The Alchemist

It was during one of the very slow (read as jobless) days in office, I decided to read an online book. I had to spend another 3 hours in office to complete the minimum hours in office. Reaching office at 10am and leaving at 4pm has become my normal working hours these days. I am not sure whether people are being kind to me  since I am carrying or whether they are worried about the dependancy that would be on me otherwise. Anyways I am given very less work these days. That explains my 'joblessness'.

I was browsing through some of the book titles in which 'The Alchemist' struck me. It is one book I have heard people bragging about. I never felt like reading it though I have seen this book many times lying around in 44. But as they say in Malayalam , "Gethi kettal puli pullun thinnum' (Meaning : If a tiger has no other way, it will even eat grass). That was my feeling when I started with that book.

But once I started reading , i felt it becoming more and more interesting.It had discussion on some concepts which I always used to think upon like God, Omens, Destiny, Distractions, Risks etc. It had a very smooth way of putting the explanation of these words in the form of a boys' story. Through the hardships of the boy, it was made clear that the life is not as smooth as we want it to be , but at the end gives us the treasure to those who persist and is ready to take risks in life. The diamond merchant seemed very familiar.Might be I know lot of people like him .Sometimes I am also like him. The interpretations of Omens and learning how to talk to to his heart was really fascinating parts. I felt like I should also start doing the same. The quote given by the alchemist to make the boy understand the true love of a woman seemed to be a lesson.At the end when the boy finds his treasure after all his hardships , that too from the place where he actually started was a real twist. And I could see myself smiling along with the boy when he dug for the treasure.

Some quotes which I really liked from the book:


"At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us,and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie"

" When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream"


"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return"


"When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed."


"If a person is living out his destiny, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."