In pics: The Dabbawala of Mumbai

New Delhi: The city of dreams, Mumbai is the biggest metropolitan. People are busy with their routines and work. So busy, that they hardly have time to do their household work specially cooking. Thanks to the ‘Dabbawallas' of Mumbai which have made things easier for the Mumbaikars.They are a boon for the people. ‘Dabbawalas' are the people who carry lunchboxes and deliver them to the customer. They serve hot fresh cooked food in tiffin thus making it easy for the office goers.Here is a glance of these hardworking men: 1. They deliver around 20,000 dabbas everyday. This circulation of fresh hot cook food in tiffins has become an important business and a trademark of the city. 2. About 5,000 dabbawalas reside in the city. They collect tiffin boxes from homes and then prepare the box with fresh food. Finally, they then deliver these lunch boxes through the cheapest mode of transport- bicycle. 3. These men are very systematic with their work. They sort out the boxes respective to their destination so that no wrong delivery takes place.4. Handcarts help to load the tiffins and transfer them from one place to another. 5. After that, these tiffins are then put into crates with a tag of their destination. 6. The weight of each tiffin is about 1.5 kg. One crate of tiffin is delivered by many people as they change hands during the journey. 7. This useful system was invented by a Parsi banker in 1890, who wanted to have home cooked food in his office. 8. Even the Mumbai local train has a separate compartment for the ‘Dabbawallas'. 9. These men have been the subject of study for various business schools due to its success. 10. Dabbawalas mainly belong to ‘Wakari' caste in rural Maharashtra.