Arieb Azhar as a multi talented artist who has made significant contributions to the music and cultural scene of Pakistan.

As a musician he was a pioneer in interpreting and performing Punjabi Sufi on the guitar for urban audiences. As a festival organizer, Arieb co-founded the highly successful 'Music Mela Festival of Islamabad' and curated its first three editions and later established his own festival platform 'Art Langar'. From 2018 to 2020 he served as Executive Director of T2F Karachi during which time he also curated the 3rd edition of the Creative Karachi Festival.

Arieb also conceived and produced the award-winning feature documentary 'Indus Blues', directed by Jawad Sharif which shed light on the rich musical heritage of Pakistan. His latest achievement has been the highly successful production of the theatre play 'The River's Daughter', directed by Kulsoom Aftab of which Arieb was the playwright and producer while also playing the villainous role of Pir Tota Sain.

Having grown up in the 80-s left movement of Karachi, and later spending 13 years in Croatia where he first hand witnessed the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Arieb's artistic expression is imbued with a sociopolitical sensibility and a love of folk culture.

The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.

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The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.

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Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

1:16 Theater & Live Performance, folk music, Shamrock Rovers, Sports, Zagreb and war

9:48 Hardship & songs, humor and political correctness, how music & dance are natural, and the power of words like Ohm

20:25 Training your ear, journey of an artist, social media and its ills

29:28 Cultures and identity in Pakistan, spread of molvism, differences & insecurity

38:56 Aurangzeb, Wahhabism and “culture”, our harmonious cultural history, where “India” comes from

48:36 Atheism and finding spirituality, psychedelics, UK & drunk behavior, Tolkien & Celtic mythology and Irish Music

1:01:07 Our history of song & dance, lost legends, Pakistan’s lack of archiving, radio Pakistan, and his father Aslam Azhar

1:11:58 Audience Questions