Penang State Gallery Exhibition - Tifin Cariers

iffin carriers or dabbas are a kind of lunch box used widely in India for tiffin meals. They are also widely used in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Singapore. They are known asrantang in Indonesian and mangkut tingkat (leveled bowls) in Malay.^[1] and in Turkey and West Asian and Northeast African Arab countries they are called Safartas Arabic سفرطاس meaning travel bowls. They are also used extensively in Hungary, primarily to transport restaurant cheap workday midday meals for consumption at home. The Hungarian word for a tiffin box is "éthordó" (food carrier)

Normally they come in two or three tiers, although more elaborate versions can have four. The bottom-most tier, being the largest, is the one usually used for rice. Tiffin carriers are opened by unlocking a small catch on either side of the handle. The Hungarian version will typically contain a soup, main course and piece of cake.

In the Indian city of Mumbai, there is a complex and efficient delivery system that regularly delivers hot lunches packed in dabbas to city office workers from their suburban homes or from a caterer. It uses delivery workers known as dabbawalas

Tiffin carriers are generally made out of steel and sometimes of aluminium, but enamel and plastic versions have been made by European companies. They can keep food warm for at least two or three hours.

Tiffin is an English slang term of second breakfast or lunch, sometimes applied to any light meal. It originated in British India, and is today found primarily in Indian English.^[1]The word originated when Indian custom superseded the British practice of an afternoon tea, leading to a new word for the afternoon meal.^[1] It is derived from the obsolete English slang tiffing, for "taking a little drink or sip".^[2] When used for "lunch", it is not necessarily a light meal.^[3]:8

The new and the old .In Jaoan they call it Obento or as in the United States they are called lunch boxes only these are more elaborate in their functions. 

In the east where rice is the primary diet along with it comes many other dishes such the curries and the fried vegetales and sometimes along with the soup and fried fish or meat. Hence you have the many tiers of containers as these items are kept separated.

It is hard to say where this utensil  originated from but my feeling it might have been from China as he Chinese are the people who eat rice along with varieties of side dishes that goes with it.

The aesthetis beauty of these tifin carriers is in the decorative motives painted on them or the shapes and unique designs that they are created with. These carriers are not much seen in use theses days simply because that there are food outlets and cafetarias all over the place making food readily available anywhere and everywhere. Most work places are equipped with canteens  for the employees and so are schools.

These Chinese food carriers are more ornate and decorative and are possibly used for special occasions as in ceremonial or ritual transportation of food. 

The tifin fcarrier may be a simple everyday item for most of us, but in itself it is a unique item that had served its purpose in the old days when food is not readily available when one travels fro one place to another.