It’s another starlit summer night in Lahore at the top floor of OPM on Mall road. At this party called Flirt, all earth-based reality seems negotiable. Everything and everyone seem suffused with an ecstatic glow. Men and women, celebrities and socialites, models and designers, young and the young at heart, they are all there and they all love it. This is Verve Events. This is Imtisal Zafar and Arsalan Ahmed Khan!
There might be many ‘get rich and famous quick’ schemes out there but becoming an event manager seems to be topping the list over the past year so at least. Of course there is little truth to it (sorry to burst your bubbles) because behind the glam and the limelight, there is (literally) tons of hard work and planning involved. There are disappointments and then there are triumphs every day on this field. Ask any genuine person in this line of work and they’d tell you it is not for the faint-hearted.
Verve of course has risen from the ranks to emerge as one of the most exciting names in Lahore and Islamabad. Brain child of Lahore-based Imtisal Zafar and Aussie-returned-Islamabad-based Arsalan Ahmed Khan; theirs is a classic tale of dedication, passion, and perseverance towards quality entertainment. Now, they work with some of the biggest names out there: Pepsi, Hardees, UFone, Huawei, SKMT and Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) to name a few in this regard. Having recently hosted the first men’s wear designer boutique in Lahore, Design Emporium, and a rocking night with the singing sensation from UK, Imran Khan in Islamabad, we thought it the most opportune moment to bring them to PartyLiciouS!
Getting them together at one place is a whole different story but PartyLiciouS did manage to corner them in between their busy schedules for a heart to heart talk at Cosa Nostra’s Pizzeria over sumptuous servings of their famous ceaser-salad – something that we seem to share a mutually voracious appetite for!
A post wedding garden party organized in Islamabad at Arsalan’s aunt’s house for Abbas Sarfaraz is where the inception of Verve can be traced back to. While both Arsalan and Imtisal had always cherished a desire to venture in this field, the decision to launch a company was an unpredictable event in itself.’I still remember the theme of that party,’ recalls Arsalan, ‘everything was white and fabulous!’ For Imtisal, it seemed he had his heart set on event management from the start. A concert he organized for his school back in his A’ level days made him realize the potential he had. His one and a half year work experience with J&S only proved to strengthen his resolve. ‘The private party we did for Arsalan’s aunt was when we realized that we make an exceptional team and that we both were as passionate about event management.’ adds Imtisal. ‘We decided there and then to take it very seriously from that day onwards!’
The word Verve literally means dynamism, enthusiasm, and energy – three traits that form the backbone of Verve Events’ spirit. Add a generous serving of creativity to it and you got the ideal mix essential in the event management field. ‘There is nothing like imagining something from scratch and then getting it done,’ accepts Arsalan, ‘In event management there is no limit… only limiting factor is “the budget”! Our imaginations stretch far and wide … Verve just sounded sexy and it means to go with the mood and to flow… which is us!’ Ammar Zaeem, a good friend of the duo was the one who first suggested the name to them and it clicked with them instantly.
When Verve started, it began on pretty humble notes. There weren’t any family fortunes that came to the rescue when they were broke – which naturally happened on several occasions. Financial crunches coupled with trying to make a name in the shadow of established names back in the days was something that took everything the two had at their disposal. For event management entrants, this is the bend or break phase. Many will fold in the face of pressure and initial disappointments, a few would carry on but would not go beyond mediocrity in terms of their creativity and conceptualization. An even smaller group would strive to learn from their mistakes, not compromise on quality and try again. Verve made sure they were counted in that strata. ‘Invest and re-invest has been our policy,’ shares Arsalan, ‘heck we are still doing that. It’s the only way to ensure a great future.’
