Mumbai’s famed 'dabbawalas' make it to Kerala high school syllabus

Mumbai, Sep 9 (IANS) The heart-warming story of the world-famous 'dabbawalas' of Mumbai has been made part of the Class 9 English textbook in Kerala from this year, officials said on Monday.

The Kerala State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has included an article penned by travel writer couple Hugh and Colleen Gantzer, who are based in Mussoorie (Uttarakhand), in its school curriculam.

The chapter on 'dabbawalas' (Pg. 71-75) recounts the origin of the first ‘dabba’ (tiffin box) that was carried from Dadar (then considered a suburb) to south Mumbai’s Fort area, roughly 12 km away.

“That was way back in 1890 – or 134 years ago – and the first customer was a Parsi lady who hired Mahadeo Havaji Bachche to deliver a piping hot lunch box to her husband at his office downtown,” Raghunath Medge, the ex-President of Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charitable Trust (NMTBSCT), told IANS.

The NMTBSCT is the umbrella organisation under which the Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association (MTBSA) functions.

From those humble beginnings, the 'dabbawalas' grew and prospered, and at the last count before the Covid-19 pandemic, the busy tribe was 5,000-strong, ferrying around 2,00,000 ‘dabbas’ daily. They are admired and respected in Mumbai and world over for their unique, efficient and punctual service that is ranked equivalent to a Six Sigma Rating.

“From the crowded, unkempt railway stations on the Mumbai suburban railway networks, the Dabbawalas soon travelled to international business schools, global universities, featured in films, documentaries, books, and earned the visits of royals like the King Charles III, Queens, Presidents, Prime Ministers and other celebs,” said NMTBSCT spokesperson Ritesh S. Andre.

However, during the Covid pandemic, the trade suffered massively, reducing their numbers to around 2,000 and deliveries averaging around 1,00,000 daily, and now only those who are needy are accommodated to do the gruelling work, said Medge.

“Even the markets have changed drastically. What was first linear, from north Mumbai to south Mumbai, is now from north Mumbai to new Central Business Districts (CBDs) that have mushroomed in the Mumbai Central region, including Worli, Dadar, Bandra Kurla Complex, MIDC, Marol, Ghatkopar, Goregaon, Malad, etc., besides deliveries to schools and colleges, making it a complex affair,” Medge said.

Besides the Kerala SCERT textbooks, the 'dabbawalas' have been the subject of doctoral studies in India, research at the international level, have dedicated films or serials made in their honour, apart from a comic book series.

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