KOCHI: Twitterati on Sunday were a bit surprised to see the picture of an autorickshaw tweeted by renowned Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. The photo of the back of the auto has the name of Paulo Coelho written on it and below the name is ‘Alchemist’ in Malayalam. He shared the picture and tweeted: “Kerala, India (thank you very much for the photo).”
The number plate of the auto reveals that the vehicle is registered in Ernakulam. The owner-cum-driver of the autorickshaw, K A Pradeep, is not active on Twitter. However, when friends alerted him about the tweet, he was thrilled. Being an ardent fan of Coelho, Pradeep was on cloud nine.
“It was almost 13 years back that I had read Paulo Coelho’s ‘Alchemist’. Though I have only completed matriculation, reading is my favourite hobby. I have read the Malayalam translation of the book, which instantly made me a great fan of the author. I changed the name of my auto to Alchemist. Santiago, Fatima, the Alchemist and all other characters soon become a part of my life as I don’t even know how many times I have revisited the book after my initial reading. Now with the author noticing my love for his writing and the book, it is a dream-come-true moment for me. As it is said in the book itself, ‘It is Maktub’,” a delighted Pradeep told The New Indian Express.
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Pradeep, along with his wife and son, is residing at Cherayi. However, he plies his auto in Ernakulam. “I operate from the auto stand near Ernakulam Siva temple. I do not know who has taken the picture and posted or shared it with Coelho. Whoever did that, I am grateful to him/her,” he said.
Alchemist is my greatest inspiration, says Pradeep
Pradeep said he had read nine books of Coelho, and ‘Alchemist’ remains to be the greatest inspiration for him. “I also have a dream of meeting him one day. Hope, he will visit Kochi one day and will recognise the vast admiration of Malayalis towards his works. “Meeting him at least once is one of the wildest desires of my life,” he added.