshaw named ‘The Alchemist’ is his only means of livelihood. He named his vehicle ‘The Alchemist’ 10 years ago after reading the Malayalam translation of the book. He changed the vehicle a couple of times but did not change its name.

“I have read several of his books. There will be at least one thing in his each book which can be followed in our life”, said the 55-year old auto driver, who has read Coelho’s works, including ‘Eleven Minutes’, ‘Veronika Decides to Die’, ‘The Pilgrimage’ and ‘Adultery’.

Pradeep, who has been plying his auto-rickshaw here for over two decades, says he came to know about Coelho’s tweet from his friend on Sunday.

“This is a gift for reading ‘The Alchemist’…a blessing”, he told the media, reacting to the author’s tweet which made him and his auto-rickshaw famous.

Twitterati in India celebrated Paulo Coelho’s tweet.

“Come visit Kerala after this pandemic. It’s a beautiful place,” a user wrote in response to the author’s tweet.

Replying to Coelho, another user said, “Whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, every world classic is translated into Malayalam, mother tongue of Keralites. And you are one of the most celebrated modern day writers here in Kerala.”

Now, Pradeep has one dream – to meet the author and thank him for his books. He is hopeful that his dream will come true one day as the writer has said in one of his novels. “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it,” is one of the famous quotes of Paulo Coelho on dreams. PTI