Aiyar was born in Vatalakundu, Tamil Nadu, a place near Madurai, and later moved to Madras (now Chennai).
[3] The main character, Muttuswami Aiyar, resident in Sirukalam, fights against rumours planted against him by some area women, including Ponammal, his sister-in-law.
Gargi Bhattacharjee of The Telegraph describes Muttuswami as "rich, virtuous and god fearing".
[1] Blackburn's translation does not include a chapter in which Muttuswami has visions of a spiritual nature; Bhattacharjee stated that the content was "not essential to the development of the story.
[4] Geeta Djarmarajan of India Today praised the Blackburn translation, stating that the "humour and sarcasm" makes it "a must-read for me".