Episode # 25 – CEO of the Dabbawalas of Mumbai
“When it comes to supply chain, only God can beat em’.” But, we couldn’t interview God. So, we spoke to the second in command, Mr. Raghunath Medghe, the President of the Dabbawala Association, Mumbai.
Following is an excerpt from an article from the Forbes Magazine:
Mumbai’s “tiffinwallahs” have achieved a level of service to which Western businesses can only aspire. “Efficient organization” is not the first thought that comes to mind in India, but when the profit motive is given free rein, anything is possible. To appreciate Indian efficiency at its best, watch the tiffinwallahs at work.
Sample This:
- As of July, 2006 a human machinery of 5,000 semi litereate dabbawalahs scurry past the crowded local trains of Bombay evey day, every season and do what the do best – DELIVER
- 175000 tiffins. 350000 transactions. Day in and day out!
- The Mumbai Local trains and their “Zero Technology Bicycles” help the dabbawalas cover an area of approximately 75 km daily.
- It is argubly the biggest non profit organisation in the unorganised sector!
- Despite the sheer number of deliveries, the failure rate reported is one in 8 million transactions. So, GE, are you listening?
Rediff carries a beautiful article saluting the spirit of Dabbawalas!
Enjoy the interview. Mr. Medghe redefines modesty; says, “We are just doing our job!”
This episode is dedicated to all of you who have helped us get here!!! A huge SHOUT OUT to all you guys! Keep listening! And yeah, keep those comments coming in.
Yours Internetally,
Abhishek,
P.S : Intro & concluding music provided by Alms for Shanti
Listen Online (64 kbps) :/Episode length : 30 mins (we know its a bit long but we just couldn’t condense it anymore.)
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Hey Mhatre! I was always good with my Hindi dude! I`m pretty ok with Marathi too u know!
Comment by geniusOid — July 3, 2006 @ 2:31 pm
Nice interview indeed…I really liked the man’s words especially his parting quote.
BTW I hope Abhishek and Vinit’s exchanges in English during the interview were inserted later otherwise it would appear to be quite rude to Mr. Medghe.
Comment by Patrix — July 3, 2006 @ 3:56 pm
Nope….we had informed him abt the show and tht we`d exchange notes in the middle using English and Hindi too…he looked pretty happy…
Comment by geniusOid — July 3, 2006 @ 5:26 pm
your hindi wasnt just good, it was “roamanchkarak” LOL
Comment by Aditya — July 3, 2006 @ 5:47 pm
dhanyavaad
Comment by geniusOid — July 3, 2006 @ 6:53 pm
Hey guys , nice interview , good job , keep it up !
Comment by Prax — July 5, 2006 @ 5:07 pm
hey guys! first of all, congratulations on your 25 shows! i just wanted to say that it was awesome of you to bring such common yet important professions in the eyes, or in this case, ears of more Indians. I really think it’s wonderful that these people work with such dedication and love! I also absolutely enjoyed listening to both Vinit and Abhishek speak in Hindi, and Vinit, you have a great radio voice and enunciation. Take care guys, and keep up the excellent shows. I was really impressed!
Love,
Pratiti.
Comment by Pratiti — July 5, 2006 @ 6:17 pm
Prax: Thanks! Mr. Medghe made it very easy for us. He is a vetran of a thousand presentations. You must have noticed his answers are to the point and he is a damn good story teller!
Pratiti: Merci! It is raining cats, dogs and elephants here in Mumbai. People dread going to offices. But, the dabbawalas leave as early as 7:00 am and collect the dabbas from homes of people who have already left for work and make it to the office during the lunch hours. They spoke in a bewildered tone when asked, “Is there any need to sweat so much in the rains?” (by a NEWS channel). They said that their patrons are not only their customers, but also like their own kids. “We can’t let them go hungry, can we?” The enthusiasm of Mr. Medghe percolates to each of the 5000 dabbawalas. And why not? He knows each one of them and their family members by name!
Vinit: If Pratiti says you have a good radio voice, I think you should consider a career change! Coz you got to trust her in that dept. Log on to www.chutneyradio.com to know a little more of what I am saying.
Comment by Abhishek — July 6, 2006 @ 1:16 am
Do you guys provide transcript of podcast discussion? It would be useful to read fast when I am in hurry but don’t have time to listen.
Comment by Ashish — July 6, 2006 @ 3:43 am
No… we dont have a transcript. I had that in mind but apart from the fact that there aren’t any good softwares available, Text wont give you the attitude that you get from speech. its all about the attitude for us.
Comment by Aditya — July 6, 2006 @ 4:21 am
Aaila! Mhatre! Ekdum attitude and all haan?
@ Pratiti - Thanks…..Abhishek must be even more glad, coz it was, like he says “Devoid of accent!” - both the jokers fooled around abt how i`m accented (no puns)…..ha! Meri hindi ki shudhata se achamba reh gaye na?
@ Abhi: I`m always ready for a career change! I`ve almost started talkin in STD Codes now! Some trainee in office told me his mail id which had his birthday suffix - 011, and i asked him - Are u from Delhi?
)
Career change, lotssa money and hot chicks plz! My resume is ready!
Comment by geniusOid — July 6, 2006 @ 5:44 am
Hey guys! First of all, I don’t know if Prax refers to me or not! And if it does, I have never heard anyone call me that before; that’s an interesting nickname! It is so awesome that there are people who care about their customers that much. I know for me, as part of my managing responsibilities, I have learned that customers make and break your day. Not only that, but since the bakery I work at is family owned, you are like family there and so are your customers. We always care about them more than anything else, and we have our regulars especially that we’ve grown to love like our own! So I definitely feel the love that they do towards their clientelle! I’m glad they work rain or shine, and I wish SO bad that I could be in Mumbai right now! I have been so homesick these days, but I really have to save up if I want to be there, and no place is better than America for doing that!
