Chapter 18: chapter 18

The Fisherwoman Who Didn’t Know How to Sell Her FishIn a village on the western coast of Maharashtra, there lived a newly married woman named Sakhubai. Sakhu’s husband, Chandu, was a fisherman. Every dawn, Chandu would prepare his boat and go out to sea with the other fishermen to get his catch of the day. When he returned in the late afternoon, he and Sakhu would sort through the fish.After the sorting was done, Chandu’s mother would go to the local market to sell the fresh catch. The family would then use the money to buy whatever they needed for the household.One day, Chandu’s mother fell ill and couldn’t go to the market with the fish her son had brought from the sea. So, it was decided that Sakhu would go to the market that day. The only problem was that she had no idea how to sell fish in a busy market. She was not very confident of doing the job well.Her mother-in-law reassured her. ‘Don’t worry. You just have to shout, “Fresh fish! Come and get some fresh fish!” every once in a while, and customers will automatically come to you.’Sakhu was not convinced. ‘But I don’t have a sturdy, strong voice at all. I am sure no one will hear me. What if I can’t sell anything?’Realising that Sakhu was panicking about her first day at the fish stall, Chandu said, ‘Let us make you a nice signboard so that you don’t have to shout at all. You just be nice to customers and try to do as they say. And if they give you feedback, take it with an open mind. You won’t have a single problem.’So, they made a bright attractive signboard that said: FRESH FISH SOLD HERE! And off Sakhubai went with her fish basket and her signboard to the stall in the local bazaar.An old man came to Sakhu’s stall. After buying some bangda (mackerel), he looked at the board and commented, ‘Why does your board say “fresh”? It is obvious that the fish will be fresh. Why would anyone sell stale fish?’Since Sakhu’s husband had told her to take feedback from her customers, she thanked the man and promptly struck off the word FRESH.The board now read: FRESH FISH SOLD HERE!Next came a middle-aged woman to buy two pomfrets. She bargained quite a bit, but Sakhu was able to wrangle a good price out of her. While completing her purchase, the woman peered at the board.‘Is it necessary to mention the word “here” on the board? Since you are sitting near a basketful of fish right here, there is no need to specifically say “here”,’ she remarked.Sakhu thanked the woman and promptly rubbed off the word HERE.The board now read: FRESH FISH SOLD HERE!After the woman arrived a young man. His mother had sent him to the fish bazaar to get some jhinga (prawns) for lunch. He didn’t know how to buy fish. Sakhu assured him that the jhinga was very fresh and packed some for him.When he got his change from Sakhu, the young man’s eye fell on the board. Laughing, he exclaimed, ‘Why does it say “fish sold”? Clearly you are not giving away your fish for free. Is it not obvious that the fish is for sale, especially when you have a stall for this exact purpose?’Sakhu thanked him for his feedback and promptly struck off SOLD from the sign.The board now read: FRESH FISH SOLD HERE!Then came a plump middle-aged man to buy a big catch of surmai (seer) and a dozen kekda (crabs). While Sakhu tied together the legs of the crabs so they wouldn’t escape from the bag, the man carefully observed the sign.He remarked, ‘This whole place smells of fish. You have displayed the fish all over the stall. This whole bazaar is a fish bazaar. Why do you mention fish on the board at all? It is clear to everyone that this is a fish stall.’Sakhu nodded and promptly struck off FISH from the board as well.The board now read: FRESH FISH SOLD HERE!Next came a kindly young woman of Sakhu’s age. She wanted to buy some tisrya (clams). After selecting what she wanted, she looked at the signboard with all the words struck off it.‘Why have you struck off all the words from your signboard? You are selling fresh fish at your stall. That signboard is completely apt. Why did you remove it? How will your customers know what you sell?’ the young woman asked.Now Sakhu was in a complete fix. She couldn’t reject the feedback she’d received from her previous customers, but she also wanted more people to come to the shop.Then the young woman had an idea. ‘Hey, why don’t you call out loudly to your customers? Then you don’t need a board at all.’So Sakhu started loudly calling out to potential customers to showcase the different kinds of fresh fish in her stall.‘Come and check out this fresh fish. Bangda, jhinga, kekda, paaplet … all for sale over here! Come, check this out!’ she started saying. At first she faltered and stumbled over her words, but in a few minutes, she did it with ease.And that’s how Sakhu learnt how to sell fish!