Ephemeral, luminescent, and ever-morphing, the northern lights are a celestial spectacle that urges a sense of stillness to savour their fleeting presence. Native to the planet’s magnetic extremes, such as the Arctic and Antarctic regions, this ethereal phenomenon makes an appearance at a festival in Mumbai—a city always on the move. Conceived by Black Dog Soda as a cultural intervention rooted in its philosophy of ‘Savour the Pause,’ the installation was first envisioned by the brand before being brought to life at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2026, with sculptural artist and architect Arzan Khambatta translating the idea into an immersive spatial experience. It orchestrates a rare pause, which interrogates themes of incessant movement, digital traces and surfeit experiences. Building on the collaboration with Emilia Clarke, which explored narrative immersion through storytelling, the installation expands this ethos into a spatial intervention that invites contemplation over acceleration.

Devised by sculptural artist and architect Arzan Khambatta in collaboration with Black Dog Soda and in association with the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, this installation lives up to its name. Titled ‘Savour the Pause,’ the experience unfolds in intimate intervals, allowing only a handful of visitors inside at once, reinforcing the act of slowing down and lingering within the experience. “Brinda Miller, who’s behind the Kala Ghoda Association, right since the beginning of its inception, when she put forward this idea that they wanted to do an installation, a sculpture, which was interactive, which had a play of light and sound with it, and would I be interested? So, I jumped in,” shares Arzan Khambatta. The installation took the form of an iridescent black structure that revealed a mirrored interior housing a 12-foot sculptural centrepiece. “With the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, it has been completely accessible art in the sense that we are rubbing shoulders with each other. Wherever you are from, whatever caste, creed, or sex you belong to, we want to make it as inclusive and accessible as possible,” reflects Brinda Miller, honorary festival director of Kala Ghoda.

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Beyond The Boundaries Of Time

Suspended in the liminality of craftsmanship, presence, and intentional living, Black Dog Soda’s philosophy of ‘Savour the Pause’ draws inspiration from the brand’s heritage, first established in Scotland in 1883 by its founder, Sir Walter Millard. “With Black Dog Soda, we wanted to remind consumers that it is not about capturing moments superficially but about pausing to truly savour them,” muses Varun Koorichh, VP Marketing of Diageo India. “Our ‘Savour the Pause’ philosophy is an invitation to slow down, breathe deeply, and experience life with greater intention and depth,” shares Khambatta. Black Dog Soda, part of the Diageo India portfolio—the Indian subsidiary of global beverage company Diageo—embodies a philosophy shaped by culturally driven storytelling and immersive experiential initiatives that move beyond the expected. With a broader cultural shift toward wellness and mindful engagement, the philosophy invites audiences to step away from the ornateness of constant urgency and engage more deeply with the moment at hand. “Today, amid increasing digital and external noise, we too often forget to pause and cherish what truly matters,” notes Khambatta. This ethos extends seamlessly into its cultural expressions, from accounts of visionaries to experiential installations, where slowing down becomes both practice and pleasure. Positioned as a gentle rebellion against hyper-productivity, the initiative challenges long-standing cultural narratives around constant striving.

The Cosmic Ballet

In the verdant gardens framing the Indo-Saracenic edifice of the restored CSMVS, a dystopian, iridescent black structure emerges with arresting, enigmatic, and impossible to ignore, capturing the curiosity of festival goers. “I love experimenting with anything and everything,” shares Khambatta. The artist borrows references from the Northern Lights while trying to imitate its soft, voluptuous character, a piercing departure from his archetypal austere metallic language. “Savour the Pause was the other (inspiration), and what we did was we studied the way the Northern Lights moved, the music, everything, and we decided to do something that was very lyrical in the sculptural form and had large surfaces,” explains Khambatta.

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Subsequently, the space unfurls drenched in a mirrored surface reflecting a towering 12-foot sculptural pièce de résistance. Its sinuous curves and circular geometry rejected rigid angles, instead mirroring the aurora’s flowing, ribbon-like motion. The sculpture relied on enormous surfaces capable of holding light and projection, enabling a phantasmagoric visual language that pushed the installation into an ethereal realm. This effigy, crafted from glass-reinforced fibre, is glazed with projections mirroring the hypnotic movement of the Northern Lights. Shifting through shades of green, blue, and violet, and accompanied by deep, percussive soundscapes, the installation creates a momentary escape from the rhythm of the city beyond. It juxtaposes technology and art to paradoxically encourage disconnection, inviting visitors to step away from their devices and immerse themselves fully in the moment. “Although the sculpture itself was form-oriented and aesthetic by itself, the lights moving across its entire surface gave it a dramatic effect and brought it to life,” reflects Khambatta.

Within A Dystopian Milieu  

While Mumbai is romanticised as the ‘City of Dreams,’ its relentless pace and ceaseless ambition often leave little room to truly dream. Punctuated with art, culture, and endless happenings, the city seldom grants the stillness required to pause. “Kala Ghoda Arts Festival was the perfect cultural platform to translate this idea into a meaningful, real-world expression, culturally rich, dynamic and instinctively inviting reflection,” reflects Khambatta. Aligned with the festival’s overarching theme, the work reflects a futuristic sensibility where art, technology, and introspection converge to shape new ways of experiencing time. “This year, the festival has been titled ‘Ahead of the Curve,’ and people ask me, why is it titled Ahead of the Curve? It really means actually being ahead of the game,” reflects Mrs Miller. In many ways, the installation embodies this philosophy, not by accelerating the pace of experience but by reminding audiences that sometimes the most radical act is simply to pause.

*This article is an advertorial for Black Dog Soda.