The iconic ‘dabbawalas’ of Mumbai celebrated Durga Puja this year in their own special way — by distributing leftover food sourced from the festival’s pandals dotted across the city among the poor and
The iconic ‘dabbawalas’ of Mumbai celebrated Durga Puja this year in their own special way — by distributing leftover food sourced from the festival’s pandals dotted across the city among the poor and needy. As part of the initiate undertaken since the start of Navratri a week ago, a 400-strong ‘dabbawalas’ team collects leftover food from the pandals and goes around distributing it to the poor on city streets.
The philanthropic initiative was started by Mumbai's Dabbawala Association. Subhash Talekar, who heads the association, said, “We have a network of about 400 dabbawalas spread across Mumbai, who agreed to participate in the venture based on goodwill. As this is a free of cost venture, not everyone has agreed to participate in it.”
Mr Talekar receives calls from pandals if food is left over late in the night, after the puja. He then informs the dabbawalas staying closest to the locality, who then arrive at the pandal in vans designated for this purpose. The association has fed about 400 people on Sunday alone.
Mr Talekar said the number of poor they feed each day varies from 200 to 400, based on the availability of food. During festivals, they are able to feed more people. On other days, these dabbawalas visit parties and weddings after the ceremonies are over, and collect the left over food in their vans.
Mr Talekar started this venture on December 29, 2015, on his father's first death anniversary. His father headed the union before his death. The legacy has been in the Talekar family for three generations now.
The idea behind starting the venture, Mr Talekar explained, was to ensure food is not wasted. “Also, we ensure that many homeless Mumbaikars do not sleep on an empty stomach each night.”
