Mumbai, Aug 18 (IANS): Mumbai's famous dabbawalas are set to don a new role - as Govindas - to celebrate this year's Gokulashthami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, a leader of a trust formed by the meal suppliers said here Sunday.

For the first time in their 123-year-old history, the dabbawalas plan to celebrate Gokulashthami Aug 28-29.

The dabbawalas will celebrate Lord Krishna's birth at Aug 28 midnight, and follow it up with massive celebrations the following day, Aug 29.

"We are well known for taking part in almost all social and religious events all these years. But we have never joined Gokulashthami celebrations. Following persistent demands by our members, we shall celebrate the festival with enthusiasm," Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Trust (NMTBST) official Subhash Talekar told IANS here Sunday.

Invitations were being sent out to prominent personalities from different walks of life as well as commoners and families of the dabbawalas to join the celebrations, scheduled in south Mumbai next week, Talekar said.

He said that keeping in mind their image of providing service to society, the celebrations shall be disciplined and purely religious in nature, without commercialisation.

The legendary dabbawalas, currently numbering around 5,000, have been the topic of several international management and research studies, besides earning laurels from all over the world for their all-weather work and efficiency in providing meals packed in tiffin boxes (dabbas) to office-goers across the city.