Mumbai Mirror
MUMBAI, Saturday, July 09, 2005
Dabbawalas headed for Pandharpur to pray for royal friend
Santosh Andhale
None less than Lord Panduranga will be watching over Prince Charles and his family in the wake of the blasts in London. The city's dabbawalas, known for their sleight-of-hand in reaching over two lakh tiffin boxes to Mumbaikars, will put their palms together at Pandharpur for the safety of Charles and his family. The tiffin suppliers are headed to the Vithoba temple to conduct a maha puja to this end.As thousands of Indians worried about their relatives in London, the tiffin carriers too were concerned about their friend, the Prince of Wales who made a special point of meeting the community on his 2003 India visit. About 25 of the dabbawalas gathered for a prayer meeting on Thursday, the day of the blasts, at the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust head office in Grant Road."We are concerned about the safety of our beloved prince and princess along with all the people of London. We pray to our almighty gods Vitthala and Rukmini to safeguard our honourable prince and princess and give them courage and strength to maintain the peace and harmony among their people. We pray for our friends' long life and hope that they come out of this calamity at the earliest," said Raghunath Medge dabbawala chairman.At the meeting Medge shared information about the blasts with those present and also updated them on the condition of their royal friends. The dabbawalas then condemned the act of terrorism and the anti-social elements behind it. The tiffin wizards prayed for the entire British royal household including Queen Elizabeth and Charles' wife Camilla.Recalling the invitation they received for his wedding in March this year, Medge told the gathering, "We have taken part in their happiness and will stand by them in their hour of distress too. We are well-wishers of Prince Charles." Medge has also written a letter to the prince asking about his well-being and reaffirming the dabbawalas' support to the royal family. There are about 5,000 dabbawalas in the city who are viewed as a case study in enterprise resource planning because of the unique code of colours they use in their almost error-free delivery of tiffin boxes.