Pointed in the wrong direction, trapped outside their own history and unable to retrace their steps because their footprints had been swept away. - Arundhati Roy

Ammu explained to Estha and Rahel that people always loved best what they Identified most with.

Oddly enough, it was he who had introduced the twins to Kathakali...He is searching for the beast that lives within him, Comrade Pillai had told them - frightened, wide-eyed children - when the ordinarily good natured Bhima began to bay and snarl.
Which beast in particular, Comrade Pillai didn't say. Searching for the Man who lives in him was perhaps what he really meant, because certainly no beast has essayed the boundless, infinitely inventive art of human hatred. No beast can match its range and power.

Enemies can't break your spirit, only friends can.