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{{Short description|Lunchbox delivery and return system in India}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox occupation
| name = Dabbawala
| synonyms = Tiffin wallah
| pronounce =
| image = Dabbawalasmumbai.jpg
| imagesize =
| alt =
| caption = Dabbawalas loading lunch boxes on a train
| official_names =
| type = [[Manual labour]]
| activity_sector = [[Delivery (commerce)]]
| competencies =
| formation =
| employment_field =
| related_occupation =
}}
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]] and [[Pakistan]], especially in [[Mumbai]] and [[Karachi]]. The dabbawalas constitute a [[Tiffin carrier|lunchbox]] delivery and return system for workers in Mumbai and Karachi. The lunchboxes are picked up in the late morning, delivered predominantly using [[bicycles]] and [[Mumbai Suburban Railway|railway]] [[Karachi Circular Railway|trains]], and returned empty in the afternoon.<ref>{{cite news |title=In Pictures: Tiffin time in Mumbai |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26128597 |access-date=2 May 2014 |newspaper=BBC news |date=16 February 2014 |archive-date=5 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505210221/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26128597 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Das|first1=Mohua|date=Jun 13, 2021|title=Mumbai: Now, dabbawalas to cook your lunch and deliver|location=Mumbai|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/now-mumbai-dabbawalas-to-cook-your-lunch-and-deliver/articleshow/83471654.cms|access-date=2021-06-21|website=The Times of India|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627013317/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/now-mumbai-dabbawalas-to-cook-your-lunch-and-deliver/articleshow/83471654.cms|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Khan |first=Naimat |date=October 3, 2024 |title=In Karachi, hot tiffin lunches, thanks to a centuries-old meal delivery service |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2573755/pakistan|publisher=Arab News}}</ref>

== Origins ==
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 preferences, which could only be satisfied by their own home-cooked meals. So, in 1890, Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started a lunch delivery service in [[History of Bombay|Bombay]] with about a hundred men.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.physorg.com/news70641995.html |title= Bombay Dabbawalas go high-tech |publisher=Physorg.com |access-date=15 September 2011 |archive-date=26 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926194137/http://www.physorg.com/news70641995.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This model proved to be successful and the service grew. 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.<ref name="Feeding_the_City">{{cite web |last= Roncaglia |first= Sara |date= 1 January 2013 |title= Feeding the City: Work and Food Culture of the Mumbai Dabbawalas |publisher= OpenBook Publishers |url=https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0031|access-date=2 May 2017|isbn= 978-1-909254-02-2}}</ref> The commercial arm of this trust was registered in 1968 as Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association.<ref name="Feeding_the_City"/><ref>{{cite web |last1= Nair |first1= Supriya |date= 27 September 2011 |title= The Tiffin History of Mumbai |url= http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/zCjPfpkfjnDtIHyjJoSNoK/The-Tiffin-History-of-Mumbai.html|website=Livemint|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-date=19 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619140347/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/zCjPfpkfjnDtIHyjJoSNoK/The-Tiffin-History-of-Mumbai.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
When literally translated, the word "dabbawala" means "one who carries a box". "Dabba" means a box (usually a cylindrical tin or aluminium container) from {{langx|fa|دَبّه}}, while "wala" is an [[agentive suffix]], denoting a doer or holder of the preceding word.<ref>Pathak R.C. (1946, Reprint 2000). ''The Standard Dictionary of the Hindi Language'', Varanasi: Bhargava Book Depot, pp.300,680</ref> An English translation would be "tiffin box delivery person".

==Colour-coding system==
[[File:Dabba.jpg|thumb|150px|A ''[[Tiffin carrier|dabba]]'', or Indian-style tiffin box]]
[[File:India-7876 - Flickr - archer10 (Dennis).jpg|thumb|Dabbawalas with colored and numbered boxes]]
Lunch boxes are marked in several ways:<ref>{{cite web|last1=Thakker|first1=Pradip|date=11 November 2005|title=Mumbai's amazing dabbawalas|url=http://specials.rediff.com/money/2005/nov/11spec.htm|website=Rediff News|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621065336/http://specials.rediff.com/money/2005/nov/11spec.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
# Abbreviations for collection points
# Colour code for starting station
# Number for destination station
# Markings for handling dabbawala at destination, building and floor

