India, Oct. 18 -- Atif Syed, a computer engineer from AMU, turns historian and deftly narrates the layered story of the city in a storytelling style. Atif's exploration moves from Aligarh's origin under the Dor Rajputs.

The mere mention of Aligarh brings to mind images of "padlocks and pairs of scissors" or, as author Rakhshanda Jalil and millions of Aligarh Muslim University alumni spread across the world say, the city evokes a deep sense of "Ahd-e-Rafta" (the days gone by). The mention of the town triggers rich mental images of the historic Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus, its iconic tree-lined avenues, vintage cinema halls like Tasveer Mahal, and old family havelis.

In Aligarh: The City That Outlasted Empires [Hachette], Atif ...