'Her smile a saga of womanhood.' Abhirami ... a courageous village girl seeks vengeance for being raped.Devaki ... weakened and afraid, a mother of six cringes at her seventh pregnancy. Sankari ... a free-spirited woman who finds liberation in death. The underlying theme in each of the stories is the woman as she sees herself, not how others believe her to be. Painted with earthy colours and lyrical language, R. Chudamani's women speak gently yet firmly of the battles fought daily within the home and outside it. They face the currents of life, fighting, resisting, and, at times, succumbing.