For middle-class and rich Mumbaikars, election might be a five-yearly farce that fails to shake their educated antipathy. But for our domestic helps, postmen, milkmen, poll season brings along with it hope. When the politicians come to their basti once every five years, they are tempted to believe that their life might become a little better.

The CST bridge collapse in 2019. The Andheri bridge mishap in 2018. The Elphinstone stampede in 2016. The breakdown of Mumbai’s infrastructure means that no one, rich or poor, will be spared. And yet, there are no protests, no angry outbursts from a citizenry too preoccupied with living for the day.

Anandi Gopal is the retelling of Dr Anandi Joshi’s struggles, her fight for the right to dissent and for gender justice. Hundred and forty years on, her trials strike a chord. Her story is still relevant as we grapple to declare marital rape a crime and debate over women’s entry into places of worship.

In the Marathi film Bucket List, Madhuri Dixit plays the sweet vahini from a regular upper-caste Maharashtrian Puneri neighbourhood. What happens when Bollywood’s most famous diva lands in an industry in the midst of a beautiful churn? Her stardom becomes a stumbling block.

The humble rat has proved that he is a Mumbaikar to the core. He’s got it all – the die-hard spirit, the indifference to unhygienic surroundings, the apathy to the din of construction and an immune system that quaffs anything edible, and lives to tell the tale.

Years before plastic became pervasive, you went to buy ration swinging a cloth bag. The local butcher wrapped up your mutton in yesterday’s newspaper. But plastic adapted itself like a shape-shifting hydra to suit our urban needs.

Inboxes flooded with images of the super moon from across the globe as it traversed one time zone to another, bewitching everyone with its triple magic. A city had managed to remember that there’s a moon in the urban sky.

Babasaheb Ambedkar believed that hero worship was a sure road to dictatorship. His sage advice would have been valuable today, amid all the political chaos over a memorial dedicated to him.

On earth, Vinay Singh is a copywriter. Soon though, he will be floating in zero gravity in a NASA-facilitated spaceplane. A young man’s journey to the stars.

Dr Santosh Gaikwad sometimes annoys his wife by stuffing birds in the fridge, but his intentions are good. He ensures animals live a life after death.

The Isle of Man has bought into the vision of an Indian mathematician to develop a virtual currency that helps prevent bribes. Could this system be replicated in India?

In a Parel gaothan, Dr Nayak continues a tradition of treating families for everything from the flu to sprains. But with the rise of multi-specialty clinics, his days are numbered.

The humble pear and the doctor-approved apple no longer cut ice. As city folk up their fruit game, the person most thrilled with this one-upmanship is the farmer.

Leaving stigma behind in the dust of the fields they toil in, Gujarat's surrogate mothers are scripting a narrative of change.