Oops! Missed them!
Now this may seem odd but we didn’t actually see the Dabbawalas yesterday morning, despite this being our plan. We rose in good time, had breakfast and made our way to the railway station (Lower Parel on the Western Line). We procured first class tickets (no, we were not repeating the events of the previous day!). The train arrived (late but we’ve worked out that they all run late!) and we trundled off towards Churchgate in southern Mumbai where the Dabbawalas meet. When we go there, however, they were nowhere to be seen. Despite reading that the ideal time to see the Dabbawalas is between 11:30 and 12:30, we believe that by that time they are gone and you need to be considerably earlier. We know exactly where they sorted the Dabbas outside Churchgate station and, apart from one carrying crate, there was no sign of them at all when we arrived!
Ah, now I realise that I have still not explained what a Dabbawala is. Dabbawala is basically a lunchbox delivery system. It is complex and incredible to see (we have seen them before!) we have included photos but I have to confess not taken by me but found on the Internet.Dabbawalas collect the Tiffin boxes (Dabbas) from thousands of homes in districts laying outside of southern Mumbai. The Dabbas are marked with colours that indicate which station they come from and are transported primarily by bike, or on foot, to sorting points before they are put on trains. The Dabbas then travel by train (usually in dedicated carriages!) to the station where they are unloaded and sorted on the pavement before being delivered by local Dabbawalas to their final destination. One of the busiest destination stations is Churchgate but they can be destined for anywhere in greater Mumbai.
The Dabbawalas (as they are known) are largely illiterate which is why colours are used and the Dabba has only the destination station from where it will be sorted and the final destination address. There are around 5,000 Dabbawalas that form the Dabbawala community and they are all related and come from the same village near the town of Pune. The service is closed for 5 days every March to allow the Dabbawalas to return home for the annual village festival.
Dabbawalas deliver between 175,000 and 200,000 lunches every day (stick that in your pipe and smoke it Deliveroo!) and it is said that they make less than one mistake per 8,000,000 deliveries! The Dabbawalas are all self employed and are paid around 8,000 Rupees per month (£50). Pay is made after deductions for poor uniform (which they have to buy themselves), mistakes (very rarely!), the abuse of alcohol or any other misdemeanours. The empty Dabbas are collected in the early afternoon of the day after they are delivered and taken back to the houses from where they came.
Having missed the Dabbawalas we decided to have a wander around the Churchgate area. We vaguely looked for Fashion Street but we’ve pretty much concluded that it doesn’t exist! We did happen upon another market though (so easily done in Mumbai) and wandered through the hundreds of stalls selling, primarily, clothes. We ended up walking in pretty much of a circle so, by the time we reached Churchgate station again, we were ready to head back to Lower Parel. We took a slow walk through the bustling streets of Lower Parel, did a little browsing and I made a small purchase of a pair of shoes (real leather and less than £10!).
A small word about men walking around draped around each other’s shoulders or holding hands. This is very common here in India and also in some other parts of Asia. Physical contact with a female is absolutely forbidden unless you are married. As a consequence men will often hold hands or put their arms around each other just for friendship and as a demonstration of respect. It may seem odd to the western world but is very common here. Yes, it did appear a little odd when two men in high viz jackets and hard hats were holding hands walking across the street the other day – all very YMCA – but it is perfectly normal here in India!
Despite it being early afternoon, the street food sellers were in full flow. There are so many different foods that are prepared and eaten on the side of the road. Chole is a dish that originates from Mumbai but is now eaten all over India. This delicious chickpea curry is being prepared everywhere you walk and the smell is divine. It is probably not the most attractive dish every produced but what it lacks in look it certainly makes up for in flavour! People seem to eat it at all times of day (I have had it three times for breakfast!) and it is one of the most popular street foods there is. There are, however, many more ranging from rice dishes to very thin egg omelettes that are stuffed and rolled, to chaat (which really means ‘snack’ but is used to describe a small fried chapati like bread that is topped with onion, green chilli, tomato, coriander and yoghurt).
Arriving back at the Four Seasons Captain Clarke finally bought me the Lime Soda he had been threatening to do since we got here. Lime Soda is an absolute must in India and in the heat – it is refreshing and thirst quenching and is a very safe way to get a drink. (Some street sellers use water from a bucket which might not be the best thing for a non-Indian constitution!) It is usually served as the juice of a lime in the glass with a bottle of soda water to the side and accompanied by a small glass of sugar syrup so that one can regulate how sweet the drink is.
Having finished our Lime Sodas (we had two!) we returned to our room for a little rest before walking out again to have a look at the local area. We usually turn left out of our hotel (we rather like turning left!) but we turned right and explored the streets nearby. It is incredible how you walk along a street and there are shacks selling Chai or stalls selling street food, there are dogs sleeping in the street and on the pavement, there is noise and smell and colour everywhere and then, suddenly, you come across a very, very posh shop selling furniture or modern home furnishings at prices that most of the people you have just walked past wouldn’t earn in ten years! India really is a country of contradictions!
Yesterday evening we went back to Foo Restaurant. We have had two excellent meals there and thoroughly enjoyed both. It is not expensive but the food is excellent and varied. I have included here today a couple of photos of the food court in Festival Square where we have eaten most days. Weirdly the display in the centre of Festival Square is a Christmas display. It has been growing over the last few days and more and more people have come to see it. It has Christmas trees that are decorated exactly as we would for Christmas but it isn’t Christmas (and wouldn’t be in a Hindu or Muslim country!). Having read the description of the display it says it is a Christmas display to mark the end of winter and the beginning of summer. I am not really any the wiser!
Today is our last day here in Mumbai. We begin our journey home tonight. It has been a fantastic week which we have thoroughly enjoyed. I think the cold is beginning to subside too. I was a bit ‘Barry White’ yesterday but things are on the improve I think. Our journey home will commence with a 4 hour flight back to Dubai where we have a 3 hours stopover before getting back on an A380 for our flight back to Gatwick where we will arrive early tomorrow morning. There may be just one more missive from RudyMenTerry but I suspect it will be brief! It is now pretty much time for Rudy to return to his slumber!
I’m not one to complain (!) but where are the piccies you threatened?
Another brilliant and informative
blog. There were a few Dabbwalas in Oman when we lived there.
They brought meals to the houses where the company had houseboys
in situ. Our houseboy had his own accommodation which included a
tiny kitchen but the Dabbawala often brought him a meal.
Sometimes one of the girls shared it with him, always commenting
that it was delicious. It was cooked at the camp where the India
workers lived.
Very cold today – so hope it is a bit better for your return.
See you soon.
Happy landings Fran x