This 2023 calendar simplifies Kurals through minimalistic art

CHENNAI: Two years ago, freelance artist and animator Adhithi Harikumar along with her father and sister started an online venture called Thirukkural Made Simple. Through this, the trio attempt at comprehending the immortal Tamil couplets through simple visual-verbal illustrations. After people started noticing it, they launched Valluvar's calendar in 2021. The team is now ready with the 2023 calendars. "We were fascinated to find out that the oldest Tamil literature Tirukkural is relevant and relatable even today. This led us to start the online venture Thirukkural Made Simple. My dad is a Tamil enthusiast and I always liked the way he explained kurals to me when I was in school. He made it simple and easy to understand. Considering all this, we thought why not start an online venture where we could explain the couplets in an easier way. We often miss out on understanding kurals' essence — so the explanation is purposefully rendered in a casual, conversational style. After people started noticing it, we began making calendars and the first one was launched in 2021,” says Adhithi Harikumar.

The trio is now ready with 2023 calendars — for every month, there will be a kural and a minimalistic art to visually spell out the kural. “We have also added a QR code that takes you to the audio explanation of each kural. The calendars are packed with 12 assorted couplets. Our 2022 calendar bagged a bronze at Maddys 2022 under the calendar category,” she adds.

The artist's 'reminder paati' series also went viral on social media. "I started this as an exercise to observe and recreate grandmother's behaviour. I wanted to share various emotions of a paati. Later, I came to know that many are reminiscing about good times they had with their grandmas," Adhithi sums up.