Architecture student explores old Tamil script called Vatteluttu through art

He aims to create awareness about this script and inspire youngsters to learn about the ancient versions of Tamil script. “My final year thesis project was Tamil language museum. While researching about it, I visited a lot of museums in Tamil Nadu and one of them was Raja Raja Cholan Museum in Thanjavur. There I found a chart that had Vatteluttu equivalence of modern Tamil letters. It was hard to read it because not many words from that period are used now. I somehow managed to read and got really interested in it. From a very young age, I am into calligraphy. I thought why not combine my passion with this and do something interesting. I opened an Instagram account and started sharing Vatteluttu through different art I do. Art is one of the best ways to understand certain things,” says Adhiyaman (he took this name after falling in love with Vatteluttu).

Vattezhuthu (stylised as Vatteluttu) is a type of Tamil Script used for writing the Tamil Language. The modern Tamil script displaced Vatteluttu as the principal script for writing Tamil. He combines Vatteluttu with watercolour painting, micro calligraphy and calligraphy portraits. “Not many know about this ancient Tamil script. Through my work, I wanted to make people interested in Vatteluttu. The ultimate goal is to understand more about the Tamil script that was used during the Chola era. I am not a linguist or a history buff and I am not decoding the inscriptions in Thanjavur Periya Kovil or any other temples. I am just exploring the old Tamil script and bringing it to the forefront. There are no other agendas,” he stresses. 

By connecting Vatteluttu to the modern era, the architecture student hopes to inspire youngsters to know about the ancient versions of Tamil script. “Today’s generation can easily connect with pop culture and cinema. So, I am using these two mediums to propagate the Tamil script.”