She was born in
Chennai and grew up there. Because of a physical disability, she was schooled at home. She published her first story "Kaveri" in 1957. In 1960, she published her first novel
Manathukku Iniyaval (Beloved woman). Her 1961 play
Iruvar Kandanar (Two persons witnessed), which has been performed many times, received the Ananda Vikatan award. Her stories have been translated into other Indian languages. She also translated stories from other Indian languages into Tamil. She received the
Tamil Nadu Government Award in 1966, the Lilly Devasigamani Award in 1992 and the Kalagnar Mu Karunanidhi Award at the
Chennai Book Fair in 2009. == Selected works ==