But then what makes Verve different from the rest? They are widely popular in Lahore as well as Islamabad owing to each one of the two located in the two cities. While Arsalan handles the Islamabad clientele and Imtisal looks after that of Lahore, when it comes to major events, the two can almost always be seen executing the plans together. ‘We take care of all events together’, Arsalan adds, ‘I go and manage with Imtisal and he comes to Islamabad and manages with me.’ Imtisal agrees, ‘we both handle the two cities together. Of course there are projects that we handle separately now. In that case, it makes more sense for us to be handling events in our respective cities. However, we’re equally involved in all our events. Being based in two cities helps a great deal in handling the events. It’s also convenient for our clients in both cities and assists in maintaining a larger client base.’ It would therefore be wrong to term one as the brains and the other as the muscle in the team because they both complement each other in every department to perfection like two final piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
We got to talking about the variance in social dispositions in the two cities and both Arsalan and Imtisal had a lot to add. Imtisal agrees that being fashionably late at the parties and events is a norm in Lahore. ‘People in Lahore are very laid back,’ he explains, ‘12:30 is the new 11:30 here. Even if you’ve paid tons of money to get to the party, Lahoris always turn up fashionably late!’ A blunt yet an honest 
observation there for sure. Some would blame the shaadi-culture that has spoiled us rotten or perhaps us in Lahore try a tad bit too hard to make an impression. Islamabad, socially, has a very on the dot crowd. A 9 pm invite means a 9 pm invite and people are more open to various genres of music at parties whereas Lahore seems to lean more towards the desi-end as observed by Imtisal. Still, there are no complaints. ‘The social hub is different, both have their charms,’ offers Arsalan, ‘I feel where ever you are, as long as you have friends your always busy. I have lived in Sydney and worked in events there with IQPC, and that city is even more buzzing then Lahore, yet Islamabad can get as busy as Lahore socially. I do love both cities.’ They frequent between Lahore and Islamabad quite often for business and leisure. In fact with the amount of business they are involved in now, distances seem to diminish. ‘Lahore and Islamabad have really become a blur for us,’ Arsalan adds laughing, ‘I keep saying in my head it’s all merging into one HUGE city! I call it LAABAD! I think you all need to move to Labaad… it’s a trip n a half!’
From social preferences to the people who provide these opportunities, both cities have seen a tremendous growth of genuine and would-be event managers who are in for the real deal or simply to become more popular while striving for some quick cash on the way. It’s really not that simple and neither is it completely good news that more and more people are showing interest in the field. ‘Quality will be compromised,’ opinionated Imtisal while sipping his gingerita slush, ‘Event management, from the outside may seem very glamorous and lucrative but it really is not! It is tons of hard work, no glamor for yourself and barely any money in the first few years. So I definitely think that a lot of people in the recent past have come in, thinking that it’s easy money and to become popular.’ Arsalan seems to think that some people are either just not made to be in this 
field or they do not realize the possibilities they can exploit, ‘event managers sometimes forget that they are magicians! We have to focus on creating an ambiance that transports people. Why do people party? To be transported away from their daily lives, to go dance in a forest or like a nymph!’ The scarcities of qualitative ambiance and innovation amounts to far too many parties and events that seem to add no value other than provide a very average weekend experience that is often quite shady. ‘See for us parties have always been about getting our name across and present our work to people,’ explains Imtisal, ‘it has never been to earn money and to be honest the experience has not been lucrative at all. We spend a good deal of money on our parties; the setup, ambiance and detailing of the event. All of that costs a lot of money and only a few are willing to spend that much to make the experience worthwhile for the client. So when you are cutting corners and doing a shoddy job, you end up making a good deal from parties. Whereas that may work in the short run, it is never a sustainable route.’
