Borland 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

GitHub
@acb this is one GUI design that transcends time and can be used in any format on any device. All while using kilobytes of RAM, having extremely clear function and great performance.