Dabbawallas

Hey fellow adventurers! I’ve been looking forward to this blog post all month! I’m honestly in awe of the Dabbawallas! Maybe, by the end you’ll understand why.

Dabbawallas are an essential part of everyday life in Mumbai. For 800 rupees ($12.50 USD) a month, Indians can get a homecooked meal delivered to them 6 days a week. Their organizational system is one of the best in the world with some saying they only make one mistake every million deliveries and others saying six million. Either way, they’re the best delivery men I know of! They definitely put my local pizza hut to shame!

Dabba is the name of the cylinder metal container (tiffin) that the food comes in and wala refers to the man that carries those lunches. Dabbawalla roughly translates to “tiffin box delivery man” or “the one who carries the box.” Wives and mothers of the men that sign up for this service make their loved ones home cooked meals. The Dabbawallas pick up those meals from their homes and take it to the recipient’s work or school via train and bicycle by 1PM (13:00). It’s essential that they deliver these lunches on time. But it’s also important that the recipients give their empty containers back to the Dabbawallas on time as well. If the recipients fail to give their empty containers to the Dabbawallas three times, they’re dropped as a customer. Apart from the train, the Dabbawallas don’t use any modern devices to help them in their delivery. Over 200,000 lunches are delivered by Dabbawallas every day.

Recognizing that India needed a service that delivers hot food to busy, working men, Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started a lunch delivery service with about 100 men. Today, there are at least 5,000 Dabbawallas delivering food, and the service is still growing. Dabbawallas wear white kurtas and white Gandhi caps. Each Dabbawalla earns 8,000 rupees ($125 USD) a month, making this service one of the better paying labor jobs in India. Many of the Dabbawallas either have low literacy skills or are illiterate so the system uses mostly colors and numbers to direct men as to where the food should go. But I can’t explain as well as Dabbawalla so I highly suggest you listen to this man describe the system (it’s a short video): http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170119-the-ingenious-codes-of-indias-dabbawalla

In 2014, a movie centered around this service came out called The Lunchbox. I haven’t seen it yet but it looks interesting and the critics at Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 98% so that’s promising. They describe it as: “Middle class housewife Ila is trying once again to add some spice to her marriage, this time through her cooking. She desperately hopes that this new recipe will finally arouse some kind of reaction from her neglectful husband. She prepares a special lunchbox to be delivered to him at work, but, unbeknownst to her, it is mistakenly delivered to another office worker, Saajan, a lonely man on the verge of retirement. Curious about the lack of reaction from her husband, Ila puts a little note in the following day’s lunchbox, in the hopes of getting to the bottom of the mystery. This begins a series of lunchbox notes between Saajan and Ila, and the mere comfort of communicating with a stranger anonymously soon evolves into an unexpected friendship. Gradually, their notes become little confessions about their loneliness, memories, regrets, fears, and even small joys. They each discover a new sense of self and find an anchor to hold on to in the big city of Mumbai that so often crushes hopes and dreams. Still strangers physically, Ila and Saajan become lost in a virtual relationship that could jeopardize both their realities.” Trailer here:

Though times are changing in India just like the rest of the world. With more and more women working in India, some women don’t have the time to make a hot lunch to be delivered to their husbands. If this trend continues, the delivery system will be forced to change. There’s some talk that the wives of the Dabbawalla might need to be the ones that make the lunches in the future. As of right now though, most women are still at home and making lunches for the husbands.

Are you lot impressed like I am? Feel free to post your opinions in the comment section below! I would love to know! Thank you so much for reading my blog! And until our next adventure!

2,742 thoughts on “Dabbawallas”

  1. Hello, i think that i saw you visited my weblog so i came to “return the favor”.I am trying to find
    things to enhance my website!I suppose its ok to use a few of your
    ideas!!

  2. Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to
    help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying
    to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good success.

    If you know of any please share. Thanks!

  3. Hi there I am so glad I found your site, I really found you by error, while I
    was searching on Aol for something else, Regardless I am here now
    and would just like to say thank you for a
    incredible post and a all round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to
    read it all at the moment but I have bookmarked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I
    have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep
    up the awesome b.

