These three stand tall, very tall, in a harsh male preserve. They are the only three women among the 5,000 male dabbawalas in Mumbai.
Meet Dagdubai, Shantabai Shankar Sawant and Parobai Vitthal Madhale, whove rewritten the rules in the business.
Dressed in a traditional nauvari sari, these women carry 70 kg of load on their shoulders, putting their male counterparts to shame.  Dagdubai
Age: 40
Experience: 12 years
Dress code: Nauvari sari
Monthly salary: Rs 3,500
Residence: Borivli
Why this profession: Her husband Ganpat Arav is a dabbawala and she wanted to contribute to the family income
Problems: Occasional body ache, fatigue
Holidays: Sundays and bank holidays
She says: Not every woman can do this job. You need tremendous strength to carry the dabbas on your head. There is no compromise in the amount of load we carry just because we are women. Dagdubais schedule
8 am: Starts collecting dabbas from houses in Kandivli and Charkop
10 am: Takes a train for Churchgate
11.30 am: Reaches the Western Railway headquarters outside Churchgate station where the dabbas are sorted.
12.30 pm: Distributes the dabbas to offices around Nariman Point
1.30 pm: Starts collecting the dabbas from the offices
2.45 pm: Takes a train back to Kandivli
Between 4 pm and 6 pm: Sorts the dabbas at Kandivli station and then delivers them to respective households.  Shantabai Shankar Sawant
Age: 42
Experience: 14 years
Dress code: Nauvari sari
Monthly salary: Rs 3500 Rs 4000 (depending on the number of dabbas)
Why this profession: Her husband Vitthal Sawant is a dabbawala and she wanted to add to the family income
Residence: Ghatkopar
Holidays: Sundays and bank holidays
Problems: Acute shoulder pain, fatigue
She says: Unlike men who can do the job even when they are 70, we cant carry on for so long. I will retire in another three years. My physical capacity to carry heavy loads has also reduced over the years and I get tired these days. Sawants schedule
8 am: Starts collecting dabbas from houses in Ghatkopar
10 am: Takes a train for CST
11.30 am: Reaches CST where the dabbas are sorted
12.30 pm: Distributes the dabbas to offices in and around the Stock Exchange and Fort
1.30 pm: Starts collecting dabbas from offices
2.45 pm: Takes a train back to Ghatkopar
Between 4 pm and 6 pm: Sorts the dabbas at Ghatkopar station and then delivers them to respective households.  Parobai Vitthal Madhale
Age: 35
Experience: 10 years
Dress code: Nauvari sari
Monthly salary: Rs 3,500
Holidays: Sundays and bank holidays
Residence: Ghatkopar
Why this profession: Husband has been ill for many years and she is the only earning member in the family
Problems: Men make obscene gestures in the crowded luggage compartment
She says: Unlike men, even after reaching home at 6.00 pm, we have to do all the household work. So we basically end up working from 8 am till about 9 pm at night. Madhales schedule:
8.00 am: Starts collecting dabbas from houses in Ghatkopar
10.00 am: Takes a train for CST
11.30 am: Reaches CST where the dabbas are sorted
12.30 pm: Distributes the dabbas in offices in and around Stock Exchange and Fort
1.30 pm: Starts collecting the dabbas from the offices
2.45 pm: Takes a train back to Ghatkopar
Between 4 pm and 6 pm: Sorts dabbas at Ghatkopar station and then delivers them to respective households. Raghunath Medge, president of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Charity Suppliers Trust: Its no joke for women to carry 70 kg on their head. We dont discriminate against women but they dont join this profession, as this is a physically demanding job and therefore, a mans job.
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