acbBorland TurboVision (the PC text mode windowing UI used in Turbo Pascal/C++) has been open-sourced and updated to work seamlessly on Linux and with Unicode:
https://github.com/magiblot/tvision
It’s all in C++, though if someone hasn’t wrapped it in bindings for Python/Rust/&c. yet, surely they will
GitHub - magiblot/tvision: A modern port of Turbo Vision 2.0, the classical framework for text-based user interfaces. Now cross-platform and with Unicode support.
A modern port of Turbo Vision 2.0, the classical framework for text-based user interfaces. Now cross-platform and with Unicode support. - magiblot/tvision
huxley(fur) / Laelia 🔜 Furcationland DeadDog