we are also known as Dabbawalla , Dabbawalas , Dabbawalahs , Dabbawallahs , Dabawala ,

Dabbawalas , tiffinwala , tiffinwalla , etc. We are a 118 years old organization as on 2008, started in year
1890 , what we do is simple , we collect tiffin boxes (called Dabbas) from the residence of the working
people and deliver it to their officer during the lunch timings. Every day approximately 5000 Dabbawalas
deliver home made food to about 200,000 ( 2 lakhs) customers in the nook and corner of Mumbai , India.
Although this job seems simple but what is amazing is that most of Dabbawalas are illiterate and yet they
are able to deliver food to people at the right time and to the right person using a simple colour coding
system without using any modern technology or computer systems. No wonder that's the reason why
Dabbawalas have been given six sigma ranking by Forbes group and also ISO 9001:2000 for their
accuracy and customer satisfaction. Dabbawala rose to international fame after the historic visit of
English Prince Charles followed by Sir Richard Branson - the chairman of Virgin group , England. Most of
Dabbawalas are from Varkari community of Maratha clan. Today Dabbawala have become a symbol of
honesty , hard work , time management , accuracy and a case study of six sigma and supply chain
management. No wonder the business schools , Universities , corporate and MBA institutes from all
across the the world , invite Dabbawala to give lecture on their Management and try to be benefited by
their rich experience , however the Dabbawalas still continue to do what they are most famous for -
delivering tiffin boxes.

Home made food is best for health and because health is wealth. Outside junk foods may take your life
and makes you sick. Home made food keeps your doctors bill down and there are fewer absences from
office due to poor health. In fact bad food is the reason #1 of all the diseases.

2 Home made food is cheaper. When you use Dabbawala's services to deliver your home
cooked food to your office you are actually saving your hard earned pennies. The delivery charges of Rs
250 - 300 per month is very nominal and reasonable. Its simple maths.

3 Do you not love your mother or wife and like to eat food made by her?

4 Even if there is no one at home to cook food for you , Dabbawalas can deliver you good quality
home like lunch through many restaurants. We have quality restaurants all over Mumbai where cheap
and best quality food is prepared which is delivered at your office or home through Dabbawala Channel.

5 Safety - The Local train of Mumbai are always very crowed and it is very tough to take even small
luggage during peak times. There are instances where the person's hand got hurt or broken and ones
belongings destroyed while traveling during peak time. People leave from their home at about 8 - 9 PM
which is peak time and its not possible to carry Tiffin during this time and Even the food is not ready by
this time. By using our services you are getting hot food safely deliver in your office.

6 Dabbawalas give reliable services and their performance and accuracy match six sigma
standards. You must be sure that your home cooked food reaches in time.

7 We , the DabbaWalas never go on strike.

8 By takeing our services you are proving direct employment to 5000+ Dabbawalas and many of
their dependent families. You are actually helping us.

9 Dabbawalas are an icon in their own sense and famous world over for their efficiency and by
taking our services you are being part of India's image building.

10 Dabbawalas are from the remote villages of Maharashtra and mostly uneducated. They regularly
organize bhajan and kirtans and spread the essence of Marathi culture , good will and one ness of India.
Being a part of DabbaWalas , you are actually nurturing Marathi culture.

****
A dabbawala (one who carries the box), sometimes spelled dabbawalla , tiffinwalla , tiffinwalla or
dabbawallah, is a person in the Indian city of Mumbai whose job is to carry and deliver freshly made food
from home in lunch boxes to office workers. Tiffin is an old-fashioned English word for a light lunch, and
sometimes for the box it is carried in. Dabbawalas are sometimes called tiffin-wallas.

Though the work sounds simple, it is actually a highly specialized trade that is over a century old and
which has become integral to Mumbai's culture.

The dabbawala originated when a person named Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started the lunch delivery
service with about 100 men.Nowadays, Indian businessmen are the main customers for the dabbawalas,
and the service often includes cooking as well as delivery.

Economic analysis:
Everyone who works within this system is treated as an equal. Regardless of a dabbawala's function,
everyone gets paid about two to four thousand rupees per month (around 25-50 British pounds or 40-80
US dollars).

More than 175,000 or 200,000 lunches get moved every day by an estimated 4,500 to 5,000 dabbawalas,
all with an extremely small nominal fee and with utmost punctuality. According to a recent survey, there is
only one mistake in every 6,000,000 deliveries.

The BBC has produced a documentary on dabbawalas, and Prince Charles, during his visit to India,
visited them (he had to fit in with their schedule, since their timing was too precise to permit any flexibility).
Owing to the tremendous publicity, some of the dabbawalas were invited to give guest lectures in top
business schools of India, which is very unusual. Most remarkably in the eyes of many Westerners, the
success of the dabbawala trade has involved no Western modern high technology. The main reason for
their popularity could be the Indian people's aversion to Western style fast food outlets and their love of
home-made food.

