In what could probably be a first, a fashion designer has been roped in to design the interiors of the venue where the percussion performances at the ongoing music festival, Baajaa Gaajaa 2012 will be held. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, a self-proclaimed fan of musician Shubha Mudgal, the organiser of the fest, just happened to discuss the event with the singer over breakfast a few weeks ago. “She said she’d like me to design the space for the percussion performances, and since I have done a lot of interior designing work, including my own store, I took on the project,” he says, adding that he’s given the amphitheatre a Benaras ‘ghat’ feel.

“Percussion sound is very potent and you need to uplift it with something that has equal vibrancy like a water body. So we have the stage dressed up in red khadi with diyas and lanterns scattered around to give the space an evening feel, one that is felt during the ‘aarti’ time which Benaras is popular for,” says Mukherjee.

Apart from the colours and design, he adds, “The stage will also be smoked up with the smell of Arabic incense sticks to complete the experience. It’s going to be an amphitheatre-like seating. I’m keeping it very organic, so the sound of the percussions will lend itself dramatically to the ambience,” he says.