Sharing is Good Karma:

Dabbawalas of Mumbai needs no introduction. More than 5,000 Dabbawalas deliver home-cooked food to about 200,000 Mumbaikars at the office daily. They are literally the very first facilitators of home delivery service for more than a century in the financial capital. What’s even more amazing is that they have been delivering even before the advent of smartphones!

Mumbai is filled with narrow lanes, busy cars, and public buses. These Dabbawalas who are known for their legendary logistics system and work ethic, ride their bicycles through the tiny and clumsy streets of the city. They swerve through an army of cars, buses, and busy roads, carrying almost 30-35 lunchboxes at a time. They dodge rain, sun, hail, and wade through knee-depth water to deliver these delicious dabbas.

Nothing could ever break their grit, strength, and courage for the last 130 years until the pandemic came about and kept them out of work. With the virus outbreak, thousands of men had to put down their white topi (a common uniform of dabbawalas).

More than 1500 dabbawalas have lost their cycles due to the pandemic.

The loss of work made them survive on their savings which are almost drying up now. Things got even worse for them when they caught the sight of rusted, damaged bicycles soon after the unlock. Mumbai’s rain, the humidity, and the climate played a heavy toll on their cycles. The chains and the wheels have worn down, and they’re in such a bad state that they won’t run at all. They hardly have any money to even repair their cycles.

“If we can get new cycles, we can rise up again with the same spirit and show the whole of Mumbai that we are the same old dabbawalas and that nothing can break our passion”, said Kailash Shinde, a dabbawala from Mumbai.

Dabbawala

Source: DonateKartNow, as the city is peddling back to work, they are calling out for your help. They have been feeding you when you were busy at work. It’s time you care for them and help them take charge of their life.