BANGALORE: Dabbawallahs might be big in Mumbai but the tiffin-wallahs of Bangalore are in a league of their own. We live in a city with endless options when it comes to eateries. From luxury dining hotels to local canteens, there is something for everyone. But strangely, no five star meal or college canteen can fully satisfy the craving for home cooked food, especially for those youngsters who live without their families. This has led to an increase of the dabbawallahs.A dabbawallah literally translates to a “box person”, employed in a unique service industry which started back in 1880, whose primary business is collecting freshly cooked food in lunch boxes from the residences (mostly in the suburbs), delivering it to their workplaces and returning the empty boxes back to the customer’s residence by using various modes of transport.”Mumbai’s dabbawallahs are world famous. One proof of their popularity is the visit they earned from Prince Charles!While Bangalore might not have any ‘dabbawallahs’, we do have ‘Tiffin-wallahs’.While dabbawallahs merely collect and deliver food, the Bangalorean Tiffin-wallahs also add cooking to their portfolio. What started off as a part-time job turned into Mane Oota, a tiffin service, that was started by the Kumar couple a year ago with Sunitha Kumar doing the cooking. At present, they have two other housewives working and cooking part time and students who earn an extra buck delivering tiffins to PGs in and around the area of Byyapanahalli.They manage around 50 orders by themselves. Mane Oota caters to both north Indian and south Indian meals. They also cook both vegetarian and non vegetarian delicacies. A normal meal consists of chappatis, dal, vegetables and rice for vegetarians. There are many tiffin-wallahs around Electronics city, who get more non-veg orders. These dabbas cost a resonable price of `30 for vegetarian and `50 for non-vegetarian.“I’ve been in Bangalore for eight months now and I was really surprised when I heard about dabbawallahs here,” says Rahul Chauhan, an IT professional. “It’s almost as good as mom’s.” he added.It’s true that it will take Bangalore some time to catch up with their Mumbai counterparts. But this age-old profession is quickly turning into a full-fledged business with an increase in both supply and demand. Maybe the next time royalty is in town, they’ll be visiting our tiffin-wallahs!
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