Two years back, the Mumbai dabbawala men clad in their white uniforms were going about their ordinary day delivering lunchboxes to the office-goers in the city. When Covid-19 hit Mumbai, their shiny steel stacked dabbas disappeared from the corporate offices, cycles were left to collect dust and rust, and their white uniforms and Gandhi caps kept folded inside their cupboards.
For 40-year-old Sachin Gawde, who resides in Diva, being a dabbawala is what he has been known for his entire life. His great-grandfathers have been delivering dabbas since 1952. It is his identity and his source of livelihood.
Gawde says, “The dabbawala community has helped us immensely through the lockdown. Since we are well-known in the city, we advertised asking for help, and people came forward to support us. One of my customers paid for my daughter’s education during the first lockdown, which is a testament to the relationship that we share with our clients.”
For Kalyan’s Sharad More, the 2020 lockdown made him return to his village near Nashik to take up farming. More says, “Working from home completely turned our lives upside down. Since January 2022, things have started looking better and have started picking up pace.”
He adds, “However, people are still reluctant because dabbawalas travel far to deliver tiffins. Most of the dabbawalas are uneducated, so we are ready to work hard to make ends meet. I just want our customers to allow us dabbawalas to feed them food, which will help us feed our families as well.”
While Dinkar Nigot, another dabbawala from Vikhroli is sceptical about the service getting back to pre-lockdown times.
He says, “Majority of the dabbawalas are still unemployed because a lot of office-goers have lost their jobs, are still working from home and only come to office twice a week. Jo kaam kar rahe hai, unko abhi double kaam karna padh raha hai dabbe ki demand ki hisab se.”
The key takeaway for these men has been the bond that they share with their customers. More says, “Since 1890, when the dabbawala service started, we have never asked our customers for anything. Covid has taught me that our customers treat us as their family and will stick with us through thick and thin.”