Cities have always meant more than dense settlements or centres of trade. Historically, they represented the highest stage of human settlement: places of certainty, safety, and shared civic life. Living in a city meant being part of a predictable society, where people could walk, wait, meet, and exist without the constant struggle for survival. Urban life enabled individuals to interact with one another as citizens rather than being defined by kinship, caste, or occupation. It offered the possibility of belonging beyond blood ties and economic exchange.

In the Indian civilisational context, cities carried an even deeper significance. They were not merely administrative capitals or commercial hubs but also spiritual and intellectual spaces. Cities such as Varanasi, Ujjain, Madurai, Kanchipuram, and Nalanda were built around learning, pilgrimage, contemplation, and ethical life. Knowledge, faith, and everyday living coexisted in these spaces. Urban life implied refinement—reflection over impulse, restraint over excess, coexistence over isolation, and continuity over disruption. Commerce was present, but it did not define the city’s soul. Today, however, Indian cities appear to be drifting away from this civic idea. Increasingly, they resemble markets rather than cities. Urban life is organised less around shared existence and more around transactions. The logic guiding city planning and governance is no longer........

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