As the campus prepares for APOGEE, the Hindi Press Club (HPC) finds itself in a period of intense activity. In an exclusive dialogue with the EPC, Raunaq Sinha, the APOGEE Coordinator for HPC, broke down the preparations required to ideate and organise events during the fest.

He started by stating that HPC is one of the oldest clubs on campus and serves as the primary Hindi-language media club. The club’s work encompassed various spheres of campus affairs, including coverage of student activities and campus news, broadcasting interviews during elections, hosting talk shows, and managing a WhatsApp news channel called Khabarnama. He further stated that the club publishes Vani, its flagship magazine, featuring articles and creative pieces submitted by the general student body alongside the Oasis magazine Swardha, the APOGEE newsletter Pravah, and the BOSM magazine Spardha.

For APOGEE, Raunaq delineated that the club had curated a selection of events that blended media parody with intellectual rigour. BITS ki Adalat, a parody of the celebrated show Aap ki Adalat, would feature the Chief Warden, Prof. R.P. Mishra and Associate Dean(SWD) Prof. Navin Singh in a courtroom-style interview in the NAB Auditorium. Simultaneously, Bitsian Ji Kahin, modelled after Bhaiya Ji Kahin, would offer a more visceral experience and invite students to engage in open-air debates on campus and national issues.

He added that the club would be organising Mystery Box, a preliminary round in which participants would demonstrate creative wit through memes and acting. The top eight teams would then advance to Riot Story, the finale, where an auction will take place. In this contest, teams would not use currency; instead, they would sacrifice minutes from their 40-minute writing limit to bid on characters and plot points.

Reflecting on his role as a Coordinator, Raunaq admitted that managing the logistics of club activities can be a ‘mixed bag’. Despite the tedious nature of the work, the cherished bond between club members emerged as a hallmark of the experience.