With Oasis ’25 just around the corner, the Oasis English Press sat down with the Oasis Coordinator of Matrix, Pramit Pal, to learn about the preparation of the club for the upcoming fest.

Pramit explained that Matrix was the film and literature club on campus, and that itwas  a place for people to find others with similar interests, and get cinema and book recommendations. He said that the club’s staple events for any fest were the movie screenings they conducted, although they were changing it up this year. Pramit explained that  the plan was to screen two movies per day, with the first one being pre-decided by the club, and the second one being up to the audience to pick from a pool presented to them. He added that the theme of the festival, ‘Whispers of Edo’, would be incorporated in their movie decisions, whether that be Ghibli movies or films based on the Edo era of Japan.

Pramit said that Matrix would also be conducting a book fair this Oasis. Wanting to cater to all readers, the club had sent out a form earlier this month to ask about genre preferences from the student body. Festgoers would not be charged by the book, but according to the size of the box they were going to be taking their books in, regardless of the number. The club’s final event would be a cinema and literature quiz, conducted in collaboration with the English Language Activities Society (ELAS).

He said that the hardest part of the fest preparations had been contracting a book vendor for the fair—vendors were often unwilling to come due to Pilani being such a remote location—but Matrix had finally signed one a couple of weeks ago and had been maintaining contact. Pramit added that the work for the quiz and screenings was comparatively lighter, and that not much was asked of the members of the club; only that they come up with some questions for the quiz and volunteer a few hours at the book stall.

Pramit remarked that it had been a smooth journey for them, and that they had received support from the StuCCA, especially because their events required no investment apart from time and effort, which was not the case for various other clubs.

He explained that his experience as coordinator had been fairly pleasant, and that attending the fest as a visitor was not comparable to when one was involved in the planning of the fest, as seeing the result of one’s efforts was rewarding. On a parting note, he invited all interested BITSians to visit the book fair.