<h2>High net worth</h2>
<p>A labourer works on an under-construction building in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-best-bus-diversions-routes-affected-due-to-metro-work-and-ashadhi-ekadashi-processions-23641533" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Wadala </a>surrounded by safety nets</p>
<h2>Hip-hop and hope</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Student-msg_e.jpg" alt="Wild Wild Women share a message of solidarity from Belgium. PIC COURTESY/BAND&rsquo;S INSTAGRAM" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Wild Wild Women share a message of solidarity from Belgium. PIC COURTESY/BAND&rsquo;S INSTAGRAM</em></strong></p>
<p>The voice of India&rsquo;s students echoed in Belgium&rsquo;s Antwerp on July 24. Mumbai-based all-women hip-hop group Wild Wild Women were dressed to the nines in their sarees at the Sfinks Festival, complete with a placard that read: &ldquo;These baddies aren&rsquo;t apolitical. #<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-housands-join-shivaji-park-rally-after-dharmendra-pradhan-resignation-23641674" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">studentprotests</a>&rdquo;. We can think of a few artistes that could use the reminder. As for the ladies, they shared, &ldquo;We might be miles away, but our hearts are on the streets with every student, family, and warrior fighting for change.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Good job, Gen Z!</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Cockroach_e.jpg" alt="The artwork depicts the power of a single voice of dissent. PIC COURTESY/ADITI BABEL" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>The artwork depicts the power of a single voice of dissent. PIC COURTESY/ADITI BABEL</em></strong></p>
<p>After the powers-that-be blinked first in a stand-off with spirited students last weekend, congratulations were in order. &ldquo;Thanks to <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/the-rise-of-the-cockroach-janata-party-satire-indias-gen-z-say-they-arent-lazy-and-highlight-what-they-need-23631896" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Gen Z, cockroaches are my favourite now</a>,&rdquo; said city-based artist Aditi Babel. The artist&rsquo;s new work depicts the power of a single voice of dissent, using the now-viral cockroach motif. &ldquo;The events of July 20 shook my ground. The courage and power that Gen Z showed woke every sleeping cell of this country,&rdquo; Babel told this diarist.</p>
<h2>Channelling success</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Swimmers_e.jpg" alt="The four-person relay team on the French shore after swimming across the English Channel. PICS COURTESY/Veera Tide Team, NASA" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>The four-person relay team on the French shore after swimming across the English Channel. PICS COURTESY/Veera Tide Team, NASA</em></strong></p>
<p>Don&rsquo;t let the weather get in the way of a good swim. The Veera Tide quartet of swimmers did just that by swimming across the English Channel to set a time of 12 hours and 16 minutes. &ldquo;We had been preparing for the swim for a year under the supervision of the Swim Life Academy in Bengaluru. I am exhausted to even speak,&rdquo; confessed Mumbaikar Dhruv Lakra who was part of the team.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Sea_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>With federation observers from the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation (CSPF) ratifying and overseeing the swim, the quartet started from Dover Harbour off the English coast to finish at Cap Gris-Nez, the point on the French coast across the narrowest part of the channel.</p>
<h2>Vijayabai, forever</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/VM-tribute_e.jpg" alt="Panelists at the tribute in Dombivli. PICS COURTESY/PAI&rsquo;S LIBRARY; WIKIMEDIA" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Panelists at the tribute in Dombivli. PICS COURTESY/PAI&rsquo;S LIBRARY; WIKIMEDIA</em></strong></p>
<p>The sweet fragrance of Chafa (frangipani), the late Vijaya Mehta&rsquo;s favourite flowers, filled the room at a tribute organised by Pai&rsquo;s Library and Shrikala Sanskar Nyas in Dombivli East last weekend. Readings of select works followed an emotional two minutes of silence.</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jul/Vijaya-Mehta_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>In an interaction, panelists and artistes Pratima Kulkarni, Swati Chitnis, Vidyadhar Pathare and Ram Daund reminisced about their memories with &lsquo;Vijayabai&rsquo; through a dialogue with Ashutosh Waghmare. &ldquo;The artistic achievements and cultural contributions of Vijaya Mehta, who gave a new direction to <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/things-to-do/article/language-no-bar-23349541" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Marathi theatre</a>, will be remembered for a long time,&rdquo; shared co-organiser Pundalik Pai.</p>

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Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

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