With the fest only a few days away, the Oasis English Press (OEP) sat down with Kanika Obhan, the Coordinator of the Department of Informal Events (Informalz), to understand their work for the upcoming fest.
Kanika stated that Informalz was a legacy department, and they had conducted games, primarily board games, in previous fests. However, owing to the rise of the internet and online games, they had branched out to other events. Their first event, the Treasure Hunt, would start at FD-II QT with a crossword puzzle, followed by a hunt for clues across the campus. They would also conduct Casino Night in SAC, where participants can indulge in Blackjack, Poker, and Roulette. The best performers would then be awarded with respect to their ranks on the leaderboard. The department would also be holding their ‘Brainrot Quiz’ to determine ‘the champion of doomscrolling’.
Informalz had started its preparation about a month prior to the interview, which was to contact equipment vendors for Casino Night. Most of their pre-fest work involved teaching the juniors to deal and formulating questions for the quiz which would happen during work sessions that would start seven to ten days before the fest. Physically setting up SAC for Casino Night, however, would start a day or two before the event.
In regard to the setbacks they faced, Kanika said that they had faced budget constraints, as vendors were increasing prices, and transport was getting more expensive. She noted that the StuCCA was as helpful as possible and had provided great support to these events, as they had a legacy on campus and had been tried and tested successfully over the years.
Kanika described her experience as Coordinator to be both scary and fulfilling as a lot of responsibility fell on her shoulders, especially with having to handle a lot of money for the events. She stated that being audience to their successful execution in the past was very fulfilling, and hoped to have the same experience this year as well.
As a parting message, Kanika asked the readers to explore something new during Oasis and to try and experience as many events as they possibly could.