Agara Mudhala Ezhuthellam

All Knowledge Begins with அ

The Tamil language begins with a single letter, அ. Thiruvalluvar opened the Thirukkural with it, writing:

“அகர முதல எழுத்தெல்லாம் ஆதி பகவன் முதற்றே உலகு.”
The letter அ is the beginning of all letters; creation begins with the Divine, the First Cause.

This timeless idea lives on in every classroom where children bend over their slates, tracing that very first letter. Their small hands carry centuries of tradition, for in Tamil culture learning has never been only about letters. It has always been about beginning with humility, with curiosity, and with reverence for knowledge.

At first glance, it is just chalk against slate. But look closer and it becomes something far greater. It is the spark of literacy, the first bridge to imagination, the quiet moment where every writer, thinker, and dreamer takes their first step.

From village schools shaded by trees to modern classrooms filled with light, the scene repeats itself. The tools may change, but the story does not. All knowledge begins with a beginning, and for Tamil, that beginning is அ.

In that single letter lies the seed of language, of thought, of creativity itself. To trace it is to join a tradition as old as the language, and to step into a future shaped by the wisdom it unlocks.

Wear the Art