Lafz, Saz aur Safar: An Evening of Poetry and Music

What happens when poetry leaves the page and enters a room?

“Lafz, Saz aur Safar” is an intimate evening of poetry, storytelling and music, bringing together contemporary Pakistani voices whose work moves between the personal and the political, memory and longing, humour and resistance.

Set against the distinctive atmosphere of The Black Hole, this will not be a conventional mushaira. Think of it instead as a gathering where poets share their work, music creates an emotional landscape, and words are allowed to breathe beyond books, screens and PDFs. As poetry is recited, symphonic music will accompany the evening, creating a space where lafz meets saz and stories take on new meanings.

The featured poets bring three distinct voices and worlds to the stage. Their work explores love and loss, ecology and war, displacement and belonging, satire and spirituality, memory and modern anxieties.

● About the Artists:

» Madiha Arsalan is a poet and the author of two poetry collections, Bhadoon and Somewhere Nowhere. Writing across Urdu and English, her work moves through landscapes both intimate and political, exploring themes of ecology, war, love, Sufism, displacement, womanhood and resilience. Her poetry finds meaning not only in moments of grief and upheaval, but also in the small joys that survive them.

» Mazhar Nisar is a poet and the author of The Mahogany Junction. His work is deeply concerned with place, memory and the journeys – both physical and emotional – that shape human experience. Writing primarily in English, his lyrical poetry engages with longing, history and contemporary anxieties, while drawing subtle inspiration from the rich traditions of South Asian poetry.

» Wajahat Malik is a poet and the author of Charsi Nama. His writing brings together satire, Sufi undertones and a distinctive, street-smart sensibility. Bold, humorous and often sharply observant, his poetry engages with the absurdities and contradictions of everyday life while retaining an underlying philosophical and human depth.

This session is free and open to all. Just visit the venue to attend it.

The Black Hole
Plot 5H, Street 100, G-11/3, Islamabad.
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