Created at a time when there was no scientific data from any source, using tools and techniques that were the product of the same intellectual and social milieu that gave birth to comparative linguistics, the famous Aryan Invasion Theory of India has held the fort for well over a century. For the better part of this period, which conspicuously but not exclusively included the period of European colonialism, it was more or less unchallenged as the history of ancient India, feels NS Rajaram

The bulk of the world's population is going urban. While some of the population was pulled in and others pushed on, a majority are going to be born urban. This social transformation has become a key factor in economic productivity, social justice, ecological sustainability, cultural vibrancy and popular participation. Social movements have failed dismally to keep pace with the challenges imposed by unbridled urbanisation. Cities have been growing at alarming rates and newer ones peep cropping up, writes Subir Ghosh

Popular Hindi cinema was not, till quite recently, considered worthy of serious study. Even now, a large part of the research on films is done by academics abroad, maybe because they have easier access to funding. Plus, the necessary distance to see Hindi films as more than just mindless entertainment. Informative, readable, intelligibly written books about popular film personalities are still not written, says Deepa Gahlot

Science historian and presenter of the popular television series Connections, James Burke, shows how seemingly unrelated ideas and innovations bounce off one another, spinning a vast, interactive web on which everything is connected to everything else: Carmen leads to the theory of relativity, champagne bottling links to wallpaper design, Joan of Arc connects through vaudeville to Buffalo Bill, writes Cynthia Arbuthnot

Other areas of discussion include the distinct features and characteristics of the breed (its exquisite head and high tail carriage as well as its vigour, courage and great powers of endurance) and the numerous strains and substrains of the breed, which, when combined with a glossary of Arabic terms and a complete listing of Arabian horse organisations, registries, and societies, truly make Arabians the definitive book on this revered breed, says Amazon.com