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NY Times: Dabbawallas

Image Copyright Fawzan Husain for the NY Times
The recent NY Times' slideshow of the 'dabbawallas' of Mumbai is an example of weak multimedia, and whoever decided on publishing it was sleepwalking. The subject of the 'dabbawallas' is an interesting one, not only from a cultural standpoint, but also from a business perspective. It's a shame that the photographs by Fawzan Husain in this slideshow barely touch the surface of the 'dabbawalla' profession. The absence of an audio soundtrack also tells me that the feature was not sufficiently thought through. I would have divided the feature into two parts: one focusing on the overall industry (but much more than the NYT did) and the second delving deeper into the lives of a couple of "dabbawallahs"....their daily routine, their families, their lodgings, etc with interviews and ambient sound of traffic, street noise and so forth.

However, TTP is not only about photography, but also showcases topics that gives assignment ideas to photographers and photojournalists....so this gives me the opportunity to post about the 'dabbahwallahs', or the 'packed-lunch delivery boys', who number at least 5,000 in Mumbai alone. These men deliver at least 200,000 home-cooked meals from the outer suburbs to the city's center each and every working day. They are self-employed, and have devised one of the most ingenious distribution in the world, by working in groups of four in a semblance of a relay ensuring the door-to-door delivery.

The dabbawallahs date back to the late 19th century when the city's exploding population needed feeding at work. More than a century later Mumbai's middle classes still prefer their food home-cooked. From a business standpoint, Forbes magazine ranked the dabbahwallahs alongside the likes of GE and Motorola in terms of efficiency and quality of service.

The enormity of the task is mind boggling...over 200,000 boxes (known locally as tiffinboxes) are handled every day...each box has to be delivered to the right person, using local infrastructure such as public trains and bicycles...and during weather problems such as monsoons or heat waves. Costs are low, roughly about $5 a month.

However, competition is looming. The tiffin box carriers delivering to the Mumbai Stock Market workers jostle for business with international fast food outlets such as McDonald's and Pizza Hut. However, I bet that the 'dabbawallahs' will remain as a fixture...as the Indians' aversion to what is known as "outside food" is well known.

NY Times' Dabbawallahs (Registration possibly required)