Those who live for long periods under subjection of others tend to develop slavishness, a mental torpor difficult to dispel.

Matalan, a Brahmin and a friend of Kovalan, functions like the chorus in Greek tragedy. He appears in two cantos, the Madurai Kantam and Vanchi Kantam, and provides the link to all the events that happen offstage. In Adaikalakathai (chapter on refuge), we come to know of all the noble qualities possessed by Kovalan, courtesy Matalan.

In a crime, the victim accuses the villain. But when the villain counter-accuses the victim, and insists the victim is villain too, we call it ‘whataboutery.’