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 [[tiffin]]s, 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 and tobacco use, being out of uniform, and absenteeism.<ref name="TEDx-Pawan-Dabbawallas-2011">{{cite AV media |people=Dr. Pawan Agrawal (speaker) |date=24 February 2011 |title=TEDxSSN - Dr. Pawan Agrawal - Mumbai Dabbawalas |medium=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N25inoCea24 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/N25inoCea24 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=3 May 2017 |time= |publisher=TEDx Talks }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

A collecting dabbawala, usually on bicycle, collects dabbas either from a worker's home or from the dabba makers. Because the average literacy of dabbawallahs is that of 8th grade,<ref name="TEDx-Pawan-Dabbawallas-2011" /> the dabbas (boxes) have some sort of distinguishing mark on them, such as a colour or group of symbols.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worksthatwork.com/1/dabbawallas|title=Dabbawallas: Delivering Excellence|first=Meena|last=Kadri|magazine=Works That Work magazine|year=2013|number=1|access-date=2 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/ndmc-launches-new-project-to-make-unemployed-women-selfreliant/article6206470.ece|title=NDMC launches new project to make unemployed women self-reliant|agency=Press Trust of India|date=13 July 2014|website=Business Line|access-date=2 May 2017|archive-date=15 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815184744/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/ndmc-launches-new-project-to-make-unemployed-women-self-reliant/article20817021.ece1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/taking-the-story-of-mumbais-dabbawalas-to-iim-calcutta/article3661798.ece|title=Taking the story of Mumbai's dabbawalas to IIM Calcutta|date=20 July 2012|website=Business Line|access-date=2 May 2017|archive-date=15 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815184753/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/taking-the-story-of-mumbais-dabbawalas-to-iim-calcutta/article64192951.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/mumbai-dabbawalas-to-share-success-mantra-in-dubai/article4775320.ece|title=Mumbai dabbawalas to share success mantra in Dubai|agency=Press Trust of India|date=2 June 2013|website=Business Line|access-date=2 May 2017|archive-date=15 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815184757/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/mumbai-dabbawalas-to-share-success-mantra-in-dubai/article20620361.ece1|url-status=live}}</ref>

The dabbawala then takes them to a sorting place, where they 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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ramper|first1=Johnny|title=Dabbawalas: Preserving Tradition in Modern India|url=http://zenfoods.com/dabbawalas-preserving-tradition-in-modern-india/|publisher=Z.E.N. Foods|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-date=18 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318183607/http://zenfoods.com/dabbawalas-preserving-tradition-in-modern-india/|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 [[Short message service|SMS]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Karishma |last=Vaswani |date=24 July 2006 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5210092.stm |title=India's tiffinwalas fuel economy |work=BBC News |access-date=2 May 2017 |archive-date=13 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313032538/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5210092.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Ethnicity==
[[File:Tiffin wallah lunch.jpg|thumb|Two typical ''dabbawala'' lunches]]
Most dabbawalas are related to each other, belong to the [[Varkari]]<ref name="IndianSummerFest-Legends-2014">{{cite AV media |people=Sangle, Subodh (spokesperson) and Gavande, Kiran (supervisor) |date=23 July 2014 |title=Lunchbox Legends: The Dabbawalas of Mumbai at Indian Summer Festival Vancouver |medium=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z88bIk-9HQc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/Z88bIk-9HQc |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=3 May 2017 |time= |publisher=Indian Summer Festival Canada }}{{cbignore}}</ref> sect of Maharashtra,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/mumbais-dabbawalas-up-delivery-charges-by-100/article6170725.ece|title=Mumbai's dabbawalas up delivery charges by ₹100|first=Beena|last=Parmar|date=2 July 2014|website=Business Line|access-date=2 May 2017|archive-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923143503/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/mumbais-dabbawalas-up-delivery-charges-by-100/article6170725.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/dabbawalas-to-deliver-whos-word/article5863865.ece|title=Dabbawalas to deliver WHO's word|date=2 April 2014|website=Business Line|access-date=2 May 2017|archive-date=15 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815184816/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/dabbawalas-to-deliver-whos-word/article20747759.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dinodia.com/photo_features/dabawallas.php3 |title=Dabawallas |website=DINODIA Photo Library |access-date=3 May 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030809134025/http://www.dinodia.com/photo_features/dabawallas.php3 |archive-date=9 August 2003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4269823.stm|title=South Asia - Tiffin time for Charles and Camilla|website=BBC News|date=17 February 2005|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=19 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319011126/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4269823.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dabbawalas have traditionally been male, but in recent years a few women have joined the profession.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/more-lunch-box-ladies-to-deliver-food-cooked-with-love/article5394321.ece|title=More lunch box ladies to deliver food cooked with love|date=26 November 2013|website=Business Line|access-date=2 May 2017|archive-date=15 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815184759/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/more-lunch-box-ladies-to-deliver-food-cooked-with-love/article23156001.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="EPW-Quien-97">{{Cite journal|last=Quien|first=Alexandra|year=1997|title=Mumbai's Dabbawalla: Omnipresent Worker and Absent City-Dweller|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4405220|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=32|issue=13|pages=637–640|jstor=4405220|issn=0012-9976}}</ref>


