'The Alchemist' Kerala auto viral after Paulo Coelho tweets photo

Kochi: Pradeep, an auto driver in Kerala, had never imagined that printing the name of Paulo Coelho's name in English and one of his best sellers "The Alchemist" in Malayalam behind his three-wheeler would make him famous.

But the author, who has over 15 million followers on Twitter, himself has made the auto 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 autorickshaw carrying his name and his famous novel.

For Pradeep, his autorickshaw (three wheeler) named "The Alchemist" is the only means of his livelihood. He named his vehicle "The Alchemist" 10 years ago after reading the Malayalam translation of his book. He changed the vehicle a couple of times but did not change its name.

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

Pradeep, who has been riding his autorickshaw here for over two decades, said he came to know about Paulo Coelho's tweet from his friend on Sunday.

"This is a gift for reading the Alchemist...a blessing", he told media, reacting to the author's tweet which made him and his autorickshaw 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 Paulo 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 writer 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 Novel.

"And, 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.