On the Fine Edge of the Real and the Fictional

An examination of literary representations of women of age in stories from different social class, culture, economic and religious backgrounds in stories written by women suggest a link - that gender and gender inequalities matter to ageing. The five short stories viewed here are: 'Dhvanyartha' by Saroj Pathak, 'There was a Message...' by Mithra Venkatraj, 'Dahan' by Suchitra Bhattacharya, 'Rangamma' by Madhuranthakam Narendra and 'Tiny's Granny' by Ismat Chugtai.