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{{nbsp}}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.<ref name="EPW-Quien-97" />

== Association ==
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.<ref name="EPW-Quien-97" />

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.<ref name="EPW-Quien-97" />

The charitable Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Trust consists of nine members who are elected every five years. Its main role is to collect funds for dharamshalas.<ref name="EPW-Quien-97" />

==Economic analysis==
[[File:Dabbawallah bicycle.jpg|thumb|A typical dabbawala bicycle]]
[[File:Dabbawala1.jpg|thumb|It was estimated in 2007 that the dabbawala industry was growing by 5–10% [[wiktionary:per annum|per annum]].<ref name ="nu yawk tymes" />]]
Each ''dabbawala'', regardless of role, is paid around 8,000 rupees per month (about US$131 in 2014). Between 175,000 and 200,000 lunch boxes are moved each day by 4,500 to 5,000 dabbawalas. Tiffin-wallahs are self-employed. The union initiation fee is 30,000 rupees, which guarantees a 5,000-rupee monthly income and a job for life. The 150 rupee a month fee provides for delivery six days a week. (2002)<ref name="guardian2002">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jun/24/worlddispatch.india|title=A Bombay lunchbox|first=Luke|last=Harding|date=24 June 2002|access-date=2 May 2017|work=The Guardian|archive-date=31 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731123351/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jun/24/worlddispatch.india|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/dabbawalas-hike-delivery-charges-to-meet-rising-inflation/article6169802.ece|title='Dabbawalas' hike delivery charges to meet rising inflation|agency=Press Trust of India|date=2 July 2014|website=Business Line|access-date=2 May 2017|archive-date=15 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815185800/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/dabbawalas-hike-delivery-charges-to-meet-rising-inflation/article20809904.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://uppercrustindia.com/11crust/eleven/mumbai3.htm |title=Upper Crust ::: India's food, wine and style magazine |access-date=3 May 2017 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021022001518/http://uppercrustindia.com/11crust/eleven/mumbai3.htm |archive-date=22 October 2002 }}</ref>

It is frequently claimed<ref name="IndianSummerFest-Legends-2014"/> that ''dabbawalas'' make less than one mistake in every six million deliveries;<ref name="guardian2002" /> 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,<ref name=forbes>{{Cite magazine|last=Chakravarty|first=Subrata N|date=10 August 1998|title=Fast food|url=https://www.forbes.com/global/1998/0810/0109078a.html|access-date=21 March 2021|magazine=Forbes}}</ref> 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."<ref name=pathak>{{Cite journal|last=Pathak|first=Gauri Sanjeev|year=2010|title=Delivering the Nation: The Dabbawalas of Mumbai|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00856401.2010.493280|journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies|language=en|volume=33|issue=2|pages=235–257|doi=10.1080/00856401.2010.493280|s2cid=145340437|issn=0085-6401|access-date=21 March 2021|archive-date=12 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212062645/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00856401.2010.493280|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Chakravarty recalled the affair in an interview and said:

