The June-July issue of Domus India (41) keenly talks about our relationship as a civilisation with nature. We look at mud architecture in an essay by Siddharth Menon – not to once more celebrate the ‘Indian-ness’ or ‘localness’ of mud and brick, but to understand it as a knowledge base – practices of making as well as a cultural institution such as building-making, (built-) environment-shaping. Simultaneously we examine in detail the ecosystem of wetlands, with the case of Keshopur in Punjab in northern India. There is another form of culture and design of human life and built environment that we explore the history of Hindustani Sangeet (music) and the development of a public sphere in a growing metropolis like Mumbai through 19th and 20th centuries. Besides, we also discuss the India Pavilion at the Hannover Messe in Germany, that internationally launches Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiatives as well as the idea of ‘Smart Cities’.