This issue, edited by Tau Tavengwa and Arpita Das, focuses on cities in South Asia, not as a generic category but rather as a symbolic and political constellation loaded with complex histories and contemporary dynamics.

The selected stories illuminate a diverse region gripped by political and cultural upheavals, and bounded by stereotypes. South Asia is experiencing enormous shifts, particularly as its inhabitants become overridingly urban. The region exhibits a complexity that no single story can or should seek to capture. It is in the juxtaposition of this issue’s content that the full nature of relationships and life within and between the various cities profiled emerges.