Dabbawala Tour With Elephanta Caves Tour

Dabbawala Tour With Elephanta Caves Tour - AHM : 1160

The word "Dabbawala" can be interpreted as "box-carrier" or "lunchpail-man". In Marathi and Hindi, "dabba" means a box (usually a cylindrical aluminium container More specifically, the word dabbawala implies a person in the Indian city of Mumbai who carries and delivers freshly made food from home in lunch boxes to office workers. The concept of the dabbawala came into being when a person named Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started the lunch delivery service with about a hundred men. At the present time, Indian businessmen are the main customers for the dabbawalas, and the service often includes both cooking and delivery.

The guests will be picked up by the Guide from the Hotel and drive to the Churchgate Railway Station where they will see the Dabbawalas disembarking the Dabbas ( Tiffins ) in the wooden cart from the Train.

At Churchgate station the Guest will see how the people stand in the Ticket Counter Q and take their tickets to reach their offices. Now the guests will escorted towards the platform to board the Local Train for Mahalaxmi Station. Local Train are the major means of transport in Mumbai. The extensive network of Railways has three lines, namely the Western Line, the Central Main Line and the Harbour Line. Being a linear city, Mumbai is totally covered by local train network. This Tour will give you an opportunity to experience the Mumbai Local Train. We travel in First Class Compartment and will be traveling from South to North Mumbai when there is no crowd.

Guests arrives at Mahalaxmi Railway Station is served by the Mumbai Suburban Railways. The station is situated next to municipal dhobi ghats at Mahalakshmi, on the suburb of Mumbai.

Most of the Dabbawalas get down at Mahalaxmi Station as all the Corporate offices are in this vicinity. Here the Dabbawalas sort out the Tiffin Boxes based on the markings on the Tiffins which is done area wise. A brief introduction here with the dabbawalas and their exact arrangements how the tiffin's are coded and distributed at the right place at the right time. The Tiffins are put on the Wooden Crate which carries 150 Tiffins and driven by 3- 4 Dabbawalas in different directions for delivery on the bicycle.

The Guests will escorted out from the Mahalaxmi Station.

The guests will proceed to the Open Air Laundry firmly known as DHOBI GHAT. A unique feature of Mumbai, the dhobi is a traditional laundryman, who will collect your dirty linen, wash it, and return it neatly pressed to your doorstep. All for a pittance. The "laundries" are called "ghats": row upon row of concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone. The clothes are soaked in sudsy water, thrashed on the flogging stones, then tossed into huge vats of boiling starch and hung out to dry. Next they are ironed and piled into neat bundles, where almost two hundred dhobis and their families work together in what has always been a hereditary occupation

Proceed to the Gateway of India to take the catamaran for Elephanta Caves.

Boat leaves at 13:00 hrs from the Gateway of India Pier. Enjoy a one-hour boat ride across Mumbai Harbour brings you to the lovely, green Elephanta Island. Here you visit some of the huge and intricately carved Cave Temples dating back to the 7th century and dedicated to the Sun God - Shiva. Large panels depict episodes in his life. The central sculpture represents Shiva's three aspects as creator, preserver and destroyer. Return back to the pier at 17:00 hrs.