Out of Box

The dabbawallas,who run the dabba or tiffin system,cook and deliver a certain amount of food door-to-door,for a nominal sum. The advantage of having a dabba system is that it is healthy food,and is very reasonable. Moreover,it gets delivered directly to the residence/office of the person.

Samridhi Sen,a media professional who moved to the city to work,finds her neighbourhood dabba system quite convenient. She says,“In areas like Gokhale Nagar,Law College Road and FC road,there are places where you can get all-you-can eat dabbas twice a day for Rs 1400 to 1600 a month. An alternate is to go to the mess itself and eat. There are also a few dabbawallas who provide Bengali or Punjabi food.” For Sen,whose hours are quite long,a promise of ready food at her home saves her from having to cook. She does have one complaint,though. “The only negative aspect of these dabbawallas is that most of them provide only vegetarian food,” she says. There are some dabbawallas who provide non-vegetarian food,but she feels they’re not trustworthy or too expensive.

Arushi Gupta,on the other hand,who has been in Pune for over a year now,has no such complaints. “I get good North Indian food for Rs 800 per month,thus it suits my palate and my wallet!” she says.

The Gorpades,a husband-wife duo,run a tiffin service from their residence near Senapati Bapat Road. They say,“The people around here are mostly students,so they are not too particular about the food they have,and are okay with the Maharashtrian food that we serve. However,it is true that in areas like Koregaon Park and Viman Nagar,where the crowd is more cosmopolitan,the demands are higher.”

Devanshi Broker,one of the many people in the city who depends on the dabbawallas,says,“Since I moved to Pune,I’ve been missing home-cooked food. I have started going to this Jain Boarding in front of my house from where I get a tiffin. The food is good plus it serves Jain-Gujarati food which makes me feel like I am eating at home.” Shruti Anand,who recently shifted to Pune from Delhi,agrees,“I get the tiffin for two reasons – good food and cost effective.”

Randive,who runs a dabba system near JM road,says that his clientele more or less comprises students. “Most of the people who take dabbas from me are studying for the UPSC or MPSC. They are known to me and have been taking dabbas for a long time.” When asked if he serves food other than Maharashtrian cuisine,his answer is an emphatic ‘no’. “Today,serving the food that I do has become a routine,so I like to stick to what I know best.”

However,not everyone has had a happy experience with the dabba system. Deepti Krishna,a student at Wadia college who experimented with dabbas for a while,says,“The food is quite average. It’s strictly not like home food because at home,we get the occasional treat,whereas with dabbas,there is nothing fancy. In fact,after a while,having it is like another task to be completed. The worst part for me was that the dabba system had only Maharashtrian dishes.” Deepti has been so shaken by her experience,that she says,“Though circumstances might force me to take up the dabba system again,one thing is for sure – I won’t be looking forward to it.”