Dabbawala Tour – Mumbai

The word “Dabbawala” can be interpreted as “box-carrier” or “lunch-pail man”. In Marathi and Hindi, “dabba” means a box (usually a cylindrical aluminium container). More specifically, the word dabbawala refers to a person in the Indian city of Mumbai who carries and delivers freshly prepared food from homes in lunch boxes to office workers.

The concept of the dabbawala system came into being when a man named Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started a lunch delivery service with about a hundred men. Today, Indian office workers and business professionals are among the main customers of dabbawalas, and the service often includes both cooking and delivery.

10:00 Hrs

The guests will be picked up by the guide from the hotel and driven to Churchgate Railway Station, where they will see the dabbawalas unloading the dabbas (tiffins) from the train onto wooden carts.

10:30 Hrs

At Churchgate Station, guests will see how people stand in queues at the ticket counter to purchase tickets for their daily commute to work. The guests will then be escorted to the platform to board a local train to Mahalaxmi Station.

Local trains are one of the major means of transportation in Mumbai. The extensive railway network consists of three main lines: the Western Line, the Central Main Line, and the Harbour Line. Being a linear city, Mumbai is well connected by its local train network. This tour gives guests an opportunity to experience the famous Mumbai Local. We travel in a First Class compartment and journey from South Mumbai to North Mumbai during a less crowded period.

11:00 Hrs

Guests arrive at Mahalaxmi Railway Station, which is part of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. The station is located next to the famous municipal Dhobi Ghat at Mahalaxmi in Mumbai.

Most of the dabbawalas get down at Mahalaxmi Station, as many corporate offices are located in the surrounding area. Here, the dabbawalas sort the tiffin boxes according to the markings on them, which are coded area-wise. Guests will receive a brief introduction to the dabbawalas and learn how the tiffins are coded, sorted, and distributed to the right places at the right time.

The tiffins are then placed on wooden crates, each carrying around 150 tiffins, and transported by 3–4 dabbawalas in different directions for delivery, often using bicycles.

12:00-12:30 Hrs

The guests will be escorted out of Mahalaxmi Station and proceed to the open-air laundry, popularly known as Dhobi Ghat.

A unique feature of Mumbai, the dhobi is a traditional laundryman who collects dirty linen, washes it, and returns it neatly pressed to the customer’s doorstep, all at a very affordable price. The open-air laundries are known as “ghats” and consist of rows of concrete washing pens, each equipped with a traditional washing stone. The clothes are soaked in soapy water, beaten against the washing stones, rinsed, and then hung out to dry. They are subsequently ironed and neatly arranged into bundles.

Almost 200 dhobis and their families work here, continuing a traditional occupation that has been passed down through generations.