Who are the dabbawalas of Mumbai?
In Mumbai, before lunchtime, dabbawalas collect metal lunch carriers known as dabbas or tiffins from homes or kitchens and carry them to offices. The boxes are marked with colours and symbols for their destinations, then grouped and regrouped as they move by bicycle, handcart and local train.
The system began in 1890, and at its peak about 5,000 dabbawalas carried around 200,000 lunches a day. Its scale has shrunk since Covid changed office work and lunch routines, but dabbawalas still carry home-cooked lunches across Mumbai. After lunch, the empty boxes are collected and sent back to where they started.