Life isn’t easy if you’re trying to make it as an independent musician in India. However, there is some hope with artists coming together to form Baaja Gaaja, India’s first music expo.

The press conference was recently held at Turquoise Cottage in Vasant Vihar and the concept has been conceived and curated by singer Shubha Mudgal and tabla player Aneesh Pradhan. “As a musician, when I travel and come across great voices that cannot be traced back to music stores, I feel our talent pool is not being tapped to its full potential. With this music conference, we are looking at discussing various issues, finding solutions and bringing everyone related to music, in a big or a small way, together,” explains Mudgal.

Spanning over 70 stalls and 300 artists, the three-day event — to be held at Ishanya in Pune from February 6 to 8 — will see multimedia spaces for musicians, scholars, master craftsmen and instrument makers, indie record labels and publishers alike. “This is an Indian version of WOMEX (The World Music Expo) and everything from archival exhibitions, tradeshows, performances, seminars and workshops will be held over the course of the event,” says Rahul Ram, bassist, Indian Ocean, who will be participating in the expo.

Apart from talks about the business of music, finances and insurance of musicians and their instruments, there will also be seminars on the process and importance of experimentation in music given by names such as MiDival Punditz, Parikrama, Karsh Kale, who are also associated with the event.