On Monday, loud moans rang through the narrow passage leading to Wasam’s residence at the decrepit BDD Chawl in Worli. Wasam, his wife Vijaya (45) and mother-in- law Rajava (70) died in the bus crash on Sunday night. A local social worker who had earned tremendous love and respect in the locality, Wasam’s home was packed with mourners.

Having seen tough times ever since he arrived in Mumbai from Kareemnagar in Andhra Pradesh, Wasam had always told friends of his big dream: To see his two sons, Srinivas and Ramesh, become a doctor and an engineer. That he ran a small tailoring stall with three assistants didn’t stop him from setting tall goals for his children, said Sahadev Bhoga, Wasan’s son’s teacher.

“He would go at 8 am to his shop and return with unstitched clothes at 11 pm. He ran his sewing machine round the clock just to see his son become a doctor one day,” said Bhoga, who teaches at the nearby Swami Vivekanada Education Institute. “And recently, Rajesh became an engineer, Srinivas opened a dispensary and Wasam’s daughter Soni was pregnant. He went to Shirdi to thank God for these happy moments.”

A member of local social work group Sai Leela Mandal, Wasam had also taken active interest in the improvement of amenities in Bharat Nagar, a nearby slum. Tears rolling down his cheeks, Bhoga pointed to the road leading to Bharat Nagar and said: “Now he won’t ever see his son serving the residents of the slum.”

As the three bodies arrived, Wasam’s crestfallen son Srinivas had only one question, why his dad had to be taken away just when their dream to serve local residents through a dispensary with affordable charges had been fulfilled. “Srinivas is asking me why his father left the job incomplete? Wasam’s sons wanted to follow in his footsteps as a social worker,” Bhoga added.

Wasam’s daughter, crying relentlessly, was unable to speak. “We are devastated,” said her husband Ramesh, a medical representative. “We have lost everything today.”