Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of dabbawalla.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association (famously called "dabbawallas" that means "lunch-box guys" when translated in English), which is a

    NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Eradicating Poverty through Profit 2010

  • Nick Brandreth for The Wall Street Journal Chef Hari Gusain Office-goers who can't enjoy a leisurely meal soaking in the black-and-white posters with elephants and portraits of real dabbawallas can eat the buffet ($10.99) or grab an express lunch dabba—bhindi masala or okra, beef and pumpkin or aloo chana masala or potatoes cooked with chickpeas ($9.95-11.95).

    Delivering Experimental Indian Food 2011

  • The stackable stainless steel tiffin boxes bearing 4-course meals and the dabbawallas who deliver them all over Bombay are internationally known.

    Archive 2008-01-01 Nupur 2008

  • Poona couldn't hold him; he was taken in his infancy to the bitch-city, his first migration; his father got a job amongst the fleet-footed inspirers of future wheelchair quartets, the lunch-porters or dabbawallas of Bombay.

    The Satanic Verses Rushdie, Salman 1967

  • This fits a romantic view of Indian businessmen who triumph against the odds, from Bangalore's IT gurus to Mumbai's dabbawallas, who deliver 200,000 lunches daily, and the car-valet squads who will miraculously find scores of parking places for your wedding guests, often by bribing the neighbours' janitors.

    The Economist: Daily news and views 2011

  • This fits a romantic view of Indian businessmen who triumph against the odds, from Bangalore's IT gurus to Mumbai's dabbawallas, who deliver 200,000 lunches daily, and the car-valet squads who will miraculously find scores of parking places for your wedding guests, often by bribing the neighbours' janitors.

    The Economist: Daily news and views 2011

  • The famous "dabbawallas" who pick up and deliver home-cooked lunch to hundreds of thousands of office workers in

    The Guardian World News Jason Burke 2011

  • An intricate and highly efficient network of tiffin carriers, or dabbawallas, keeps track of tens of thousands of lunch boxes a day in the city, ensuring each gets to its rightful owner on time.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Wency Leung 2011

  • The 5,000 dabbawallas in Mumbai would march on Friday to show their support, Gavande said.

    The Guardian World News Jason Burke 2011

  • The Mumbai dabbawallas - "dabba" refers to the tin box in which the lunch is held, "walla" means man - say they have been inspired by Hazare's refusal to eat solid food.

    The Guardian World News Jason Burke 2011

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