BANGALORE, APRIL 3: Lazing by the pool side, working out in the Ayurvedic spa and dining on kebabs — the Rolling Stones have generally been chilling out since they arrived in Bangalore. ‘‘They’ve been on the road for quite long. So they’re relaxing,’’ says Dilip Doshi, promoter of the 40 Licks tour in India.

Meanwhile, hundreds of technicians sweat it out on a mammoth arena at the Palace Grounds here. ‘‘A gladiatorial arena to shock Bangaloreans,’’ is how Jake Berry, production director for the concert, describes the stage erected for the evening.

Amidst all this chaos, no one is quite sure who went where in the last two days. There were trips to shop for Indian artefacts and clothing and even a trip to the ISKCON temple, but there was no confirmation that any of the band members actually went.

‘‘They started their day at the spa, had breakfast at the coffee shop Citrus and will probably dine at the Jamavar where the chef is preparing a special menu for them, which includes a host of kebabs with less spice and masala. They also had a cocktail party thrown by the GM, Eric Swanson. They enjoyed our special ‘Game’ menu which includes duck and quail. They just love the service here because they are left alone and not hounded for autographs. They can’t believe it. We are trying to respect their privacy. And they’ve been wonderfully nice to the staff,’’ says Harathi Reddy, Communications Manager at The Leela Palace.

Speaking about the preparations, it’s all befitting the US $ 1 billion band. Understandably, the promoters are sparing no expenses to make tomorrow’s concert a stunning event. Right from bringing in a fully equipped team of experts in the art of stage-setting from all over the world to arranging neat special effects and flawless security measures, they have not left any stone unturned.

‘‘We made the stadium big and practical enough to take to India and fit it into one place,’’ says Berry who has also worked on the stage settings for U2 and Tina Turner concerts. His team of workers have come from as far as Costa Rica and Belgium and are planning to wind up their job within the next 16 hours. Of course, the lighting promises to be a dazzler. ‘‘India is going to see synchro lights for the first time and there will be huge ones planted everywhere,’’ he says. The lighting consists of over 800 moving lights and sky tracers.

Asked about the special effect, Berry gives an enigmatic smile. ‘‘It will be more video and music. And we are going to surprise you with fireworks,’’ Berry notes.

But the backdrop to all this is the stage, which is made in Belgium and is said to be approximately 150ft wide, 60ft deep and 40 ft high. It’s almost a replica of the stage that they will put up in Mumbai. And for the first time, digital plasma screens will display spell-binding special effects. ‘‘The video arrangements are such that you can see it from as far as Goa,” he adds.