The Alchemist

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    When you plan to start any activity, have you ever felt that most of our surrounding circumstances will favor the situation and help us to progress the activity? I have felt it. Recently, I was in a difficult situation and I needed someone to help me come out of it. Fortunately, I got a chance to speak with one of my school friends, who helped me a lot. I was able to share my difficulties and that made me feel light. I didn't know how that happened. We didn't have much contact earlier, after our schooling. But I could get the help at the right time. It was totally unexpected. I didn't search for any contacts, but the opportunity came as such. What do we call such things? A piece of luck?

    Paulo Coelho in his book 'The Alchemist' says, when we want something, all the universe conspires in helping us to achieve it. The Alchemist book states the importance of having a hundred percent belief in our dreams. Paulo Coelho explains his concept with a fiction story by putting some devotional ideas into it. The story starts with a young shepherd in Spain, Santiago who was taking care of his sheeps'. He believed he was able to understand his sheep's needs and would fulfill them. He was happy that he became a shepherd so that he could live his dream of exploring the world. One day, he had a dream where…

“He was in a field with his sheep and a child appeared and began to play with the animals. The child went on playing with his sheep for quite a while, and suddenly, the child took him by both hands and transported him to the Egyptian pyramids. The child said to him, ‘If you come here, you will find a hidden treasure”. Then he suddenly woke up.”

    He had this dream twice and he was confused about what to do. One day, he met an old man who was already aware of Santiago's dreams. Santiago was surprised to know the wisdom of the old man. The old man introduced him as a king of the city, Salem. He explained to Santiago, the importance of following his dream and the power of nature in helping him. Santiago was convinced with his words and started to chase his dream of finding the treasury. What happened to Santiago thereafter? What are the troubles he faced? Who are the people he met? Who helped him? What are all the places he travelled? Whether he succeeded in finding his treasury? Did his dream come true?


    And, who is the Alchemist then? We haven't spoken about him yet. Whether Santiago met him? Yes, Santiago met him during his travels and the Alchemist is the one who showed him what he is capable of. The Alchemist also knew the procedure to convert ‘lead’ to ‘gold’. How was he able to do it? Whether he gave this knowledge to Santiago?

    One of the most important parts of any life story is, Love! Yes, there is a romantic portion present in this novel. Santiago fell in love with Fatima, a beautiful and kind-hearted girl, who he saw during his travel to Egypt. What happened then? Whether his love helped Santiago in achieving his goal? Everything was portrayed beautifully in this book.

    The author also explains the concept of ‘Maktub’, which means 'what is written in our head’, in other words, we may refer to it as fate. This book also explains the life of people in the desert. The women’s lives in the desert and their expectations are also clearly described by the author. This book includes certain devotional and philosophical concepts and the author keeps the readers engaging and involved through his interesting storyline, and conveys his ideas in a neat and simple manner. 

Happy Reading😀

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