{{Blockquote|text=''Forbes'' never certified the ''dabbawalas'' as being a [[Six Sigma|six-sigma organization]]. In fact, I never used the term at all. As you know, six-sigma is a process, not a statistic. But it is commonly associated with a statistic of 1.9 errors per billion operations, and that is what caused the confusion ... I was impressed by the efficiency and complexity of the process by which some 175,000 [[tiffin]] boxes were sorted, transported, delivered and returned each day by people who were mostly illiterate and unsophisticated. I asked the head of the organization how often they made a mistake. He said almost never, maybe once every two months. Any more than that would be unforgivable to customers. I did the math, which works out to one mistake in 8 million deliveries—or 16 million, since the tiffin carriers are returned home each day. That is the statistic I used. Apparently, at a conference in 2002, a reporter asked the president ... whether the tiffinwallahs were a six-sigma organization. He said he didn't know what that was. When told about the 1.9 error-per-billion statistics, I'm told he said: "Then we are. Just ask Forbes". The reporter, obviously without having read my story, wrote that Forbes had certified the tiffinwallahs as a six-sigma organization. That phrase was picked up and repeated by other reporters in other stories and now seems to have become part of the folklore.<ref name=pathak />|sign=|source=}}

''[[The New York Times]]'' reported in 2007 that the 125-year-old dabbawala industry continues to grow at a rate of 5–10% per year.<ref name ="nu yawk tymes">{{Cite news|last=Rai|first=Saritha|date=29 May 2007|title=In India, Grandma Cooks, They Deliver|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/business/worldbusiness/29lunch.html|access-date=21 March 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=11 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311221219/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/business/worldbusiness/29lunch.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Studies ==
Various studies have focused on dabbawalas:
* In 2001, Pawan G. Agrawal carried out his [[PhD]] research in "A Study & Logistics & Supply Chain Management of Dabbawala in Mumbai". He presented his results on the efficiency of Dabbawallas in various fora.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dr. Pawan Agrawal |url=http://www.kaizer.ind.in/Speaker-pawanagarwal.html |publisher=Kaizer |access-date=2 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409095430/http://www.kaizer.ind.in/Speaker-pawanagarwal.html |archive-date=9 April 2014 }}</ref>
* In 2005, the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) featured a case study on the Mumbai Dabbawallas from a management perspective of logistics.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ravichandran |first=N. |title=World class logistics operations : The case of Bombay dabbawallahs |date=1 September 2005 |publisher=Indian Institute of Management |location=Ahmedabad |url=http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/publications/data/2005-09-01ravichandran.pdf |access-date=2 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924033601/http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/publications/data/2005-09-01ravichandran.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* In 2010, Harvard Business School added the case study ''The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time'' to their compendium for its high level of service with a low-cost and simple operating system.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thomke |first1=Stefan H. |last2=Sinha |first2=Mona |title=The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time (Case 610-059) |date=February 2010 |publisher=Harvard Business School |location=Harvard, Ma. |url=http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=38410 |access-date=7 April 2014 |archive-date=19 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119032242/http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=38410 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 2014, Uma S. Krishnan completed her [[PhD]] research in "A Cross-Cultural Study of the Literacy Practices of The Dabbawalas: Towards a New Understanding of Non-mainstream Literacy and its Impact on Successful Business Practices."<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Krishnan |first1=Uma S. |title=A Cross Cultural Study of the Literacy Practices of the Dabbawalas: Towards a New Understanding of Nonmainstream Literacy and its Impact on Successful Business Practices |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=Kent State University |date=2014 |url=http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1416312472 |access-date=21 November 2022 |language=en |archive-date=15 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815185804/https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/etd/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=kent1416312472 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Notable events ==

