Tempo driver by day; this Mumbaikar shares his 'home' with 20 cats

Kalu!" tempo driver and animal lover B Rajendra aka Rajan calls out. "Kaluuuu! Kaluuu!"

From behind dumpsters and newly decorated Christmas trees at shop fronts, from under Rajan's makeshift bed on the footpath and over parked cars on the side of the Kala Ghoda lane, come – not one, not two – but at least half a dozen cats and kittens. These are only a part of Rajan's street-side family.

"I call all 18-20 of them Kalu, like a surname. If you gave them ten different names they would never respond to you," shrugs Rajan, who came to the city of dreams from Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, over two decades ago and made the footpath his home. "The older ones come to me, the younger kittens mostly come searching for food," he grins.

After a hard day's work, Rajan goes to nearby restaurants and cafes to collect leftovers for his feline friends. At 10pm sharp, armed with bagfuls of chicken, he bellows "Kaluuu" and cats come running – even the two milk-white ones. "People arround here are really helpful. Lending them food is better than letting leftovers spoil. They even give them food on their own if I'm not around."

The cats are all descendants of one cat, who had wandered over to Rajan's patch of pavement years ago. "She was with me for a long time, and when she had kittens, they stayed here too," explains the 50-year-old. "The tomcats will sometimes get into fights with the female cats and then leave and never come back. But the female cats stay right here."

While helping out a hurt dog, Rajan was able to connect to Kala Ghoda NGO Welfare for Stray Dogs. The tempo driver and the NGO have had a happy association since. "I help them gather the cats when they come to give them vaccinations."

Along with his many cats, Rajan has also befriended two dogs. "One is over 20 years old and had to be taken to a shelter to be cared for when he became sick recently," he explains. "The other one, who's also nearly 20, is still with me. His name is also Kalu."

But why take care of so many pets? Why make the time after a gruelling day driving and delivering goods in his tempo? Rajan's answer is simple. "I have always loved animals, ever since I was a kid. They make for amazing companions," he smiles. "Take these cats for instance. They curl around my feet when I'm around, sleep snuggled up next to me when I sleep on this bed. Even on nights when I have to sleep in the tempo, they will hop right up with me and keep me company. It's good to have them around."