  4. Hi there I am so glad I found your blog, I really found you by error,
    while I was researching on Digg for something else,
    Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a marvelous post and a all round
    thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to
    read it all at the minute but I have saved it and also added in your RSS feeds, so
    when I have time I will be back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the excellent work.

  5. I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the layout of your website?
    Its very well written; I love what youve got
    to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could
    connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text
    for only having one or 2 pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?

  6. Mit vielen Detailversessenheit wurden Wohnhäuser samt Einrichtung maßstabgerecht
    nachgebaut. Luxuriöses Ambiente im Kleinen außerdem passend ein mallorquinisches Hochzeitspaar, das edel und schick gekleidet im Salon wartet.

    Elegante Übernachtungsmöglichkeiten bieten auch hier die
    für Mallorca typischen Luxushotels mit 5 Sternen. Der Ferienort Paguera
    in Mallorcas Südwesten ist ein besonders Erfolg versprechend für Tennisspieler.
    Dafür sorgen zugleich die guten klimatischen Voraussetzungen mit einer durchschnittlichen Tagestemperatur von 21 °C bei nur 74 Regentagen. Da ist ganzjähriges
    Training in Gottes freier Natur möglich. Hinzu kommt,
    dass Profis, Amateuren und Hobbyspielern nicht nur sehr gute Plätze
    vorbereitet sein, sondern ihnen in Clubs und Schulen ein außergewöhnlicher Service für diesen Sport geboten wird.
    Schick und edel übernachten in Hotels, die mit hochwertigen Möbeln ausgestattet sind und in denen angemessener Luxus geboten wird, ist in Paguera natürlich ebenfalls möglich.
    In der Mehrheit Sporthotels auf Mallorca verfügen sogar über eigene Tennisplätze.
    Neben anderen das schönsten Strände ist Es Trenc im Süden der
    Insel, den besonders Volleyballspieler schätzen.

  7. What’s Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I have discovered It absolutely helpful and it has helped me out loads.
    I’m hoping to contribute & aid other users like its helped me.
    Good job.

  8. That is very interesting, You’re an overly skilled
    blogger. I have joined your rss feed and look forward to in quest of more of your fantastic post.

    Additionally, I have shared your web site in my social networks

  9. Hey there! I simply would like to offer you a big thumbs up for the great info you’ve got here on this post.
    I am returning to your website for more soon.

  10. Just desire to say your article is as astonishing.
    The clearness for your post is simply spectacular and that i
    could assume you’re an expert on this subject.
    Well with your permission allow me to take hold of your
    feed to keep updated with approaching post. Thanks a million and please continue the enjoyable
    work.

  11. Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long)
    so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say,
    I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still
    new to everything. Do you have any helpful hints for newbie blog writers?
    I’d definitely appreciate it.

  12. I got this web page from my friend who informed me concerning this site and at the
    moment this time I am visiting this web page and reading very informative content at this place.

  13. Nach meinem Befinden kauft man bei SEO Agenturen in erster Linie Zeit,
    Identifikation und Leidenschaft. Know-How vorausgesetzt.
    Kein Schwanz wird leidenschaftlich und mit Identifikation an einem Projekt
    arbeiten, das er nur an 5 Stunden im Monat betreut.
    Aus meiner Erfahrung gibt es eine Basis-Identifikation ab
    ca. Nur wird die Arbeit an einem Projekt, dass an 5 Tagen oder mehr in der Woche Agentur- und Schreibtisch-Thema ist sicherlich mit mehr Identifikation laufen. Bei durchschnittlich
    100 € Stundensatz ergibt sich ein monatliches Basis-Volumen von 2.000 €.
    2 Arbeitstagen. Wir selber arbeiten für gewöhnlich
    ab 20 Stunden Monats-Budget. Die Mehrheit Agenturen arbeiten mit mindestens 3 Monaten Laufzeit, sodass ein Mindestbudget von 6.000 € für
    mich die Basis einer Zusammenarbeit darstellt.
    Das ist schwer pauschal zu beantworten, da das natürlich
    sehr von der Komplexität der Website und des Themas abhängt.
    Darunter macht es kaum einmal einen Sinn, weil man nichts richtig wirken kann.
    Den Einstieg in die Agentur-Zusammenarbeit sollte eine kurze, kostenlose Ersteinschätzung zum tatsächlichen Bedarf für der Angebotserstellung sein. Ein SEO-Experte kann nach wenigen Minuten vergleichsweise
    gut einschätzen, wie sehr z.B. Thema Onpage Optimierung brennt
    und wie groß der Handlungsbedarf ist.

