Mangaluru: One of the most popular novels to emerge in the past twenty years, Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist”, a story about the necessary pursuit of happiness, has endeared its author to thousands of readers worldwide. The Alchemist was originally published in Portuguese in 1988. However, the novel’s translation into English and republication in 1993 made the work an “overnight” financial success. It remains on several best-seller lists every year.
The Alchemist traces the path of Santiago, a young Spanish shepherd who is compelled to follow his dream of finding hidden treasure in Egypt. To do so, he must leave the comfort zone of home, learn to trust the “Soul of the World,” and believe that there are forces in the universe that want us to be happy. In order to find happiness, however, Santiago must first discover his “Personal Legend”—that is to say, he must to discover what he is meant to do in the world. Fortunately, Santiago soon takes the first step in his acquisition of happiness: he listens to his heart and overcomes fear. As Santiago continues his sometimes-painful journey, he discovers that one cannot be dissuaded from pursuing a “Personal Legend,” even if the choices seem impossible to bear. The end result for anyone who does so, Coelho assures his readers, is physical and spiritual reward.
“The Alchemist” which has been translated into Kannada by Mangalorean Abdul Raheem Teekay, and named as ‘Rasavadi’ -the First Impression was released on 2 May 2015 at Vajra Banquet Hall-Hotel Moti Mahal by well-known Kannada Novelist Na D’Souza. The program was organized by Salma Bava Foundation. After nearly three months, the second impression of ‘Rasavadi’ will be released on Saturday, 8 August 2015 at Ravindra Kalabhavana-University College-Mangaluru at 2.30pm. The release ceremony has been organized by “Blood Brain Biome Banking Trust (BBBBT)- a Blood Donation and Motivation centre in City. The book will be released by Dr M Mohan Alva-Chairman of Alva’s Education Trust, while chief guest will be B A Moideen. Guests of honor will be Dr Talthaje Vasant Kumar, Abdul Salam Puthige and Abdul Rahim Teekay. This information was delivered by Advocate MB Abdul Rahman-Chairman of BBBBT during the press meet held at Mangalore Press Club.
Addressing the media persons, Abdul Rahim Teekay said, “Paulo Coelho had been kind enough to give his consent to translate ‘The Alchemist’ into Kannada-he not only allowed me to translate his story but also took no royalty. ‘The Alchemist’ which has sold 190 million copies worldwide, and translated into 81 different languages, has now been translated into Kannada. Although the First impression of ‘Rasavadi’ was distributed free of cost, the second impression to be released soon will be priced at Rs 250, which is published by Salma Bava Foundation”.