TIFFIN BOX

Tiffin Box

Tiffin is lunch, or any light meal. It originated in British India, and is today found primarily in Indian English. The word originated when Indian custom superseded the British practice of an afternoon dinner, leading to a new word for the afternoon meal. When used for "lunch", it is not necessarily a light meal. In South India and in Nepal, the term is generally used for between-meals snacks. Outside South India, like Mumbai, the word mostly refers to any packed lunch, often light lunches prepared for working Indian men by their wives after they have left for work, or for schoolchildren by their parents. It is often forwarded to them by dabbawalas, sometimes known as tiffin wallahs, who use a complex system to get thousands of tiffin-boxes to their destinations. Tiffin often consists of rice, dal, curry, vegetables, chapathis or "spicy meats".

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I have always been mildly eccentric. Most creative people are. Sometimes I see things that I have absolutely no use for, but they speak to me and I must make the object part of my collection. The Tiffin box is just such an object. When I lived overseas, I was introduced to the Japanese Bento Box, the Tiffin is the Indian equivalent . Many of my whims I have incorporated into daily life, many others I really should. I believe everyone wants to live the beautiful life but real life often gets in the way. I am making a conscience decision to try and live the beautiful life everyday from this day forward.