Free Runner Jason Paul Takes Over Mumbai, Pays Homage to Its Dabbawalas

(Photo: Red Bull / Ali Bharmal)

Famous German free runner Jason Paul took over the city of Mumbai as he "parkoured" across the city. In his latest video, he paid homage to the city's legendary dabbawalas by taking on the role of one.

Starting from the slums of Dharavi, he parkours his way across Mumbai's iconic locations including Dhoby Ghat, Gateway of India, Churchgate station and more to deliver a dabba or a lunchbox to its recipient.

Paul spent over 10 days in the city to scope out the locations and idea for his shoot. He says that Indian cities like Mumbai are very different from European cities where he is accustomed to free-running.

"As a parkour athlete, it is fun to just take everything in and think of the possibilities. It’s like once you learn to read, your brain automatically does it. So, when I go somewhere, I am always thinking about what I could do, maybe do a wall run, how do I go from here to there?"

Jason Paul, Free runner

Through his video, Paul captures the hustle and bustle of the city while emulating one of the city's lifelines – the dabbawalas, a trade which has survived the onslaught of online food delivery systems.

On the idea of paying homage to dabbawalas, Paul remarks that he found it very interesting how they manage to deliver everything on time, in a big city like Mumbai.

"In big cities, no one is ever on time. You’ll see people coming 30 minutes, one hour late. But they deliver everything on time, even though one lunch box gets passed from one person to another so many times."

Jason Paul, Free runner

Watch the full video here.