Pappachi is Estha and Rahel's grandfather, Ammu's father. He was once an Imperial Entomologist, which is a frou-frou way of saying that he studied bugs for the government. His biggest failure in life came from his biggest triumph: he discovered a rare breed of moth, but he didn't get credit or even naming rights for his discovery. Pappachi was an angry, jealous man who beat Mammachi regularly. He dies before the action of the novel really kicks off, so he's referred to mostly as a memory.

Pappachi is a rather complex character, and his roles as a father and a husband blend into that of an insecure, envious, abusive, misogynistic failure. Even before his professional downfall, his jealousy of his wife is overwhelming. After learning that Mammachi has enough talent to be a professional violinist he is consumed with resentment and fear – fear of being upstaged by a woman. Luckily, he can always keep the women in his life on a tight leash… by beating them. He relishes in seeing his daughter’s soul being torn apart while he shreds her most treasured possession into pieces. At the same time Pappachi is weak and insignificant. His own son, realizing Pappachi’s inferiority, shows no respect for him and beats him to a pulp. Even Pappachi himself accepts this lack of respect as something deserved and doesn’t fight back in any way. He just retreats with his tail between his legs. As he is not a prominent character in the book, he is (more or less) viewed as he is portrayed. We don’t really get his side of the story: his actions are mostly described through the memories of his victims; therefore he can hardly be seen in a positive light.