On a December night in 2024 in the UK, a mother was busy tucking her children in to sleep. She then got a request to spin a tale of time travel. In this story, her young listeners travelled back centuries, landing in the same period as the Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar to learn a list of life lessons from his enduring Tamil text, Thirukkural.
That mother was Rushani Mahendran (@iamrushani on Instagram), an author, educator, and entrepreneur. Little did she know that these new bedtime tale rituals would soon become the foundation of her next writing project. “I’m born and brought up in the UK, and learning Tamil literature here is quite difficult. We don’t have as many resources or even teachers. But I was lucky. I had a good teacher with deep knowledge,” shares the Sri Lankan Tamil. The challenge, however, was to pass that wisdom to her second-generation. That is when she found the common link that connects her children to her — time travel. Rushani mentions, “For bedtime, I used to make a time travel story where they meet Thiruvalluvar, and he sets them on a challenge. When they complete it, he gives them the kural and its morals. They then understand it because they have already been on the journey.”
It was her son who nudged her to transform those spoken stories into written ones. “He asked me to make it into a book, because after I told him the story, he wanted to read it again,” says Rushani. Within a month she wrote down her stories on paper, printed and published them for others to experience a new world of Thiruvalluvar. What began as a family exercise is today a ten-book published series, Kural Inspired Stories, and the eleventh is in the works. These books have now caught the eye of Tamil-speaking families in Chennai too.
Each book takes a kural and interprets it for children, with the central theme being time travel and adventure. The readers — from age four (with parents’ support), and targeted ages between eight and 13, to as old as 25-29 — explore the text that is a guide to morals. “At the end of every book, I give reflection exercises. I ask, what is your one big goal? What are the five steps to achieve it? So the children learn to apply the story to their everyday lives,” she says.
Rushani takes inspiration and feedback from her children. When her daughter suggested that Thiruvalluvar’s teachings were so complex they would need to travel back in time to understand them, the book series took birth. “My son always asks, What if this happened next in the story? So I include those ideas, and they [her children] always read before publishing to give feedback,” she says. In addition to this, Rushani also discusses her interpretations with her teacher “on what a kural could have meant? How do I understand this? How do I apply to my life? It’s more like a spiritual thing for me,” she notes, adding that Thirukkural is not based on any religion or belief but is based purely on how to live a good life.
The books explore real-life challenges for children, from the concept of karma to bullying at schools. “No matter where you read it, the kural applies to your life. When I was younger, I understood it differently. Now I see it in another way. Some parts may be outdated — some on the attitudes towards women and some on the ways about your family role — still, you can take what is relevant to you from this text, and that’s helpful to understand how our culture has evolved. It gives that history. When you understand your history, you will have a stronger connection to your culture,” she explains.
Not limited to a region, a culture, or a language, Rushani’s vision extends beyond Tamil-speaking families. According to her, “Even children who are not from this culture should be able to understand it better. Nobody really understands the differentiation between Indian and Tamil, and I wanted to make that clearer. I’ve included a few Tamil words with their meanings so all kids can appreciate and bond with the culture.” The books are currently available on Amazon in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, India, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and South Africa.
The author’s other goals include wanting people to be curious and learn more about the Tamil language. She says, “In my opinion, it’s one of the most beautiful languages in the world, so I want to be able to share that with more people.” She also wishes for people to see the love for these books and stories. “Only then “they will also be encouraged, if they have something in mind they want to bring, to create new stories based on their culture,” she adds.
Since the first book’s release in January 2025, the journey for Rushani has been relentless. She now has a podcast. “The first five episodes have already been released, about 40-45 minutes each. We also need to meet them [kids] where they are,” she says.
Even now, most nights, the ritual continues. A mother, book in hand, invites her children into worlds of wisdom and wonder. By the time she shuts the pages, they’re already dreaming of Thiruvalluvar, adventures waiting in the margins, and morals that will whisper their way into tomorrow.
To buy your copy, visit www.iamrushani.com or Kuralangadi on 147, Valluvar Kottam High Rd, Nungambakkam. Checkout the series @Kural Inspired Stories on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.