Vinit: Haan, main aapki hindi ki shudhta se kaafi achamba reh gayi. Lagta hai ki aaj kal hummen se bohot kam log hindi ki shudhta aur sundarta ko samjhkar uska zyaadatar upyog karne ki koshish karte hain.
As far as the radio career goes, I can’t guarantee hot chicks, but I can tell you that if it goes the right way, lots of money is a perk. Chutneyradio’s non profit, but I wish I can someday record a show in Mumbai and have you guys on it! I try to use as much Hindi on my show as possible, but I have to cut it down to a few phrases here and there only because a lot of my listeners are younger generation ABCDs and don’t always understand it. Varnaa mere liye hindi zindabaad!
Anyway, take care, and next time I’m there, which is probably next April, we should all meet up and do a show together! Take care guys, Jai Hind!
Comment by Pratiti — July 6, 2006 @ 7:12 am
Whoa this is like a mini chatroom now!
)
@Mhatre and Taklya - she missed the clincher - “Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra, Jai Shivaji!”
))
Comment by geniusOid — July 6, 2006 @ 3:23 pm
Ok, so I figured out Prax is someone else lol so please excuse my little “blond” moment. Also, thanks for the compliment regarding my show Abhishek!
Comment by Pratiti — July 6, 2006 @ 3:40 pm
A nice topic that you guys picked I must say, something better than the more often than not (regret so) rantings and ravings about the happenings in the Nation. TO be fair, one of my friends has re-christined India as JUGAAD nation. And that was not in fun mind you, but because the roads of Pune are not there anymore. The bitumen/tar on the roads is just gone vamoos after 4 days of continous showers. But coming back to the dabbawalas, when it comes to Supply chain management, no course, no techonlogy can come any where closer to the Dabbawalas who use no technology and definitly aren’t from any of the IIMs or you-name-it big institutes.
Comment by Manikantan a.k.a Mani — July 8, 2006 @ 11:43 am
What a co-incidence! I recently saw a documentary about the dabbawala’s of Mumbai haha. Congratulations on getting to your 25th Episode. I hope you guys get to celebrate the golden one very soon!
Podcasts aside, I was so shocked and disturbed to hear about the Mumbai bomb blasts. It was a very selfish act and nobody deserved to die. Anyway as BBC said, we’re “bombed but not beaten”. I hope you guys are fine.
Take care!
Comment by Prerana — July 15, 2006 @ 6:44 pm
Excellent interview, guys. Congrats on finishing 25 great episodes.
Now, who is getting the Indicast t-shirt?
Comment by Hiren — July 16, 2006 @ 8:21 pm
Great episode. You guys keep getting better. Only comment is to keep the Podcast on schedule. The weekly frequency does not seem to be followed. The addiction to Indicast makes it very hard not to get the ‘fix’ once a week.
Comment by Rolwin Lewis — July 17, 2006 @ 4:36 pm
Mani: I know how those roads in Pune are! Riding on those roads was an occupational hazard that i couldn’t avoid! I think we are not inclined to improve. Chalta hain, that’s the mantra, isn’t it? On a different note, the dabbawalas baffle me. But, Medghe shrugged. He said, “Sopa aahe!” (It’s easy)…. They keep it simple!
P-R-E-R-A-N-A: Thanks for all the good wishes. I hope you root us till our golden episode as well! We all are fine here. Physically atleast. We hope everyone you know here are fine.
Hiren: Thanks! Well, some dude from Pune has bagged the Indicast T - Shirt! He refuses to give out his address though! So, don’t you lose hope!
Rolwin Lewis: Hey, that was one of the most amusingly creative messages that we’ve received till now! we are getting together tonight and posting an episode! And we hope to do it more regularly from now on!
Comment by Abhishek — July 18, 2006 @ 12:08 pm
heyy… i think it’s time for a new show…
Comment by Pratiti — July 20, 2006 @ 2:18 am
Hi guys. I was referred to your site by a friend and I must say its quite an awesome job you are doing. The mumbai dabba wallahs are doing an impossible job and no amount of process, charts and analysis is going to replicate their success unless supplicated by the sincerity by which they go about their work. The podcast worked for me. It had a raw, unfinished feel and I don’t know if its on purpose but it helped me connect unlike ones where they simply try to intimidate the listener. I was told by my friend that you had only male visitors but looking at the comments and with no offence intended you seem to have garnered quite a female fan following. Cheers and keep up the good work, I promise to keep listening.
Comment by Vishal Pipraiya — July 20, 2006 @ 2:05 pm
new episode! new episode!
Comment by Lavanya — July 21, 2006 @ 8:07 am
Vishal: Hey, thanks man! Tune in everytime we post an episode and tell us what you liked and what you didn’t! Yeah, we do have female listeners and they are as much opinionated as we are! Thanks for the compliments on the dabbawala interview. Yeah, you’ve said it. It was raw and we could liberally improvise because, Mr. Medghe is a man who knows his job in and out and is a seasoned campaigner, both, at work and on the stage (He is a veteran of many interviews and presentations)
Pratiti and Lavanya: Here is your new episode! (episode # 26). And I am tempted to promise for the nth time that we will release our next episode in time. (And we will!)
Comment by Abhishek — July 22, 2006 @ 5:14 am