The lunch box network

A third generation dabbawala, Raghunath Medge, is the face of a workforce that transports 2 lakh lunch boxes across Mumbai city. Speaking recently at an event organised by the All India Management Association, Megde says, they never get it wrong

September 22, 2018 11:05 am | Updated 11:05 am IST

Kozhikde, Kerala, 20/09/2018: Raghunath D.,  Medge( to go with P.KAjith story0.Photo: S_Ramesh Kurup


Kozhikde, Kerala, 20/09/2018: Raghunath D., Medge( to go with P.KAjith story0.Photo: S_Ramesh Kurup


When Raghunath Medge began his career as a dabbawala , Mumbai was Bombay. Shah Rukh Khan was in school and in Delhi. Hema Malini, Rekha and Zeenat Aman were all young, beautiful and made millions of hearts throb.

Four decades later, those leading ladies have aged gracefully, Shah Rukh reigns over Bollywood and Bombay's transformation into Mumbai has been more than etymological. But, offices at India's largest city still wait for Medge and his men at the lunch hour, and the rest of the world continue to wonder at a truly unique business that transports some two lakh lunch boxes across 70 square kilometres every day.

That is made possible by about 5,000 dabbawale , who are all managing partners of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust. They collect the lunch boxes from homes and deliver to workplaces in distant corners of Mumbai, on bicycles and local trains. The lunch boxes are returned to homes before dusk.

Medge, , former president of the Trust, has now become the face of the large workforce whose history goes back to 1890, when they began with a hundred lunch boxes. He is a much-in-demand speaker at business schools and functions organised by businessmen.

“I have spoken in 16 countries, including the United States, England, Switzerland and Thailand,” says Megde, after his talk at Kozhikode organised recently by the All India Management Association. “I have to depend on translators when I speak abroad.”

Little of the unique business model is lost in translation, he has found out. “The foreign managers are all impressed by the little margin of error in our business,” he says. “We never get it wrong; the lunch box is always delivered to the right person. If someone is not at office at the time, the box is returned home. The delivery isn't done only if there is a road accident.”

The 2013 Hindi film The Lunchbox , however, was based on the premise of a mix-up because of which the lunch sent by a housewife is mistakenly delivered to a stranger. “Yes, we were all perturbed by the plot of the film, but didn't want to go to court and to waste time,” he says. “We registered our protest to the producers, who gave our society a donation of Rs. 1 lakh.”

He, however, admits that because of the film Mumbai's dabbawale achieved even more international fame. “That was the only good thing that happened because of that film,” he says. “I understand that you need to add some 'masala' while making a film.”

In The Lunchbox , you would see the characters of Irrfan Khan and Nirmat Kaur exchanging letters through the lunch box. “In the earlier times, before the advent of mobile phones, such exchanges were quite common,” he says. “Sometimes we also carry along with the food, things like pens or spectacles.”

He has been in the job since 1974. “I am a third-generation dabbawala , after my father and grandfather” he says. “I am the team leader at the Vile Parle station. There are 800 teams spread across Mumbai.”

A dabbawala 's job begins at eight in the morning. “And we work till 6 p.m., by which time all the lunch boxes are returned,” he says. “What I like most about the job is that it gives you a lot of satisfaction; you help people eat fresh food made at their homes. We believe serving food is serving God.”

He is also proud of the fact that the organisation gives employment to thousands of people, most of whom have little education. “I am happy that I could effect changes to the coding system which has made the delivery of the lunch boxes easier,” he says.

Can this be business model be replicated anywhere else?

“I wouldn't rule that out, but it may not be easy,” he says. “Our system works in Mumbai because of geography, among other reasons. The city is surrounded by sea and is of round shape. Much of the business takes place in South Mumbai, whereas people live in places 60 or 70 km away.”

And he is only too happy to go on telling the world how they manage this miracle. “I have been all to the top management schools of India,” he says. “It is great when so many successful businessmen come to listen to me.”

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