Every single day 175,000 office workers in Mumbai get to eat a home-cooked meal because of an extraordinary logistical network that gets their lunch from mama's house to their office on time and without mistake. 175,000 times a day.
These guys have cropped up on everything from Michael Palin travel shows to Top Gear to the New York Times but that's probably because it is completely awe-inspiring, no matter from which angle you look at it.
They carry the tiffens "lunch containers" on their heads, on bicycles, on trains and even across the tracks to get to the offices where husbands and sons of the ladies who prepared the food are awaiting lunch. Despite the various modes of transport, the lunches always arrive on time.
There's an old logistics industry tale that suggests that FedEx's legendary hub and spoke system was inspired by the Dabbawallas. With results like that, how could you not be inspired?
via Video: A Day in the Life of a Dabbawalla Delivering Lunches in Mumbai | Serious Eats.
Dabbawalla from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo.