“Maximum India” is the second issue in our regionally themed series; the first focused on the US Presidential elections. This time, we asked a local journalist, Kai Friese, to guest-edit, to steer clear of the Western vision of his country that he believes is based on “privileged ignorance”. Features range from the new popularity of Western religious cults amongst Indians to a profile of Crime & Detective, a wildly popular sex-crime pulp magazine, and we catch up with the country’s most extraordinary filmmakers, architects, musicians and artists. There’s not a palace nor a slumdog millionaire in sight. With contributions from London including interviews with Patti Smith, Julian Schnabel and Sally Singer, this particular Anglo-Indian venture has thrived.