Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with a Russian translation of the ancient Tamil classic “Thirukkural” during their bilateral meeting in New Delhi ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit.
The Russian edition contains all 1,330 couplets of the work by Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, covering themes including virtue, wealth, governance, ethics and love.
The edition was published by India’s Central Institute of Classical Tamil and translated into Russian by Naira Mkrtcheyan.
Modi has previously presented Putin with gifts highlighting India’s cultural heritage. During the 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan, he gifted the Russian president a Sohrai painting from Jharkhand, while in 2025 he presented him with a Russian translation of the Bhagavad Gita, Assam tea and a silver horse.
The latest exchange took place during talks between Modi and Putin on Friday, ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. (Newswire)