But the dominant character is Kunjupattumma's mother who gloats over the glory that was, and the central theme is the conflict between the value she upholds and those of the educated, forward-looking Nissar Ahmed.
The title refers to people boasting of the past glories, their "grandfather's elephant", to hide their present shortcomings.
[citation needed] Ronald E. Asher translated the work into English under the title Me Grandad 'ad an Elephant.
She follows the rules established by the "rabbool alameen allah" and has never attempted to disobey her parents, but one day her mother imposes new rules, saying that Pathumma should not play with the neighbourhood kids because she is the daughter of the granddaughter of the aanamakkaar, and she doesn't forget to add "ntuppuppakkoraaanendaarnnu" ( my grandfather had an elephant ).
The family is trying to get Paathumma married at the age of 14, and she knows that she doesn't have a say in selecting her groom, and tragically enough, the poor girl thinks that is for the best.
She remains in her room the whole day bejewelled ( her ears, abdomen, hands, forehead, and hair are all filled with heavy gold jewellery), waiting for some distantly related aunty of the prospective groom to come into the room and ask her questions, mostly about Allah and his punishments for people who act according to Iblis.
The aunties check her jewellery by touching, feeling, and flipping it, forgetting that it's not a mannequin but a person sitting there wearing all that.
• The one with anamakkar’s Grand daiughter and Vattanadima There are only two types of people in the world, in Kunjupathumma's mother's opinion: Muslims and Kafirs.
She believes that every woman who wears a saree and exits the house with her hair up or braided is "kafrichikal."
She never fails to wear her traditional "Methiyadi" sandals, which stand for her love of her family and their extensive history.
Anamakkar's granddaughter wed Vattanadima, Pathumma's father, a wealthy merchant who operates a number of businesses using money from the family and other resources, including real estate.
She had no idea that Pathumma's life was about to undergo a drastic change due to flaws in the personalities of both of her parents • Plot thickens Vattanadima kept fighting With his siblings.
Everything was sold off to pay for court appearances, from the dashing three pieces around her neck to the number of bangles in her hand.
All of his possessions were divided between his sisters and their husbands, leaving him with nothing more than a small house in a remote location.
Vattanadima and his family left their house in the middle of the night and began walking in the moonlight to the only piece of land they now owned.
Pathumma finally felt a sense of freedom in the newly born poverty of her family after being confined within the four walls of her room On the other hand, Pathumma's mother exhibited all the negative emotions associated with a woman who is upset about losing her wealth, including depression, disappointment.
Cute yet rough; approachable yet tough; fit but not muscular; fair but not so much ( although he doesn't have a pinky ).
The tiny bush she held onto for balance got uprooted, and she fell into the stream, leaving a few rashes on her hand that were bleeding.
Pathumma could not care less about her bleeding; she took the sparrow and started talking to it: “Enthina kettiyonaayittu vayakkittathu ?” (Why did you fight with your husband ) She dripped some water on the inside of its beak and warmed it up.
After getting out of the stream, Nizar took some medicinal leaves and rubbed her rashes with them, wiping the excess blood off.
Later that night, while she was showering half naked in front of the neighbouring well, the same guy came out of the house holding a jug.
Her mother warned Pathumma that the family was full of kafirs because they didn't cover their hair, wore sarees, and other such things.
Her conservative mother was so worried about her silence that she legitimately thought that Iblis was living inside her now.
She whispered to her, "Nne kkettichaan povaanu thuttappi," to her..( I think they are gonna marry me off ).