Movie About Indian Lunch Delivery
Kathrine Selvage
A dabbawala (also spelled dabbawalla or dabbawallah, called tiffin wallah in older sources) is a worker who delivers hot lunches from homes and restaurants to people at work in India, especially in Mumbai. The dabbawalas constitute a lunchbox delivery and return system for workers in Mumbai. The lunchboxes are picked up in the late morning, delivered predominantly using bicycles and railway trains, and returned empty in the afternoon.[1][2]
In the late 1800s, an increasing number of migrants were moving to Bombay from different parts of the country, and fast food and canteens were not prevalent. All these people left early in the morning for offices, and often had to go hungry for lunch. They belonged to different communities, and therefore had different types of tastes, which could only be satisfied by their own home-cooked meals. So, in 1890, Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started a lunch delivery service in Bombay with about a hundred men.[3] This proved to be successful, and the service grew from there. In 1930, he informally attempted to unionize the dabbawalas. Later, a charitable trust was registered in 1956 under the name of Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Trust.[4] The commercial arm of this trust was registered in 1968 as Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association.[4][5]
When literally translated, the word "dabbawala" means "one who carries a box". "Dabba" means a box (usually a cylindrical tin or aluminium container) from Persian: دَبّه, while "wala" is an agentive suffix, denoting a doer or holder of the preceding word.[6] An English translation would be "tiffin box delivery man".
A colour-coding system identifies the destination and recipient. Each dabbawala is required to contribute a minimum capital in kind, in the form of two bicycles, a wooden crate for the tiffins, white cotton kurta-pyjamas, and the white Gandhi cap (topi). Each month there is a division of the earnings of each unit. Fines are imposed for alcohol, tobacco, being out of uniform, and absenteeism.[8]
A collecting dabbawala, usually on bicycle, collects dabbas either from a worker's home or from the dabba makers. As many of the carriers are of limited literacy (the average literacy of Dabbawallahs is that of 8th grade),[8] the dabbas (boxes) have some sort of distinguishing mark on them, such as a colour or group of symbols.[9][10][11][12]
The dabbawala then takes them to a sorting place, where he and other collecting dabbawalas sort the lunch boxes into groups. The grouped boxes are put in the coaches of trains, with markings to identify the destination of the box (usually there is a designated car for the boxes). The markings include the railway station to unload the boxes and the destination building delivery address. Some modern infrastructure improvements such as the Navi Mumbai Metro are not used in the supply chain, as cabins do not have the capacity for hundreds of tiffins.[13]
At each station, boxes are handed over to a local dabbawala, who delivers them. The empty boxes are collected after lunch or the next day and sent back to the respective houses. The dabbawalas also allow for delivery requests through SMS.[14]
Most dabbawalas are related to each other, belong to the Varkari[15] sect of Maharashtra,[16] and come from the same small village near Pune. Tiffin distribution is suspended for five days each March as the dabbawalas go home for the annual village festival.[17][18][19]
Dabbawalas have traditionally been male, but in recent years a few women have joined the profession.[20] A dabbawala can be either a foreman, mukadam, or a simple delivery man, gaddi. Typically, they begin between the ages of 15 and 20. While they take pride in their freedom and the fact that they work in a network of their relatives, the relatively low compensation provided for their physical exertion makes them discourage their own children from joining the profession.[21]
In a typical day, a dabbawala picks up tiffins every morning and then sorts them once before they are loaded onto the morning train (at approximately 10 a.m.). The tiffins are sorted another time in the luggage compartment of the train. At the destination station, the tiffins are loaded into carts and deposited in stacks at the entrances of the various workplaces. Following lunch, the same procedure is carried out in the reverse order with the empty tiffins.[21]
The earliest meetings of the Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association were held in the open air. They took up premises in 1943 and settled the headquarters at Dadar in 1962. Located on the first floor of a building, the premises consist of a large, simply furnished room. A large mirrored painting of Saint Dnyaneshwar with Vithoba adorns one corner. Other portraits adorning the room include those of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the founder of the association, Mahadeo Havaji Bachche.[21]
The association was reportedly started after a dabbawalla was ill-treated by a customer, resulting in the dabbawallas deciding to form a "united front" while dealing with injustices or difficulties, such as funerals. The association also helps with managing legal issues, including conflicts between mukadams and gaddis. All conflicts are resolved in the presence of 20 mukadams, which are selected every six years.[21]
It is frequently claimed[15] that dabbawalas make less than one mistake in every six million deliveries;[23] however, this is only an estimation from Ragunath Medge, the president of the Mumbai Tiffinmen's Association in 1998, and is not from a rigorous study. Medge told Subrata Chakravarty, the lead author of the "Fast Food" article by Forbes where this claim first appeared,[26] that dabbawalas make a mistake "almost never, maybe once every two months" and this statement was extrapolated by Subrata Chakravarty to be a rate of "one mistake in 8 million deliveries."[27] Chakravarty recalled the affair in an interview and said:
The Top Gear: India Special, a special episode of the British TV series Top Gear, had the presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May attempting to outdo the dabbawalas in efficiency and accuracy, by delivering the lunches with their cars, rather than by train and bicycle.
