Dabbawallahs

What do dabbawallahs do? Where do they do what they do? Why do they do whatever they do? What is it that shot them to fame? Why do management gurus, kings, leaders alike took notice of these quiet men of honor?

We had Dabbawallahs themselves answering these questions during the sessions they conducted inhouse. I went over with my friend to get a first hand feel of what they do and why they are considered with such regard. Leave alone the six sigma statistics thay they have bettered. What captured my attention was the confidence and the pride with which he spoke and the humbleness that he displayed, a rare combination. They take home food to the offices and then bring it back to the houses after the lunch for a meagre amount. Like the business itself the process is extremely simple and is not replicable as such - it caters to the Mumbai city's needs and depends entirely on the electric train. And more than this on the passion and commitment of the Dabbawallahs who are stakeholders in the business. To a large extent this hinges on their desperation for earning a livelihood and their belief that distributing food is a divine task.

What is also noteworthy is the time management and the fact that the process is kept as simple as possible to keep the costs low. Despite that it needs to be seen how many more decades they will sustain. May be their younger generation will reconsider how much more money they can make with so many opportunities around!!