In a world dominated by screens and fleeting digital interactions. All too often we treat our experiences like fast food, quickly consumed, immediately forgotten, more for convenience than the memory, when they ought to be savoured like a multi-course feast. Each moment can be allowed to linger on the palate before we rush on to the next. At the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, held between 31st January and 8th February 2026 in Mumbai, one installation endeavoured to rectify this blight of the modern life. And through art reminded visitors to stop, and savour each moment.
A collaboration between Black Dog Soda and artist Arzan Khambatta manifested as an immersive dome, or rather a gleaming black cube that commanded attention on the lawns in front of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) museum. Its mirror-like surface reflected the majesty of the historic structure, creating a striking dialogue between contemporary art and Mumbai’s architectural heritage. Yet it was within this enigmatic cube that the true magic came to life, embodying the brand’s evocative ethos of ‘Savour The Pause’.
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The Legacy Of Savour The Pause
While the concept of pausing and finding stillness has undoubtedly become a more pressing need in our hyperconnected age. “At Black Dog Soda, ‘Savour the Pause’ is a philosophy that encourages conscious presence in a world that rarely slows down,” says Varun Koorichh, Vice President – Marketing, Portfolio Head, Premium and Luxury, Diageo India, “Building on our collaboration with Emilia Clarke, we sought to bring this philosophy to life through an immersive consumer experience. Kala Ghoda Arts Festival felt like the perfect partner to bring this idea to life, it is culturally rich, dynamic, and yet instinctively invites reflection. Through this immersive experience, our intent was to create a space within the festival where people can slow down, engage deeply with art, and experience the moment in a more meaningful, mindful way.”
A Marriage Of Geometry And Wonder
The cube itself was futuristic to say the least, both within and without, and the confluence of traditional sculpture and projection mapping showcased how multiple art forms can coalesce. This year’s festival theme centred on geometry, and Arzan – celebrated for his experimental pursuits in metal sculpture drew inspiration from the ethereal beauty of the Northern Lights, which was also celebrated in a recent short film collaboration between Black Dog Soda and actress Emilia Clarke. This didn’t just showcase the aurora’s beauty, it captured that same reverence one might bring to appreciating a well-aged spirit or a thoughtfully paired drink and dish.
“It gave me a visual of a very quiet, calm atmosphere that humans must be immersed in to truly experience this phenomenon, to witness the Northern Lights, to Savour the Pause,” Arzan explains. “I was telling someone recently that the most difficult thing to do in today’s time is absolutely nothing. That stillness is missing right now. What we wanted to do was give the viewer a completely immersive experience, transport them into a different world temporarily for those few precious minutes.”
The Experience – Nature Meets Technology
The experience was carefully orchestrated to strip away the noise of daily life and create space for genuine wonder. At the heart of the cube sat Arzan’s sculpture, a form crafted with a base of pure white and adorned with flowing, organic curves. It served as a silent, physical anchor for this meditation on modernity. As the Black Dog Soda team’s projection mapping swept across the sculpture’s contours, the white surfaces acted as a canvas for the shifting greens and violets of the Northern Lights. Coupled with a swelling, ambient soundtrack, the installation created a sensory cocoon that effectively muffled the heavy hubbub of the festival outside.
Translating such a vast, celestial phenomenon into an intimate indoor experience was no small feat. Both Arzan and Brinda Miller, Festival Director of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, noted that while their personal escape from the world’s noise often comes through the act of creation, sharing that stillness with the public required rigorous engineering. It took multiple iterations, countless sketches, and a sophisticated configuration of mirrors to dissolve the cube’s physical constraints and amplify the effect of the light display.
“Because of the mirrors, the entire experience gains an infinite quality,” Brinda explains. “The physical footprint is actually quite small, but the reflections trick the eye into seeing a boundless horizon. You lose your sense of boundaries and feel, for a moment, as though you’re suspended directly within the aurora itself.”
A Moment Worth Remembering
As festival-goers emerged from the black cube, into Mumbai’s brilliant sunlight, many carried with them something more valuable than a photograph, an actual memory. In those two minutes of enforced pause, visitors had been given permission to simply exist. In an age where even our meals are often photographed before they’re tasted, Black Dog Soda’s installation posed a gentle challenge – what if we approached every experience, a carefully mixed drink, a shared meal, a moment of natural wonder, with the same unhurried attention?
