In Kathmandu, Nepal, a bull called Ghaumandi, meaning the proud one, wanders daily from Pashupatinath Temple through traffic and food stalls. For Hindus, bulls and cows are sacred, and a bull can be seen as Nandi, the mount of the god Shiva, so people touch his forehead and offer scraps. Yet he blocks streets, eats from food carts and frightens children, so vendors chase him away with water. Cattle in the city are often abandoned by dairy farmers when they no longer produce milk but are not slaughtered because of their sacred status. This leaves animals living in the margins between domestic and wild. Similar tensions occur with stray dogs in Istanbul or pigeons in London.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.