<h2>High stakes, higher signs</h2>
As gold prices soar, workers put up a &lsquo;We Buy Gold&rsquo; sign outside a jewellery showroom in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mid-day-exclusive-mumbai-s-borivli-virar-rail-expansion-progresses-with-new-platforms-and-dedicated-train-corridors-23612950" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Borivali</a> West
<h2>Melbourne in Mumbai</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jan/Lygon-Interiors_e.jpg" alt="The interiors of the restaurant. Pic courtesy/Lygon ST" width="1280" height="720" /> The interiors of the restaurant. Pic courtesy/Lygon ST
Taking right from <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/msrdc-wants-nod-to-axe-1585-trees-for-versova-bandra-sea-link-work-23583793" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Juhu Versova Link Road</a> will now lead you straight to Melbourne&rsquo;s Lygon Street. Inspired by the Italian caf&eacute; hotspot in Australia, restaurateur (below) Sneha Upadhya&rsquo;s Lygon St. opened doors on Wednesday.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jan/Bobby-Newberry_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
&ldquo;I lived around the street, and kept returning to the caf&eacute;s. What stayed with me was not just the food, but the ease of those neighbourhood wine bars, where you could sit, eat, talk, and feel at home without pretence. Bringing that feeling to <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-crime-news/article/mumbai-police-get-gangster-ravi-pujaris-custody-in-remo-dsouza-extortion-case-23613335" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Mumbai</a>, in our own way, was the starting point,&rdquo; Upadhya told us.
<h2>Retain our roots</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jan/Malkham_e.jpg" alt="Children performing Mallakhamb at the fest. Pic courtesy/Tender Roots " width="1280" height="720" /> Children performing Mallakhamb at the fest. Pic courtesy/Tender Roots&nbsp;
The fourth edition of Root Folkways, a children-focused festival of performing arts hosted by Tender Roots, was held at the Children&rsquo;s Museum at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) on January 20 and 21. Dedicated solely to young audiences, the festival brought together a wide range of folk artistes and traditions from across India, with a strong emphasis on regional diversity.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jan/Mahesh-Babu-a_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
This year&rsquo;s edition saw participation from six schools, including two affiliated to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Maharashtra featured prominently through performances of Mallakhamb, Karan Dhol, Shabda Bhedi, and Tarpa, showcasing the state&rsquo;s rich physical and musical heritage. Gujarat was represented through the energetic Siddi Goma, while <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/rajasthan-four-dead-16-injured-as-bus-trailer-truck-collides-head-on-in-jodhpur-23612906" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Rajasthan</a> brought the evocative Manganiyar folk singers, among other traditions. Building on previous editions, it showcased artistes and folk forms from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal among others. The founder and managing director of Tender Roots, Mahesh Babu (above) said, &ldquo;This year children not only watched but also participated. The main goal was to provide adequate exposure and educate children and young adults through India&rsquo;s performing arts.&rdquo;
<h2>AI of the storm</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jan/Krupa-Nishar_e.jpg" alt="Krupa Nishar addresses the audience at St Xavier&rsquo;s College at Dhobi Talao. Pic courtesy/Krupa Nishar" width="1280" height="720" /> Krupa Nishar addresses the audience at St Xavier&rsquo;s College at Dhobi Talao. Pic courtesy/Krupa Nishar
A session on crimes against women was held on January 20 at <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-st-xaviers-college-principal-says-police-complaint-filed-against-guest-speaker-after-harassment-claims-at-fest-23605421" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">St Xavier&rsquo;s College</a>, Fort, where forensic psychologist Krupa Nishar, shared crucial perspectives with 150 attendees. Particularly interesting was how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in such crimes. &ldquo;AI-enabled abuse, like image manipulation, is dangerous and hard to detect. AI enables exploitation without any physical contact, as images can be created, altered, or misused using readily available digital material, affecting women across the board,&rdquo; Nishar explained.
<h2>The women who mattered</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jan/The-publc-place_e.jpg" alt="A performing arts session held by Haanh Hum group at the space. Pic courtesy/The Public Place " width="1280" height="720" /> A performing arts session held by Haanh Hum group at the space. Pic courtesy/The Public Place&nbsp;
The Public Place, a safe space for collective learning and action in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-crime-news/article/mumbai-college-student-robbed-in-kurla-lane-two-arrested-23612752" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Kurla</a>, is transforming into a feminist reading club for a day. Led by author and artist Indu Harikumar, the initiative is a personal exploration of women from Maharashtra, with an emphasis on introducing lesser-known reformers and writers.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jan/Indu-Harikumar_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
The upcoming session, on today (January 24), will focus on the autobiography of the woman who unfurled what is considered India&rsquo;s first flag in Stuttgart, <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/german-chancellor-friedrich-merz-concludes-india-visit-india-germany-ties-set-for-major-boost-23611830" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Germany</a>. The club will read Madame Bhikaiji Rustom Cama by Khorshed Adi Sethna. Harikumar concluded by saying, &ldquo;We have always known history through the lens of men; this is an attempt to understand it through the lives of the women who came before us.&rdquo;
<h2>Please close your eyes to feel art</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jan/Mithu-Sen_e.jpg" alt="A blindfolded attendee at the gallery. Pic courtesy/Vipul sangoi " width="1280" height="720" /> A blindfolded attendee at the gallery. Pic courtesy/Vipul Sangoi&nbsp;
How would you respond if art could only be felt and not seen? The solo exhibition What Do Birds Dream at Dusk by Mithu Sen (right) frames blindness not as a medical condition, but as a political one shaped by power, denial, and selective seeing. Drawing from Pieter Bruegel and Jacques Derrida, Sen questions who controls visibility and whose suffering is erased by design. By blindfolding participants and encouraging them to experience the work through touch, the exhibition, which will be held at Chemould Prescott Road on January 31, will introduce vulnerability and uncertainty, opening up the possibility of seeing differently. Speaking to this diarist, Sen said, &ldquo;This is an invitation to unlearn the visible. One can call it a call to recognise the violence of what has been erased by design, and to confront the unseen worlds we continue to shadow.&rdquo;

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce: As gold prices soar, workers put up a ‘We Buy Gold’ sign outside a jewellery showroom in Borivli West

Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier | The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

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The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

High stakes, higher signs

Melbourne in Mumbai

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