Mumbai’s Iconic Dabbawalas To Open Museum Highlighting Their 135-Year-Old Legacy

Mumbai’s Dabbawalas, known for precise lunchbox delivery since 1890, open a new experience centre in Bandra called the Mumbai Dabbawala International Experience Centre (MDIEC). The goal is to share their unique service and history, amid a decline in numbers post-COVID.

The experience centre and a small museum are run by the Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association (MTBSA) and the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust (NMTBSCT). They were given space in the Harmony Building, Bandra West, by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2022.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will officially open the museum on the eve of Independence Day. The event will be attended by the close-knit Dabbawala community and their leaders, including MTBSA’s Ramdas Baban Karvande and NMTBSCT’s President Ulhas Shantaram Muke.

A portrait of Mahadev Havaji Bachche, the founder who started the Dabbawala system in 1890, hangs above the entrance. The museum also features a statue of Lord Vitthoba, the Panduranga deity from Pandharpur, whom the Dabbawalas worship.

The exhibition includes 10 original tiffin boxes that show how they evolved from copper to metal to lightweight tin. The designs changed from a single piece to multi-layered boxes as public needs grew. These items were collected from old customers who kept them safe.

Since 1890, Mumbai’s Dabbawalas have been a key part of the city’s story. They wear specific attire to be easily recognisable. This gallery will show their important role and how their delivery system works.

The number of Dabbawalas has dropped since Covid-19. In the 1970s and 2000s, more than 5,000 Dabbawalas delivered over 200,000 lunchboxes daily. Today, about 1,500 Dabbawalas deliver less than 100,000 lunchboxes.

Their delivery system is famous for accuracy. They rarely deliver lunch boxes to the wrong place. The Dabbawalas use a special code to identify boxes. Interestingly, the original coding was colour-based. Now, as Mumbai has expanded and its train network has grown, the code includes letters and numbers to keep deliveries accurate.

Their service is often called the Six Sigma standard. The Dabbawalas’ system is studied by top institutes like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for their skill in time management and accuracy.