All food prepared in our restaurants is in a shared environment which could cause exposure to known food allergens. This includes, but is not limited to, peanuts (tiffin does not use peanuts but some ingredients may come from a facility that processes peanuts), tree nuts, soy, wheat, eggs, fish, shellfish and milk.
My friend and I got the livingsocial deal which was 3 courses including specialty naan for two people for $40. Given that most buffet places are $10-15, I thought paying the extra for a sit down place with 3 courses would be nice.
Appetizers: Aloo Chaat and Coconut Cauliflower. Aloo Chaat was your traditional chaat (tortilla like chip strips, garbanzo beans, and some sauces) which I enjoyed as an appetizer. Coconut cauliflower was drenched in coconut chutney AND coconut oil. The oil made me sick in a way and the overpowering coconut taste I didn't care for. Even when I took it home and tried to mix it with rice I couldn't finish it.
Entree-My friend ordered the lamb and I ordered the paneer something. My item was not oily and spicy! Just the way I like my Indian food! Next time I would go with someone vegetarian so I can try two curries, I generally like eating more than 1 with my food. Heard the lamb was delicious.
Naan-Garlic and Chili Naans were made tandoori style aka in an oven sans butter. This is good in the sense that the naan wasn't drenched in butter but it is definitely different. Crispy and not as soft. I guess I prefer mine on the stove softer.. The garlic got burned the way they cooked it.
Dessert-Rasmali Tiramusi. YUM!
Definitely would order here again for takeout/delivery. That seems to be their main revenue source as no one was in the restaurant. If you see this livingsocial deal, I would def snag it. Each entre item is $12-15 so $20 for the whole thing is a steal.
For Indian food in the city, I like it!
Indian brunch for the win!
We got here on a Saturday morning around 11:30, and were seated immediately. We were there about 45 minutes before the place was full. I say that to say, either come early or make reservations. The place is BEAUTIFUL, and family friendly. We saw couples, families, and young folks all hanging out together.
Once you get here and seated, the service is attentive and kind. Our server, Josh, was good about answering questions, and providing suggestions, which made choosing from the expansive menu much easier. We had lovely rose mimosas, and I had the vindaloo egg skillet. The grilled challah is really delicious! My bestie got the poutine, which is billed as an appetizer, but you can totally eat it as a meal with the cheese, meat, and potatoes.
The pricing here is a taaad high, but between the setting, service, and scrumptious food, treat yourself and give it a shot!
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Every day in Mumbai, some 5,000 deliverymen called dabba wallahs hand deliver 200,000 hot meals to doorsteps across the city. It's an intricate network that requires precise timing and numerous handoffs from courier to courier. The century-old service is a staple for the city's office workers. (See how it works in this video.) But as the city has changed, so too has the service.
For decades, Indian workers have had their lunches delivered, but usually from home kitchens. The prices were cheap and the food was traditional Indian fare. But that's changing.
"This is our main kitchen. ... This guy is making the South Indian menu. He's making a beetroot dosa ... then the other guy's making an egg white omelet over here," says Nityanand Shetty, head chef at Calorie Care, a high-end, health-obsessed delivery joint.
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