(Second from left) Quaiser Khalid with Naseeruddin Shah at one of the editions of Izhaar

Forâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088a busy IPS officer in a metropolis like Mumbai, pursuing a passion beyond work calls for undying zeal and initiative. But when it comes to literature, Quaiser Khalid, Special IGP, Protection of Civil Rights, doesn't mind going that extra mile. An award-winning Urdu author, Khalid has been closely involved with the language since he was a student — Urdu was one of the subjects in his civil services examination. Also active in literary circles, Khalid, however, felt that what was being presented to the public in the name of Urdu was a far cry from the rich, secular tradition of the classics by Ghalib, Faiz and Mir.