What does home mean to someone living in a city 500 km away from family? For the 12 inhabitants of 198A, Doctor Viegas Street, it is the sight of their nine-year-old yellow Labrador Bruno sleeping under the glow of Christmas lights. In the days leading up to the festival, they’re preparing to return to their native Sawantwadi but that has not stopped them from excitedly decking a tree with sparkling ornaments and putting together a simple crib.

Henry, 40 and Maxi, 62 —both Dsouzas—welcome mid-day into the 117-year-old Savantvadker’s Head Club, a communal dormitory for men from the Sindhudurg town. As we flip through the institution’s register, the first entries in the frayed and delicate pages date back to 1906—when the rent was R12. A bygone era of Mumbai’s housing and urbanity unravels.