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NOIDA: The famous dabbawallas of Mumbai aren’t just case studies in logistics management, but an institution that has complemented life in the Maximum City.
The tiffin delivery service has been used by the smitten to send surreptitious letters to their lovers, as a way to patch up with a ‘sorry’ note, and to save marriages, Mumbai dabbawala’s Pawan Agrawal shared at the UP International Trade Show.
“The dabbawalas not only deliver tiffin but also emotions. We came across incidents where women would put love letters along with lunchboxes for their husbands. Some would even send sorry notes. Men would write back too — some penned apology notes and a few poems. In a way, our service saved so many marriages,” Agarwal said.
Sharing another anecdote, he recalled how a doctor’s wife would share a grocery list over the lunchbox. “The doctor told me one day that he has a mobile phone with him all the time, but his wife preferred to write down the list on paper and send it along with the lunchbox. It was their unique way to communicate and her handwritten notes brought him joy in an otherwise busy day.”
Our workers, or the dabbawalas, pack just roti and water for their own lunch. “Carrying an additional lunchbox is a burden for them,” Agarwal shares.
Crossing 70-80 km by roadways every day, the Dabbawalas make sure that not a single lunch is missed. “One of our dabbawalas would deliver lunches to a father and his son. One day, the mother forgot to pack her son’s lunch. The Dabbawala realised it en route and bought some food for the boy and delivered it to his school during lunchtime. Later, he said his job was not just to deliver tiffin but also to ensure his customers weren’t left hungry at any cost,” he said.
Agrawal added the most challenging phase that the Mumbai Dabbawalas faced was Covid-19 the pandemic when offices and schools went online.
“If people don’t go to office, who will we deliver the lunchboxes to? However, a good part of today’s generation is that women have also started to work, which wasn’t very common when the service started 132 years ago. We have started to take the wives of dabbawalas onboard now to prepare lunches that the men can deliver. There are nearly 5,000 workers associated with the service now.”
The Mumbai Dabbawalas are also upskilling. “We have to embrace technology too so that our business can go online. Nearly 2 lakh lunch boxes are delivered each day by Mumbai Dabbawalas,” Agarwal said.
The tiffin delivery service has been used by the smitten to send surreptitious letters to their lovers, as a way to patch up with a ‘sorry’ note, and to save marriages, Mumbai dabbawala’s Pawan Agrawal shared at the UP International Trade Show.
“The dabbawalas not only deliver tiffin but also emotions. We came across incidents where women would put love letters along with lunchboxes for their husbands. Some would even send sorry notes. Men would write back too — some penned apology notes and a few poems. In a way, our service saved so many marriages,” Agarwal said.
Sharing another anecdote, he recalled how a doctor’s wife would share a grocery list over the lunchbox. “The doctor told me one day that he has a mobile phone with him all the time, but his wife preferred to write down the list on paper and send it along with the lunchbox. It was their unique way to communicate and her handwritten notes brought him joy in an otherwise busy day.”
Our workers, or the dabbawalas, pack just roti and water for their own lunch. “Carrying an additional lunchbox is a burden for them,” Agarwal shares.
Crossing 70-80 km by roadways every day, the Dabbawalas make sure that not a single lunch is missed. “One of our dabbawalas would deliver lunches to a father and his son. One day, the mother forgot to pack her son’s lunch. The Dabbawala realised it en route and bought some food for the boy and delivered it to his school during lunchtime. Later, he said his job was not just to deliver tiffin but also to ensure his customers weren’t left hungry at any cost,” he said.
Agrawal added the most challenging phase that the Mumbai Dabbawalas faced was Covid-19 the pandemic when offices and schools went online.
“If people don’t go to office, who will we deliver the lunchboxes to? However, a good part of today’s generation is that women have also started to work, which wasn’t very common when the service started 132 years ago. We have started to take the wives of dabbawalas onboard now to prepare lunches that the men can deliver. There are nearly 5,000 workers associated with the service now.”
The Mumbai Dabbawalas are also upskilling. “We have to embrace technology too so that our business can go online. Nearly 2 lakh lunch boxes are delivered each day by Mumbai Dabbawalas,” Agarwal said.
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