Introduction

This introduction addresses how climate change has impacted the contours and habitability of the South Asia littoral. It discusses how the transformation of coastal waters and shorelines is threatening the survival of habitats and communities, putting lives and livelihoods along the edges of land and water at risk. This volume identifies the Terra Aqua as a “third space” beyond land and water—an interstitial dimension that helps rearticulate the context and matrix for new histories and ethnographies of ecological endangerment and survival. The chapters contained in this volume reconceptualize the idea of coastal terrains focusing on the Bengal and Malabar coasts and embrace a unique transdisciplinary approach that addresses the granularity of sand, mud, swamp, and muck, as well as the lifeworlds of people who inhabit such environs.