City dabbawalas celebrate royal baby’s birth
The famed dabbawalas of Mumbai are celebrating the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s baby with the Indian tradition of distributing sweets.
Thousands of dabbawalas each day pick up lunches at workers’ homes and deliver the lunches to them at their offices. They have been hailed for their efficiency and Prince Charles had visited them a decade ago, creating a connection with the men.
On Tuesday, the white hat-clad men welcomed the birth of his grandson.
“Prince Charles has become a grandfather. He had come to Mumbai as a friend and made us famous. We are very happy for him so we are distributing sweets to express our happiness,” said Bhau Saheb Karwande, a dabbawala.
Mumbai’s 5,000-odd dabbawalas have been in action for over 125 years, without work stoppages (except for one day of bandh), and deliver
nearly 2,00,000 lunches everyday. Their unique operational method is a subject of management Study in global business schools.
The BBC has produced a documentary on dabbawalas. Prince Charles during his visit to India had visited them on the November 4, 2003. Prince Charles also invited them to his wedding with Camilla Parker Bowles in London on April 9, 2005. Owing to the
tremendous publicity, some of the dabbawalas were invited to give guest lectures in some of the top business schools of India.
Post new comment