05 July,2026 02:31 PM IST | Mumbai | Arpika Bhosale
Train manager Mukesh Kumar Verma who gave CPR to a passenger. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
It has been over 20 years that we have been travelling on the Mumbai local regularly and when the Mayank Lohar case happened (22-year-old stabbed in a running train), the general sentiment was "That's just how Mumbai is". But as a person who has largely benefited from the kindness of strangers in this city for almost 36 years, we weren't in agreement with it.
That kindness is the reason we can still go home to our mum, 15 years after she collapsed while boarding a local at Seawoods station. She was trying to board a train to CSMT - then VT - but fainted right on the precipice of the platform. A nurse shoved Mum into the safety of the train. Passengers tried to call us, but this reporter was then in college, with the phone on silent mode. That same nurse was the one who took Mum to the hospital. Luckily, everything was okay, and we brought her home the next day. To this day, we never turn our phone on silent and will never forget what the nurse did for us that day.
Most of us have similar stories of kindness given so freely. This is a city that sometimes squeezes everything out of you. But even in a time when we see young men and women attacked on trains or at stations, we mustn't forget that Mumbai also has stories of bravery, empathy and compassion even today. Where a stranger will stand up for you, help you, and ask for nothing in return. In this vast city so many of us call home, you might never even meet them again, but will carry them in your heart for the rest of your life.
Mukesh Kumar Verma is a train manager who halted a train during peak hour in October 2025 and refused to leave a passenger gasping for air unattended
On October 4, 2025, from 8.36 am until a good 20 minutes later, Mahesh Kumar Verma was administering CPR to a passenger at Naigaon station until medical help arrived. "I was on duty on the train that leaves from Churchgate for Virar at 8.18 am, and when we reached Naigaon, someone set off the Alarm Chain Pulling (ACP)," he recalls. "It was peak hour; everyone wanted to get to work on time and any delay in our train would delay the trains behind us as well. But we cannot leave until we know why the chain was pulled. As I was on my way to deactivate the alarm, I saw some commotion on the platform."
Commuters had laid down a man who was gasping for air. "People said he was having a heart attack. We undergo rigorous training for situations like this, so I checked his pulse and immediately knew that he needed CPR," he adds.
Verma linked his palms over the passenger's heart and began to administer CPR. "Help was on its way, but I couldn't let up until it arrived," he says.
Anyone who has ever administered CPR can vouch that it's a full body workout to say the least, and fatigue started to set in quickly. "I asked a passenger to take over until I caught my breath and immediately stepped in again when I could. I don't know what became to the man ultimately, but I do know that he was unconscious when I first saw him, and by the time help arrived and took over from me, he was awake and responsive," adds Verma.
"Peak hour tha aur log gussa ho rahe the, par har ek insaan ki jaan kimti hai [It was in the peak hours and commuters were upset over the delay, but every life is precious]," he adds.
June 22: Mayank Lohar stabbed in a local for asking a man to shut the door during rains
June 24: 35-year-old Naveen Prasanna stabbed by a man outside Mahim station after bumping into him accidentally
June 27: A man tried to attack his girlfriend with a sickle outside CSMT. He was stopped by passersby and arrested by police
Karyn Pearl, a born-and-bred Mumbaikar, but motherhood has made her think twice before intervening in a train fight
When I was young I travelled from my home in Seawoods to my school in Wadala. It was a long trip, but I'd do it with my siblings and mother who worked in town. Train travel is second nature to me," says Pearl, now a resident of Panvel.
"I grew up seeing people help each other, and even received help myself. But now that I am a mother [to a son in his preteens] I don't get involved anymore," she adds.
Pearl is one of the many Mumbaikars who feel that maybe taking a risk is not worth it, especially as more and more people have trickled into the city. "We are seeing the loss of the ethics of travel. Regular travellers know that shutting the door when it rains is a must so the whole compartment doesn't get wet, but see what happened to that man?" she says, referring to Mayank Lohar, who was killed in an argument over the same issue. "Now, if someone gets aggressive or starts arguing on the local - especially these aggressive train gangs who sometimes target other passengers - I don't get into a fight," she adds.
Pearl is one of the many people who have said that it's better not to get into altercations on the local and head home to your family. To be honest, we understand her perspective as well.
Prissha Vira, 18, was saved by a "train aunty" when she was in danger of falling off a running train
One January morning, Prissha Vira was travelling from Kings Circle to Vile Parle as usual. Her only thought was that it was 8 am and she needed to get to college in time. So when a train rolled in already crowded, she jumped on and clung to the pole on the footboard.
"Harbour line has limited trains on this route. If you miss one, you have to wait for at least 30 minutes. I couldn't afford that delay," she says. But soon Prissha realised that she had probably bitten off more than she could chew. "I was hugging the pole desperately and was afraid that I would fall off the train. An aunty noticed my struggle," she recalls.
Said aunty began yelling to the others to back up a little to make room for Prissha. "She began yelling to the women âPeeche jao, idhar bachchi latak rahi hai [Back up, there is a kid hanging off the pole]'. The women made room and I was pulled into the train finally," Prissha says with a nervous laugh.
She recalls how "Aunty" tried to calm down her very scared Class 11 self, "Aunty told me she is a doctor. She told me not to worry, that most of the crowd would ease at Bandra and Khar and I would have a little more space," she adds.
"I kept thanking her, because a lot of times people don't care about kids in the rush. Adults might not even register us at times, and here she was, making way for me," she says.
Prissha says that she began travelling in trains two years ago. She adds, "I think it's an important part of growing up. You are not a Mumbaikar until you know how to handle yourself in the train."
Sometimes, that comes with a little help from your fellow Mumbaikars.
"Various studies have shown that people living in cities often face high stress. There is a complex co-relation between physical and social environmental factors in influencing mental health. Multiple factors like housing issues, traffic and transportation challenges, limited health care facilities, cost of living and job-related stress and other stressors in their personal life contribute towards their mental health and well-being.
On the other hand, human beings are wired for connection. Empathy and compassion is in-built. It depends on how much grounded and safe one feels to be able to offer it to others. Having said that, it may not be always available to everyone. I strongly believe that when one is seen and heard, they can see and hear others, in such situations kindness prevails."
- Dr Rakshanda Inam, Psychotherapist
