'My mom came from a small town called Kota in Dakshina Kannada and moved to a bigger city Bangalore in India and I have spent a parts of my childhood by the sea with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, cows, cats, puppies and Kota in itself is a world to me. Then I grew up in a vibrant city Bangalore which is throbbing with life, culture and people from all over the country. It was worlds apart. I would then imagine what other cities would be like. When I was asked to curate this edition I grabbed the opportunity to hear stories from other cities which I have never been to as travelling is my another passion after poetry. Poems can make us envisage cities in new light and even uncover the histories of a place. The canvas that a city can provide for a poet is too vast and there are so many emotions which one connects or disconnects with a city, there will be so many stories to tell and I want us to experience it through poetry. Of course, as cities and environment is directly related poetry can be used to highlight the same. Cities fill us with nostalgia, wisdom, beauty, energy, diversity, pain, compromise, adapting skills and language. Poems about cities gives us an insight into humanity. Across these chosen works, I believe that an enigmatic picture of different cities is showcased in all its diversities. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all the poets who put forward their time and creativity, to be a part of this poetry edition of Teesta Review: A Journal of Poetry. We hope that you enjoy reading this issue as much as I enjoyed curating it.' (Editorial introduction)