* Dabbawallas were invited to the [[wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles]] in 2005.<ref>{{Cite news|date=5 April 2005|title=Royal invite for tiffin carriers|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4408545.stm|url-status=live|access-date=21 March 2021|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227050250/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4408545.stm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bondre|first=Shobha|year=2011|title=Mumbai's Dabbawala|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41804004|journal=India International Centre Quarterly|volume=38|issue=2|pages=84–96|jstor=41804004|issn=0376-9771}}</ref>
*As of 2010, the dabbawallas were chosen by [[Bharti Airtel]] to distribute advertising pamphlets, with a commission for every dabbawalla.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Leahy|first=Joe|date=26 October 2010|title=MUMBAI'S DABBAWALLAS: High-tech meets low-tech over lunch|url=https://www.ft.com/content/5f7b7dfc-fd57-11db-8d62-000b5df10621|url-access=limited|url-status=live|access-date=21 March 2021|website=Financial Times|location=Mumbai|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528090932/https://www.ft.com/content/5f7b7dfc-fd57-11db-8d62-000b5df10621 |archive-date=28 May 2018 }}</ref>
*On 21 March 2011, Prakash Baly Bachche carried three dabbawalla tiffin crates on his head at one time, which was entered as a [[Guinness World Record]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Most dabbawala tiffin crates carried on the head|date=21 March 2011|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-9000/most-dabbawala-tiffin-crates-carried-on-the-head/|access-date=2 May 2014|publisher=Guinness World Records|archive-date=2 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502141431/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-9000/most-dabbawala-tiffin-crates-carried-on-the-head/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 2011, dabbawalas went on strike for the first time in 120 years to promote and attend a rally at [[Azad Maidan]] to support [[Anna Hazare]] as part of the [[2011 Indian anti-corruption movement]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sheth|first1=Priya|last2=Ganguly|first2=Nivedita|date=18 August 2011|title=Dabbawalas to strike for the first time in 120 years|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/dabbawalas-to-strike-for-the-first-time-in-120-years/article2369850.ece|access-date=8 April 2017|website=Business Line|language=en|archive-date=23 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423015933/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/dabbawalas-to-strike-for-the-first-time-in-120-years/article2369850.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Over the years, the dabbawallas have been visited by many prominent personalities like [[Charles, Prince of Wales]], [[Richard Branson]] and then US Commerce Secretary, [[Gary Locke]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Patwa|first=Sharvari|date=11 February 2011|title=Dabbawallas get another high profile visitor, this time from US|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/dabbawallas-get-another-high-profile-visitor-this-time-from-us/|url-status=live|access-date=21 March 2021|website=The Indian Express|language=en|archive-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925202133/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/dabbawallas-get-another-high-profile-visitor-this-time-from-us/}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The 2007 marathi film [[Mumbaicha Dabewala]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mumbaicha Dabewala |url=https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Mumbaicha-Dabewala/0L01F2A44BM6P5PEIJ9GSVXSEZ |access-date=30 March 2026 |website=primevideo |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref> and 2013 Bollywood film ''[[The Lunchbox]]'' are based on the dabbawala service.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 September 2013|first=Scott|last=Feinberg|title=Telluride: Indian Oscar Hopeful 'The Lunchbox' Delivers Tasty Surprise|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/telluride-indian-oscar-hopeful-lunchbox-619066|access-date=21 March 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417015434/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/telluride-indian-oscar-hopeful-lunchbox-619066|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''[[Top Gear: India Special]]'', a special episode of the British TV series ''[[Top Gear (2002 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.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite web|date=25 January 2005|first=Shekhar|last=Gupta|title=Our computer is our head and our Gandhi cap is the cover to protect it from the sun or rain|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/our-computer-is-our-head-and-our-gandhi-cap-is-the-cover-to-protect-it-from-the-sun-or-rain/|access-date=21 March 2021|website=The Indian Express}}
*{{cite news|first=Jeremy |last=Hart |title=The Mumbai working lunch |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article352265.ece |work=The Independent |publisher=The Independent group, London |date=19 March 2006 |access-date=20 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070325193216/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article352265.ece |archive-date=25 March 2007 }}
*{{cite news|title=Indian lunchbox carriers to attend the Royal nuptials |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4153/is_20050405/ai_n13502944 |work=Evening Standard (London) |date=5 April 2005 |access-date=20 March 2007 }}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{Cite book|last=Bondre|first=Śobhā|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r8pxMwEACAAJ|title=Mumbai's Dabbawala: The Uncommon Story of the Common Man|date=2011|publisher=OMO Books|isbn=978-81-910356-1-2}}
* {{Cite web|first1=Stefan H.|last1=Thomke|first2=Mona|last2=Sinha|date=February 2010|title=The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School|url=https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=38410|access-date=21 March 2021|website=Harvard Business School}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Dabbawalas}}
* {{Official website|https://mumbaidabbawala.in/}}

{{Mumbai topics}}
{{Karachi topics}}

[[Category:Indian cuisine]]
[[Category:Pakistani cuisine]]
[[Category:Culture of Mumbai]]
[[Category:Culture of Karachi]]
[[Category:Transport occupations]]
[[Category:Personal care and service occupations]]
[[Category:Transport in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Transport in Karachi]]
[[Category:Indian slang]]
[[Category:Indian English idioms]]
[[Category:Pakistani slang]]
[[Category:Pakistani English idioms]]

Dabbawala - Revision history

ShielaPaxton36 at 05:53, 30 March 2026