SodaBottleOpenerWala, the popular quintessential Bombay-Irani Café and Bar chain has regularly put the spotlight on to celebrate the fading communities of Mumbai.
An intrinsic part and a much loved element of celebrating the spirit of Bombay at SodaBottleOpenerWala is the Comic Book that depicts life and elements of the city and has been delighting diners since the launch of SodaBottleOpenerWala in Mumbai in 2015.
In keeping with the ethos of celebrating iconic elements of Bombay, SodaBottleOpenerWala presents yet another ode to the city with a tribute to the one of the oldest communities: The Dabbawalas who truly represent the entrepreneurial undying spirit of the city.
As the brainchild of Chef Partner Anaida Parvane, SodaBottleOpenerWala presents the latest edition of their popular comic book this time inspired by the community of Bombay Dabbawalas. Titled "Dabbawala" with cartoons by artist Abhijit Kini, this book is dedicated to the SuperHero's of the city that day after day ensure the city gets their dabbas on time.
I have been a fan of Dabbawalas ever since their "Share my Dabba" initiative over a decade ago and have been wanting to do something worthy to honour them for years and finally the opportunity arrived. In their honour we at SodaBottleOpenerWala also serve our famous Dhansak in a Dabba at our outlets. To us at the Mumbai Dabbawalas represent the true spirit of Mumbai at its best and are hero’s for all the right reasons.
- Chef Anaida Parvaneh, Chef Partner SodaBottleOpenerWala – High Street Phoenix
This comic book was launched in the presence of Dabbawalas, artist Abhijeet Kini, the Palladium team and the SodaBottleOpenerWala team, as a part of the art exhibition organised by Palladium. This exhibition showcased art exhibits, dedicated to the Mumbai, by renowned artist Valay Shende. One of the exhibits was a dabbawa sculpture, who are in the true sense the backbone of the food delivery system in the city.
Created in old comic A4 size style, the comic book story starts with a kid coming home and asking his dad for help on a project on super hero’s wondering whom to choose between spiderman and superman and his father suggests why not Mumbai Dabbawalas? The father then proceeds to explain to his son why they are superheros and the comic ends with the kid taking a selfie with his favourite Dabbawala.
The comic book will be available across all SodaBottleOpenerWala outlets in the city and is priced at ₹100. The comic has two versions in English and Marathi. The proceeds from the sale of the comic book will go to the Dabbawala community.
On the launch of the comic book Mr Ullas Shantaram Muke, Chairman Dabbawalla said “We are very happy that a comic book has been launched on the dabbawalas and that people are recognising our work this will encourage us to keep working in a systematic order in the near future. We also enjoyed being served Mumbai specials in a dabba at SodaBottleOpenerWala.”
Post the unveiling of the “Dabbawala” comic, Chef Anaida and the team at SodaBottleOpenerWala hosted the group of Dabbawalas to a meal at SodaBottleOpenerWala, High Street Phoenix that was served to them in (what else!!) a dabba! The menu included vegetarian favourites like Tawa paneer masala Dabba, Vegetable Berry Pulao Dabba, Veg Dhansak Dabba, Parsi Curry Dabba.
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