Vijay Thakur's cab has his phone number prominently painted on it, in case an ailing person needs to contact him in an emergency.
For nearly three decades, Vijay Thakur, a taxi driver in Mumbai, had been ferrying ailing people to hospital for free. It was a vow he made to himself, after a night of trauma, which even spurred him to change his profession.
Back in 1984, Thakur, who is now 73, had been a mechanical engineer working with Larsen and Toubro.
Recalling the day, he said, "My wife had to get an abortion. No one agreed to take us," Mr Thakur said. After nearly an hour's wait, he finally got an autorickshaw to drop them at the hospital.
"That's when I promised myself that I would become a taxi driver and offer free service to all patients at any time of the day," he said.
The same year, he started a taxi service. His cab has his phone number prominently painted on it, in case an ailing person needs to contact him in an emergency.
In 1999, he lost his only son, Amit, to cancer. The boy was 19 years old. Four years later, the couple adopted a little girl, whom they have named Khushi. Now she is 13.
"It is hard to get an auto or a taxi in the city. He's doing good work. He has helped us," said one of his passengers.