They have shook hands with billionaire aviator Richard Branson,attended Prince Charless wedding and even gave management lessons to MBA students,but the famed Gandhi topi-clad dabbawallas of Mumbai are on a different high this time. They have been picked to represent Maharashtra in Delhi at the 2010 Republic day parade. London is like our maushi (aunt),but Maharashtra is our aai (mother). An honour to represent our state at the national level is bigger than any recognition, beams association president Raghunath Medge. The 129-year-old city-based business community has been selected to be part of the Republic Day parade on January 26. A tableau depicting the dabbawallas management system will pass through Rashtrapati Bhavan on its way to Red Fort,where they will perform with dance and music in front of President Pratibha Patil for 60 seconds. A team of 15 dabbawallas will be part of the parade and will leave Mumbai for rehearsals in Delhi on January 12. While the dabbawallas have received international fame and honour they have been mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records and Ripleys Believe it or not,Harvard Business School is doing a case study on them and they have been invited to Brazil for an exposition participation in the parade is different,they say. For the last five years,there were not much events and the team has been demoralised. This event is the right opportunity for us to boost our morale and work harder, says Medge who heads the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust and Association. The dabbawallas are the first service-provider to represent the state in the parade - the Dhangar community (sheep rearers) and Kolis have featured earlier. We had five options,including the Paithani saree weavers. The dabbawallas were chosen after a presentation was made to the Defence Ministry panel, said director,cultural affairs,Ajay Ambekar.
