Today, on Thiruvalluvar Day (which is being celebrated in Tamil Nadu, India), I am reminded of a fascinating conversation I had a few years ago with one of our clients about the rich cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu and South India. Naturally, the discussion veered towards a subject I am deeply passionate about—Thirukkural, the timeless masterpiece of knowledge, ethics, and morality written by the celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar over 2,000 years ago.

In many ways, Thiruvalluvar could be considered the world’s first “tweeter”! Each couplet (kural) is incredibly crisp, concise, and clear—crafted in just 7 words across 2 lines. The Thirukkural itself is a profound compilation of 1,330 couplets, structured into 133 chapters grouped under three life principles—Virtue, Wealth and Love, aligning seamlessly with the ancient Indian philosophy of life’s pursuits.

To truly appreciate the depth of this literary masterpiece, I conceptualized using one of our Design Thinking tools, L0, typically employed to detail a business, product, or solution. The result was an L0 equivalent of the entire Thirukkural, a modern framework capturing its essence in a structured and relatable manner. Today, I am delighted to share this English version for the benefit of a wider audience.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this perspective of Thirukkural!

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