The New York Times reported in 2007 that the 125 year old dabbawala industry continues to grow at a
rate of 5-10% per year.

Low-tech and lean:

Dabbawala in actionAlthough the service remains essentially low-tech, with the barefoot delivery men as
the prime movers, the dabbawalas have started to embrace modern information technology, and now
allow booking for delivery through SMS. A web site, mydabbawala.com, has also been added to allow for
on-line booking, in order to keep up with the times. An on-line poll on the web site ensures that customer
feedback is given pride of place. The success of the system depends on teamwork and time management
that would be the envy of a modern manager. Such is the dedication and commitment of the barely
literate and barefoot delivery men (there are only a few delivery women) who form links in the extensive
delivery chain, that there is no system of documentation at all. A simple colour coding system doubles as
an ID system for the destination and recipient. There are no multiple elaborate layers of management
either — just three layers. Each dabbawala is also required to contribute a minimum capital in kind, in the
shape of two bicycles, a wooden crate for the tiffins, white cotton kurta-pyjamas, and the white trademark
Gandhi topi (cap). The return on capital is ensured by monthly division of the earnings of each unit.

Uninterrupted services:
The service is uninterrupted even on the days of extreme weather, such as Mumbai's characteristic
monsoons. The local dabbawalas at the receiving and the sending ends are known to the customers
personally, so that there is no question of lack of trust. Also, they are well accustomed to the local areas
they cater to, which allows them to access any destination with ease. Occasionally, people communicate
between home and work by putting messages inside the boxes. However, this was usually before the
accessibility of instant telecommunications.
In literature:
One of the two protagonists in Salman Rushdie's controversial novel The Satanic Verses, Gibreel
Farishta, was born as Ismail Najmuddin to a dabbawallah. In the novel, Farishta joins his father, delivering
lunches all over Bombay (Mumbai) at the age of 10, until he is taken off the streets and becomes a movie
star.

Dabbawalas feature as an alibi in the Inspector Ghote novel Dead on Time.

Etymology:
The word "Dabbawala" can be translated as "box-carrier" or "lunchpail-man". In Marathi and Hindi,
"dabba" means a box (usually a cylindrical aluminium container), while "wala" means someone in a trade
involving the object mentioned in the preceding term, e.g. punkhawala with "pankha" which means a fan
and "wala" mean the person who owns the pankha (The one with the fan).

*****************

LIJJAT PAPAD

Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad is a Women's organisation manufacturing various products from
Papad, Khakhra, Appalam, Masala, Vadi, Gehu Atta, Bakery Products, Chapati, SASA Detergent Powder,
SASA Detergent Cake (Tikia), SASA Nilam Detergent Powder, SASA Liquid Detergent.

The organisation is wide-spread, with it's Central Office at Mumbai and it's 67 Branches and 35 Divisions
in different states all over India.

The organisation started of with a paltry sum of Rs.80 and has achieved sales of over Rs.300 crores with
exports itself exceeding Rs. 12 crores.

Membership has also expanded from an initial number of 7 sisters from one building to over 40,000
sisters throughout India.

The success of the organisation stems from the efforts of it's member sisters who have withstood several
hardships with unshakable belief in 'the strength of a woman'

The Institution will always and ever be grateful

to "Pitamaha" Late Shri Dattanibapa (Shri Purshottam Damodar Dattani) for his contributions towards the
Institution who showed the correct path and guided the Institution till his last breath.

Moong (50% Udad & 50% Moong)

Moong Special (50% Udad & 50% Moong)
Punjabi Masala Special
Udad Special
Udad with Garlic & Chillies
Udad with Pepper
Udad with Red Chillies

ORGANISATION - Milestone

MILE STONES OF THE INSTITUTION

The Institution has received many Awards over the years but the few to remember.

1. Recevied Award from Khadi & Village Industries Commission as

'Best Village Industries Institution' for the period 1998 - 1999 to 2000 - 2001

2. The Economic Times Award given to the Institution for Corporate

Excellence "Business Woman Of the Year" on 6th September 2002

3. At the National Convention on "Rural Industrialisation", held by Khadi & Village Industries Commission
along with Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries at New Delhi on 14th March 2003, Smt. Jyoti J. Naik,
President of the Institution recevied the "Best Village Industry Institution" award from Hon'ble Prime
Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

*******

ARAVIND EYE CARE

'The city of Madurai is best known for its spectacular Hindu temples. Built several years ago, they still
attract thousands of worshippers. But in recent years, Madurai has been attracting thousands of new
visitors. These are not sightseers, rather they are people seeking to have their sight restored -pilgrims of
modern medicine. (They come to Aravind Eye Hospital at Madurai which) many experts consider one of
the finest eye hospitals in the world.'
- MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour, 1989

Founded in 1976 by Dr. G. Venkataswamy, Aravind Eye Care System today is the largest and most
productive eye care facility in the world. From April 2007 to March 2008, about 2.4 million persons have
received outpatient eye care and over 285,000 have undergone eye surgeries at the Aravind Eye
Hospitals at Madurai, Theni, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Puducherry.

