Once upon a time there was a Parsi banker in Mumbai who craved for home cooked food while at work – hence he got a person to pick food from his home and deliver it at his office. This was the birth of the first ever dabbawalla in Mumbai about a century and a quarter back.
Mumbaikars, then too a busy lot, loved the concept and dabba services started in an informal way. Credit for setting up the present dabba delivery system however goes to Havaji Bachche who started the lunch delivery service in its present team-delivery format with 100 dabbawallas. Demand for dabba delivery grew as Mumbai’s business and corporate environment continued to expand, and local trains got crowded.
Commuters of local trains around 10 am every day are witness to the phenomenon – dabbas being meticulously sorted, loaded in local trains and being unloaded. And yes, the exercise has been on since the year 1890 – just four decades after the local train services started in Mumbai.
Close to two lakh dabbas are delivered every day across three local train routes. The service runs uninterrupted six days a week come rain or shine; exceptions are only when locals are running awfully late or there is a calamity of great magnitude. A close to error-free delivery can be attributed to a coding system which has moved from being simple colour coding to a far more intricate one. Ullas Shantaram Muke, President, Mumbai Dabbawalla Association expresses, “Coding is the basis of our excellent delivery system. We now use a number of codes including those for people delivering and collecting boxes, office addresses, station code and more.”
Currently, there are around 4500 to 5000 dabbawallas making their livelihood from delivering home cooked food. A single person cannot carry more than 25-30 dabbas and, hence, only that many dabbas are assigned to a dabbawalla. With such a vast network, isn’t there chaos on occasion, one wonders. Muke explains, “There is no chaos, but yes, there is confusion sometimes. I operate on Grant Road station and 10 members out of my 60-member team play the role of manager, who supervise coding, sorting, loading and unloading of dabbas and are responsible for resolving disputes, overseeing collections, and trouble-shooting. Each team works in more or less the same fashion, and hence, operations run smoothly.”
Dabbawallas, at best semi-literate, have attained sustained success without any dependence on technology so far. Nonetheless, there is no sign of nervousness as they witness food delivery personnel from a few companies zooming past on their bikes. Muke smiles, “The modern food delivery services do not impact us much, we have a legacy of 125 plus years, and in some cases, we have been serving food for generations. I do not see that loyalty breaking. Besides, pricing is a big advantage, our delivery charges for the entire month are close to food charges for a day if ordered from a restaurant.”
This, however, does not mean that dabbawallas are not forward looking. Muke illuminates, “In sync with Digital India, we are working on a digital dabbawalla platform too for the ease of our customers. Dabbawalla Foundation is currently developing software where users can book dabba delivery online,” he continues, “We are also planning to deliver food from health kitchens and restaurants. It would lead to an enhancement in our income and if we earn more, it would help us work even better.”
The association is taking concrete steps to improve the quality of life for its members. A retirement system is being planned so that dabbawallas who have worked all their lives earn a pension. In addition, plan is to buy e-cycles to reduce the fatigue, finances are a constraint here though, and financial assistance options are being explored. Dabbawallas also intend selling organic farm produce in their free time.
Like the best of corporates, dabbawallas are taking care of their social responsibility too. “A roti bank was started earlier and dabbawallas were a part of it. However, the arrangement did not last long. Post Diwali we are starting Mumbai dabbawalla roti bank. We would source food from parties and other places and reach it to hospitals and wherever a need is identified,” says Muke. He talks of another initiative as well. “Some people advertise on our dabbas, the money the association earns from there is given for stay and food for poor people staying in our dharmshalas in Pandarpur, Alindi and few other places. We have also arranged for schools in a couple of these dharamshalasm,” he adds.
While we Mumbaikars largely take their efficiency as a way of life, these dabba stalwarts are case studies in management schools of repute today and are even invited for guest lectures. The service has attracted worldwide attention and visits by Prince Charles, Richard Branson, and employees of Federal Express – renowned for its excellence in logistics management. The story goes that Prince Charles had to fit in with their schedule, as they would not miss their local even for a prince!