Synopsis Written with the deepest empathy for women trapped by an almost The absolute lack of resources—financial, intellectual, emotional—these stories by Ashokamitran have all the identifiable characteristics of his writing—irony, interiority, sensitivity. The narrative in all three novellas—Sand, Malati, Those two—moves in a series of short scenes, building tension with a relentless layering of detail. The exploitation of the women (Sarojini, her mother, Malati, Dhanam, Vaala), and their daily struggle against it lies exposed in all its terrifying ordinariness.