  14. The other day, while I was at work, my sister stole my iPad
    and tested to see if it can survive a 30 foot drop, just
    so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she
    has 83 views. I know this is totally off topic but I
    had to share it with someone!

  15. After exploring a few of the blog posts on your web page, I
    truly appreciate your technique of blogging.
    I book-marked it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back soon. Take a look at my
    website too and let me know your opinion.

  16. Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I
    stumbleupon everyday. It’s always useful to read through content from other writers and use something from other web sites.

  17. Hi there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website?
    I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform.
    I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

  18. Krauthausen. Auf der Homepage sehen sie, wann ein Ort als barrierefrei gilt.
    Falsche Angaben sollen die Nutzer nach dem Wiki-Prinzip selbst korrigieren. Sind wie alle Räume stufenlos erreichbar, winkt ein grünes Fähnchen für “rollstuhlgerecht”.
    Die Datenbank zeigt auch, welche Sehenswürdigkeiten für Rollstuhlfahrer nicht zugänglich sind.
    Auch alte Gebäude mit viel Stufen seien will nicht gefallen. Wheelmap” erfasst wird, zeigt sowohl den positiven, als auch den negativen Bestand in Berlin. Ich bin dankbar, dass dahingehend Abbild der Situation geschaffen wird”, sagt Jürgen Schneider,
    Landesbeauftragter für Menschen mit Behinderung.
    Der Grund: Im Falle eines Brandes müssen die Besucher
    auf eine andere Plattform ausweichen – diese ist aber
    nur über Stufen erreichbar. Seit September 2010 ist “Wheelmap” online.
    Das Angebot wird permanent weiterentwickelt, auch für das
    Ausland. Auf Japanisch, Englisch, Französisch und
    Italienisch gibt es die Website schon, an der portugiesischen und spanischen Version wird gerade gefeilt.
    Zufolge Umfang arbeiten drei bis fünf “Sozialhelden” an “Wheelmap”, mehrheitlich ehrenamtlich.
    2004 gründete Krauthausen in begleitung seinem Cousin den gemeinnützigen Verein. Seitdem
    hat sich die Zahl der eingetragenen Orte verdoppelt. Einen Schub bekam
    “Wheelmap” durch die eigene kostenlose App fürt iPhone.
    Eines der nächsten Ziele der “Sozialhelden” ist es, das Programm auch für andere Handys nutzbar lösbar.
    10.000 Downloads wurden für die App schon registriert.
    Seit Anfang des Jahres arbeitet der 30-Jährige hauptberuflich für die “Sozialhelden”.
    Ein weiteres Ziel ist es, mehr Unternehmen zu beraten,
    wie man Orte rollstuhlgerecht oder barrierefrei umbauen könnte.
    Seine Stelle als Online-Programm-Manager beim RBB-Sender “Fritz” hat Krauthausen aufgegeben,
    um sich die kommenden drei Jahre ganz dem inzwischen mehrmals ausgezeichneten Projekt zu widmen. Für den Mann
    mit das Schirmmütze eine “Leidenschaft, die zum Beruf wurde”.

  19. You have made some decent points there. I checked on the internet to
    learn more about the issue and found most individuals will go along
    with your views on this web site.

  20. I have been browsing online greater than 3 hours these days,
    yet I never found any attention-grabbing
    article like yours. It is beautiful price enough
    for me. In my opinion, if all web owners and bloggers made good content material as you probably did, the web will likely be
    a lot more helpful than ever before.

  21. Howdy! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with
    us so I came to take a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking and will
    be tweeting this to my followers! Superb blog and
    superb design and style.

  22. Simply desire to say your article is as amazing. The clarity in your post is simply great
    and i can assume you’re an expert on this
    subject. Well with your permission let me to grab your RSS
    feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please
    carry on the rewarding work.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *