By Parineeta Dandekar Flowing under many names—Vedic Parushni, Puranic Iravati, Greek Hydraotes—the River Ravi is arguably the most storied of the five rivers that meet the Indus. From the glacial heights of the Himalayas to the fertile plains of Punjab, its course has been shaped as much by memory and imagination as by geography. “Heth vage Ravi dariya”—“below flows the River Ravi”—is a refrain that echoes across Punjabi songs and poetry. Yet the river’s cultural landscape today is fractured. On the banks of the Ranjit Sagar Dam, poet-activist Manbhavan Singh Kahlon reflects that while Punjabis have long written poetry about their rivers, much of Ravi’s poetic legacy now lies in Pakistan. Across the border, the sentiment is reversed: many believe the river’s waters have been left behind in India.
By Hans Harelimana Hirwa, Mansee Bal Bhargava Second only to Africa, Asia is experiencing the fastest urban growth in the world. The continent is home to 60% of the world’s megacities – including Jakarta, Dhaka, Beijing, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, to name a few. As the level of urbanization is already high in the major hubs, most urban growth is unfolding in the periphery of the urban administration, which is also in the periphery of the rural areas, called the peri-urban areas .