【精英翻譯】的部落格

Dabbawalas Deliver Food from Home  達巴瓦拉的午餐宅急便

—Bertus van Aswegen

精英翻譯社轉自http://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0058/301758/web/

Mumbai has a population of around 20 million. As in other large, modern cities, many people there work in offices. However, while office workers in New York or London eat out for lunch, those in Mumbai can enjoy home-cooked meals in their offices. This is made possible by men who are known as dabbawalas.

孟買人口約有兩千萬人。就像其他大型現代化城市一樣，那裡有許多人在辦公室工作。然而，在紐約或倫敦的上班族會外出吃午餐，而孟買的上班族卻能在辦公室享用家裡做的飯菜。這是由於那些被稱為達巴瓦拉的人而使之成為可能。

Dabbawalas are an important part of life in Mumbai. They collect hot food in lunch boxes from the workers' homes in the late morning. Then, they deliver the lunches to the workers' offices by bicycle or by train. After lunch, they return the empty boxes to the workers' homes. Dabbawalas use an organized system for delivering tens of thousands of lunch boxes every day, and they rarely make a mistake.

達巴瓦拉在孟買是生活中很重要的一部分。將近中午的時候，他們會去上班族家中收取熱騰騰的午餐盒。接著，他們騎腳踏車或搭火車將午餐送到上班族的辦公室。午餐過後，他們再把空的餐盒送回上班族家裡。每天達巴瓦拉利用規畫完善的系統來遞送成千上萬個午餐盒，而且他們鮮少出錯。

Office workers use the service of dabbawalas because they prefer food that is cooked at home by their mothers or wives. Such food is tastier, healthier, cleaner, and less expensive than meals that are served in restaurants. Thanks to dabbawalas, workers are able to have a lovingly prepared lunch every day.

上班族會使用達巴瓦拉的服務是因為他們偏好吃母親或妻子在家料理的食物。這樣的食物比餐廳供應的飯菜好吃、健康、乾淨，而且便宜。幸虧有達巴瓦拉，上班族才能每天享用精心準備的午餐。