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Estha, Rahel's twin brother, a serious, intelligent, and somewhat nervous child, who experiences trauma leading to his silence, chosen by Baby Kochamma to accuse Velutha, deeply connected to his sister despite separation.
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Rahel, Estha's younger sister by 18 minutes, a partial narrator characterized as intelligent and impulsive, grappling with social discomfort and treated as lesser than her brother, later becoming something of a drifter, training as an architectural draftsman, and experiencing a failed relationship with an American.
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Ammu, the twins' strict mother, who marries to escape her alcoholic husband, divorces him due to violence, and has a cataclysmic affair with Velutha, causing her children to fear losing her love.
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Velutha, smart Paravan caste carpenter at the Ipe family's pickle factory, deeply involved in the local Communist movement, who has a forbidden affair with Ammu and faces brutal punishment, with a paralyzed brother named Kuttapen.
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Chacko, Estha and Rahel's maternal uncle, who meets Margaret at Oxford, marries her, and has a daughter, Sophie, whose death is pivotal to the story.
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Baby Kochamma, The twins' maternal great aunt, educated and embittered, harboring unrequited love for an Irish Catholic priest and spite for her niece's children, condemning them to misery.
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