India, Dec. 10 -- This is not a book about Kashmir, rather it seeks to look into the various aspects of urbanity that define a particular space in Kashmir: Srinagar. It is a book that seeks to understand what Srinagar means for Kashmir, and how the city self-images itself as the city of Kashmir, or as I write the only city of Kashmir.

The book offers an open-ended narrative that navigates through textual and material culture alike, tracing how Srinagar has served as a crucible of transcultural and transregional encounters. It attempts to present Srinagar as a living and stubbornly resilient city, not reduce it to a beautiful or ugly "place".

You write about the loss of "old Srinagar" as the city has expanded into reclaimed marshes, padd...