ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Ghosh essentially views the city in terms of its points of convergence: the merchandise, the crowd, the movement, the heterogeneity. Convergence made the city a microcosm of the human universe. Individual characters in the city arrive from different places. They bring with them their peculiar regional practices so that they infuse the city with behavioural complexity as well. So, we see a cosmopolis at every level. Two case studies relate to Sanjan, a multi-cultural, commercially active port settlement in the north Konkan which formed an important component of the Indian Ocean trade network of the early medieval period (c. 600-1300 CE) and to the city of Anahilapura, an inland urban centre in Gujarat. Textual descriptions unravel what kind of node Anahilapura was, and it bustled with activities and convergence of merchants, artisans, and other occupational groups. These cities were beehive of secular activity, of movement, and of convergence.