Blending traditional hospitality with state-of-the-art ophthalmic care, Aravind offers comprehensive eye
care in the most systematic way attracting patients from all around the world.

» Genesis

Our effort is to make Aravind an instrument of the Divine Will. We strive to forget our limitations and work
with the direction of the Divine Will, not in a vain superficial way but with a deep commitment and faith
that guidance comes from a higher level of consciousness. Then one is able to work with the great
confidence that comes only with that faith and realization that we are all part of a spiritual capacity or
spiritual power. It is then that all of nature works with you. You don't feel that you are a superior being but
you are an instrument in the hands of a higher force and it is in that spirit that we meet our day to day
struggles and successes.
-Dr. G. Venkataswamy

Guiding Philosophy

Aravind Eye Hospitals are named after Sri Aurobindo, one of the 20th century’s most revered spiritual
leaders. In essence, Sri Aurobindo’s teachings focus on mankind’s transcendence into a heightened state
of consciousness through service, as an instrument of what he called the Divine Force.
At Aravind one finds, combined with modern technology and management practices, a measure of
compassionate spirituality, an awareness beyond the matter-of-fact, and the impetus of a mission.

Challenges in a Developing Country

Growing population, inadequate infrastructure, low per capita income, aging population, diseases in
epidemic proportions and illiteracy.

Alternate Health Care: Aravind Model

Given the magnitude of blindness and the challenges faced in a developing country, the Government
alone cannot meet the health needs of all. Realising this predicament, Dr. Venkataswamy wanted to
establish an alternate health care model that would supplement the efforts of the Government and also be
self-supporting.
Hence, upon his retirement in 1976, he established the GOVEL Trust to initiate eye care work.

Under this Trust, the Aravind Eye Hospitals were founded. Today, Aravind is more than an eye hospital. It
is :

a social organisation committed to the goal of elimination of needless blindness through comprehensive
eye care services.
an international training centre for ophthalmic professionals and trainees who come from within India and
around the world to teach or to learn, to offer their skills and to acquire new ones.
an institute for research that contributes to the development of eye care.
an institute to train health-related and managerial personnel in the development and implementation of
efficient and sustainable eye care programmes.
a manufacturer of world class ophthalmic products available at affordable costs.

Intelligence and capability are not enough. There must be the joy of doing something beautiful.
- Dr. G. Venkataswamy

Dr.G. Venkataswamy (Dr. V) was born in 1918 in a small village in South India. He received his medical
degree from Stanley Medical College, Chennai in 1944. He joined the Indian Army Medical Corps, but
had to retire in 1948 after developing severe rheumatoid arthritis – a disease that left his fingers crippled
and changed the course of his life. Despite his condition he returned to medical school and earned a
Diploma and Masters degree in ophthalmology. With hard work and determination, Dr. V. trained himself
to hold a scalpel and to perform cataract surgery. In time, he personally performed over one hundred
thousand successful eye surgeries.

He joined the faculty at Madurai Medical College as the head of the department of ophthalmology and
later served as the Vice Dean.

In these capacities he introduced a number of innovative programmes to attack the problem of blindness
in India, including the outreach eye camps, the initiation of a training programme for ophthalmic assistants
and the world’s first rehabilitation centre for the blind.

For much of his life Dr. V. has been a pioneering eye surgeon. In 1976, upon his retirement at age 58, he
formed the GOVEL Trust under which the Aravind Eye Hospital was founded.

Guided by a philosophy that taught the spirituality of service, driven by compassion far beyond the
ordinary and backed by the support and assistance of those who believed in his vision, Dr. V. set in
motion a 30-year old, and still continuing, crusade against blindness. His work and its remarkable results
have gained international recognition. He is the recipient of many national and international awards. The
Helen Keller International Award, the IAPB Award, the International Blindness Prevention Award by the
AAO and the Padmashree award from the Government of India are a few among them.

