The unseen logics: Why India’s lunchbox delivery is a feat of human greatness
Did you know that the biggest film production country is Bollywood in India, not Hollywood in the US? (In 2016, India produced 1,986 films, compared to Hollywood’s 660.) If you haven’t watched any Bollywood movies yet, I highly recommend you try one.
To be honest, I only recently gained access to Bollywood movies thanks to streaming services. Today, I want to introduce my favorite, “Dabba” (The Lunchbox).
In Hindi, Dabba means lunch box. In Mumbai, millions of office workers rely on a lunch box delivery service run by people called “Dabbawalas.” The service is completely manual yet super-organized. Dabbawalas pick up the lunch boxes from each home by bicycle, consolidate them, transport them by train to the office district, and pass them on to other Dabbawalas for the final desk-to-desk delivery. The movie showed no slips or digital tracking. Dabbawalas seem to memorize each lunch box just by its appearance. I still can’t fathom how such a thing is possible. I saw genuine human greatness in this analog delivery system.
Miniature garden vs. sandwich: The art of the Japanese Bento
I was also surprised by the contents of the lunch boxes in the film—they looked decent and substantial, much like Japanese Bento. Lunch boxes I’ve seen in many Hollywood movies often appear humbler, consisting of a simple sandwich, chips, and an apple. (I say this without malice, but every time I see such a lunch, I’m secretly glad I was born in Japan!)
The contents of the Japanese Bento are always characterized by great variety. Like a miniature garden (a traditional art form replicating a Japanese landscape in a small box), set menu meals are neatly arranged. They are carefully placed together, considering taste combinations and visual qualities, but they are not meant to be mixed up. If you go to the food section of a Japanese supermarket or department store, you will be mesmerized by the sheer variety of Bento on display.
The structural difference: Separate fiffins vs. curved wooden Bento
On the other hand, the biggest difference between the Indian Dabba and the Japanese Bento is in the packaging itself.
The Dabba typically consists of multiple small, circular containers (Tiffin tins) made of silver-colored stainless steel, separating different meals entirely. In the Japanese Bento, all meals are placed together in a single container. While modern Bento boxes are mostly made of plastic (microwave-safe polypropylene), the traditional wooden lunch boxes still survive in some areas.
These traditional Japanese wooden lunch boxes, known as magewappa (bent wood box), have a unique structure: they are made without any steel nails (using only bamboo nails) and feature an oval shape with side walls made of bent wood.
From lunchbox bending to chair bending: The legacy of cypress and cedar
The traditional wooden Bento box requires a little extra care: you should dip it in water for a second before use and dry it completely afterward. This effort is absolutely worth it. The material—often Japanese cypress or cedar—maintains appropriate moisture levels, helping the rice stay fresh, and adds a natural, pleasant aroma to the meal.
By the way, the traditional wood bending technology used to create the side wall of the magewappa has been directly handed down to our furniture making process. We use this intricate technique to bend wood to create beautiful, strong parts for our chairs.
So, after that fascinating cultural journey comparing the analog genius of Mumbai with the miniature artistry of Japan, where have we landed? The ultimate, humble destination is, of course, the fact that we can bend wood, just like they did for your traditional lunchbox. When you come to Japan next time, I encourage you to buy a traditional magewappa box, fill it with a beautiful Japanese Bento, and then drop by our factory. You can see how the technology that perfected your lunchbox now perfects our furniture. (I apologize for the sudden commercial break!)
Shungo Ijima
He is travelling around the world. His passion is to explain Japan to the world, from the unique viewpoint accumulated through his career: overseas posting, MBA holder, former official of the Ministry of Finance.