In Translation–Tamil
By Vaasanthi. Translated from the original Tamil by Radhika Meganathan and the author
Rohini, Malini, Malathi and Paatti are as shackled by their own upbringing and values instilled in them since childhood as they are buffeted by the winds of change and an awareness of what it means to be a woman in a patriarchal set up. There is no doubt that the ‘times they are a-changin’ as Bob Dylan sang. Yet there is a sluggishness with which it does exact a heavy price on women, leading to mental imbalance, loss and despair.
Translated from the original Tamil by Prabha Sridevan
Another important aspect weaved into the novel is of the skewed gender relations between the mother and father. Gender stereotypes are highlighted as the narrator’s father talks sharply with the mother, makes fun of her family and has a sense of entitlement when it comes to her brother. Amma too would scream at him and is suspicious of his generous attitude especially with respect to women—‘He never told her anything about the rice mill, to whom he had given a loan, from whom he had borrowed—nothing…Just as he never told her what he was doing, he did not ask her what she was doing.’