"Ladies Coupe" by Anita Nair

"Ladies Coupe" is a novel published in 2001 that portrays a woman named Akhilandeahwari who is in search of self-discovery and boards a train. This novel explores themes of female identity, societal expectations and powerful fulfilment. The novel dives into the complexities of women's lives in the Indian context.

The novel takes references from the context of Indian as well as Western literature mainly comparison between Thiruvalluvar and Shakespeare's idea of an ideal wife. The symbology gives a brief reflection on the stories of different women. Kolam is used as a symbol to portray the role of a wife and how it reflects a housewife. The sole purpose of women is to beautify themselves to 'attract' their future husbands. Glass bangles are symbols to signify a woman's heart, even if it breaks multiple times they try to replace it with new ones hoping it would last longer just like how they are in a constant process of mending their heart. 

The novel revolves around the story of five women who have different notions of whether a "woman needs a man to live in a society".  Each a every woman represents different types of women in society and how they push themselves regularly to survive in a world where she is just seen an extension of a man. The growth of women from an innocent little girl to a mature women who have seen a lot of hardships in life.

The loss of identity is retrieved by not focusing on the external forces but rather the internal 'you'. The novel ends with an open ending which gives a notion that the story goes on and on with lot more to happen.