It is this very focus on detail that makes Verve different as well. Does this mean there are times when they have had to decline a client for lack of inspiration in a prospect? ‘That has happened,’ admits Imtisal, ‘we have actually turned down a number of events just because we felt that the given budget of a client would compromise our quality.’ Some people call them snooty because of this; others think they are perhaps running a bit too fast for their own good. But to Verve, any stints of jealousy or negative opinions are dealt with a ‘see no evil, 
hear no evil and do no evil’ attitude. Of course this doesn’t necessarily help put a halt to those who seem to be envious of their success at times. A certain event manager once seemed to take it heart when we complemented his event as a continuation of a trend that Verve had started in Lahore. From working with J&S to now being their competitor, Verve has seen its share of smiles and occasional disagreements as well. As of late, there had been a strong rumor circulating around that the two can’t seem to settle their differences in light of certain bids going either ones ways. Both Imtisal and Arsalan were quick to dismiss such gossip and that they maintain an amicable relationship with Omar Satti and Jalal Salahuddin. ‘My experience at J&S has taught me a lot.’ Imtisal states as a matter of fact, ‘I have generally had a very cordial relationship with Jalal and Satti and I respect them the most in the field. We have had our share of falling out and making up sessions but that is to be expected as we’re working in the same field. However, I do feel that most of the times people sensationalize and exaggerate it more than what the reality is. Collaboration between event managers around the country in general is a pretty rare sight as well. While it is understood that every event manager brings his/her own style forward, it would be great to combine the creative juices to produce something superb. The two of them agree on this. ‘You know, that is something we have also wondered about’, says Imtisal, ‘it’s probably the fact that we feel threatened by each other and feel that we’ll take over their market if we work together. We have tried to collaborate with a few event managers in the past but things did not materialize. But we are very open to the idea of collaborating with other event managers to do joint events’.
Turning towards the lighter side of things we ventured towards the possibility of Verve moving in to the wedding business. For now, the focus seems to be on solidifying Verve more in terms of an established name as the niche organizers of private events, fashion related and corporate functions. ‘Aunties are scary,’ exclaims Arsalan with a wink, ‘but jokes apart, yes we are more interested in the social and corporate side of the business at present.’ It is heartening to see that these two have their priorities well aligned. They know what they want and clearly have a plan for how to get there.
We had been sitting around the table and chatting for well over an hour by now and the duo’s cell phones were perpetually buzzing throughout. There are client calls, meetings, presentation schedules and potential leads to work on and talk about. But there is also a huge social network that the two maintain. ‘It is vital in this business to know all the people that matter, be it friends or business contacts’, Imtisal points out. Arsalan continues on that point, ‘we’re most proud of our social and PR network that we’ve been able to develop over time. It helps to keep a wide social circle and be open to lots of friends as you never know how maybe the key getting an event.’ With so much on their platter, are there any plans for future studies or career options in the pipeline? Not in the near future it seems. The precedence is set for Verve to be more than just about event management in times to come. ‘We want to be the HOUSE OF VERVE,’ hints Arsalan, ‘by that I mean more than just events. We want to be a one stop shop, and there is more, but for that you must wait…’
While waiting for our bill to arrive, we tried to persuade Imtisal and Arsalan to launch an official website for Verve which has been in the pipeline but delayed only due to massive work commitments. They in turn pushed the case for PartyLiciouS to venture in to print. ‘It’ll take the market by storm for sure,’ Arsalan said convincingly. ‘You have to do it,’ Imtisal pushes on, ‘you guys have literally grown up in front of us and by making the right choices at the right time you’ve been able to make a great name for yourselves. You have given a lot of awareness to online social pages and I do believe in many ways you are the pioneers in your field! A print magazine is definitely the next step for PartyLiciouS!’
So which one of their own events are they most proud of? ‘FLIRT,’ declares Imtisal, ‘no comparison!’ Arsalan raises a now empty glass to that, ‘party-wise it HAS to be FLIRT! That’s when we brought down POPE who is an amazing DJ. For corporate events, it would have to be Huawei, which we did fairly recently in Islamabad. We really kicked ass with a décor to die for and performances by Kiran and Caramel, Begum Nawazish, and Black fish.’
November 2007 saw the official launch of Verve events with a smashing launch party at Cosa Nostra in Lahore. The two looked around as we made our way out of restaurant’s courtyard. ‘This is where it all began’, they seemed to think in unison with a nostalgic look in their eyes.
It might have started here but for Verve, the sky is the limit and they definitely have miles to go before they are done!
Check out exclusive galleries of Verve Events coverage by PartyLiciouS below