Facilities

Facilities
1976 Aravind Eye Hospital began in Madurai in a rented house with 11 beds
1977 Additional building with accommodation for 30 patients was built.
1978 Low-cost Free Hospital expanded to accommodate 100 patients (Presently houses the Aravind
Centre for Women, Children and Community Health)
1980 Moved into the present facility which was only partially completed at the time
1982 Present facility fully completed with 200 beds and 3 operating rooms.
1984 The free hospital moved to its current location with accommodations for 400 patients and 3
operating rooms.
1985 The second Aravind Eye Hospital with accommodations for 20 paying and 130 free patients at
Theni
1988 Third Aravind Eye Hospital at Tirunelveli accommodates 135 paying and 400 free patients
1991 Facilities at Madurai expanded to accommodate 280 paying and 1100 free patients. Outpatient
area moved into the new extension
1992 Aurolab - The non-profit charitable trust established to provide modern technology at affordable
costs.
1996 The establishment of a teaching and training institute, the Lions Aravind Institute of Community
Ophthalmology (LAICO)
1997 Fourth Aravind Eye Hospital was inaugurated at Coimbatore with facilities for 175 paying and 600
free patients
1999 A hostel was built to accommodate residential Postgraduate doctors.
2001 The free hospital is expanded with the addition of a new block at the children's hospital premises
with a capacity to accommodate 400 patients.
2001 A spacious nurses quarters was built near the hospital at Madurai, to accommodate 600 nurses.
2003 Fifth Aravind Eye Hospital was inaugurated at Pondicherry with facilities for 150 paying and 600
free patients
2004 Aravind extended its arm to serve the people where there was no ophthalmologists by opening an
out-patient clinic at Melur in Madurai district. It serves the local people and villagers of the surrounding
area
2004 Aravind opened its first Vision Centre at Ambasamudram, a village near Theni. The Centre is
equipped with high-bandwidth wireless connectivity enabling data network link with the Theni Hospital.
2004 Aravind opened its second Vision Centre at Andipatti, a village near Theni. The Centre is
equipped with high-bandwidth wireless connectivity enabling data network link with the Theni Hospital.
2005 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Bodinayakanur in Theni district. It serves the local people and
villagers of the surrounding area.
2005 Aravind extended its arm to serve the people where there was no ophthalmologists by opening a
Community Centre at Thirumangalam in Madurai district. It serves the local people and villagers of the
surrounding area.
2006 Aravind opened another Vision Centre at Chinnamanur in Theni district. It serves the local people
and villagers of the surrounding area.
2006 Aravind opened its fifth Vision Centre at Periyakulam in Theni district. It serves the local people
and villagers of the surrounding area.
2006 Aravind Eye Hospital inaugurated its new community Eye clinic at Tuticorin.
2006 Aravind Eye Hospital inaugurated its new branch at Tirupur.
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Alanganallur in Madurai district
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Thirupuvanam in Madurai district
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Kallidaikurichi in Tirunelveli district
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Srivaikuntam in Tirunelveli district
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Thirukkanur in Puducherry district
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Rameshwaram in Ramanathapuram district
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Marakkanam in Villupuram district
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Periyanaickenpalayam in Coimbatore district
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Gandhigram in Dindigul District
2007 Aurolab's new building was inaugurated at Veerapanchan in Madurai.
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Kinathukadavu in Coimbatore District
2007 Aravind opened a Vision Centre at Madukarai in Puducherry District

****

Manpower Development

1978 : Ophthalmic nurse training

1981 : Accredited for Residency training (Dip.N.B.) Started training ophthalmic personnel from other
developing countries
1982 : Accredited for Diploma in Ophthalmology (D.O.)
1986 : Accredited for MS in Ophthalmology (M.S.)
1988 : Started fellowship training in Retina & Vitreous
1989 : Fellowship training in anterior segment microsurgery
Developed curriculum for Masters in Hospital Management, offered by Madurai Kamaraj University
1990 : Fellowship training in Cornea, Glaucoma and Paediatric ophthalmology
1992 : Designated as a WHO collaborating centre
LAICO - Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology started with funding support from Lions
International Aravind-TVL accredited for Residency Training (Dip. N.B.)
1993 : Aravind-Sight Savers microsurgery training in cataract surgery (ECCE with PC-IOL) developed
for practicing ophthalmologists
1994 : World Bank - Training of Trainers Programme.
1994 : Aravind Sight Savers Indirect Ophthalmoscopy and Lasers Training
2000 : Dip. N.B. accreditation at Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore
2001 : Accreditation for Ph.D. in ophthalmology and in genetics and immunology in affiliation with the
MGR University
2001 : National Board Fellowship (Retina-vitreous and Paediatric ophthalmology)
2003 : Aravind Eye Care System and ORBIS International have jointly established the training
programmes in paediatric ophthalmology
2004 : Aravind Eye Hospital started a short-term training course in Low Vision
2006 : Aravind Eye Care System Launches “School of Optometry” in Madurai. This school will offer a 2
year Diploma in Optometry which is recognized by the Madurai Kamaraj University and also other short
term courses on hospital and optical related specializations.