I Just Saw a Woman Cleaning Fish by the River. And It Hit Me.

✍️ By Subhasri Devaraj

Today I saw a woman sitting by the river, cleaning fish.

No big deal, right?
But something about it made me stop.

She wasn’t wearing anything fancy. Just a simple cotton saree.
No gloves. No chopping board. Just a small stone block and a steel plate.
She sat cross-legged, completely focused. Water dripping, fish glistening, sun hitting her face sideways.

No rush. No complaints. No phone, obviously.

It felt like she had done this a thousand times. Probably had.
Slice, scrape, rinse. One after the other. Calm, steady, sharp.

Behind her were banana trees. In front of her, silver pots filled with water.
Everything looked simple. But nothing felt small.

I’ve seen so many “productivity hacks” online.
But she was the most efficient person I’ve seen all month.

She wasn’t multitasking. She was just doing one thing, properly.
No mess. No drama. No noise.

And I thought—this woman probably feeds an entire family.
She probably buys the fish, cleans it, cooks it, serves it.
Maybe also washes clothes, packs school tiffins, keeps the house running.

And yet, no one’s filming her. No one’s clapping.
There’s no "like" button in real life.

We talk a lot about strong women.
But honestly, this is what real strength looks like.

Not a fancy quote. Not a gym selfie. Not even a loud opinion.
Just… showing up. Every single day. Doing what needs to be done. Quietly.

It made me feel small and grateful at the same time.
Because we scroll past life like this every day.
We wait for “inspiration,” while she’s just living it.

No filters. No followers. Just raw, daily reality.

That’s all.
I didn’t even talk to her.
But something about her made me want to remember this day.

So I wrote it down.

— Subhasri

Video:

🧠 Disclaimer:

✋ No AI Here:
This blog post was written 100% by me, Subhasri Devaraj, without the use of AI writing tools.
Every word is real, personal, and written from scratch — just like a proper conversation over filter coffee. ☕
No bots. No auto-generated fluff. Just me, talking to you

⚠️ No content here is copied or auto-published. I don't post anything I wouldn’t say to a friend.

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