With BOSM ’26 just around the corner, the BOSM English Press sat down with Agastya Madaan, the BOSM coordinator of Embryo, to learn more about the workings of the club and its role in the upcoming fest.

Agastya explained that the club was responsible for hosting talks on campus, inviting  Chief Guests for the fests, and managing their accommodation. He elaborated on that, recalling that the club organised two Pre-BOSM talks this year: one by Mustafa Ghouse, a former professional tennis player-turned CEO, and the other by Pankaj Athawale, a veteran sports broadcaster. 

He explained that their work began by expanding their database of contacts. The next step was to contact the guests by mailing or calling, which they had begun almost two months before the fest. He further stated that usually all invites were pro bono, but the CoSSAc were generous with the funding this time, and they were able to invite a more renowned name. He revealed that the Chief Guest for the fest was going to be Manoj Kumar, an Indian boxer who had won a gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He added that it had been somewhat difficult to contact a Chief Guest this time due to the timeline this year. He explained that certain sportspersons who resided fairly close to Pilani had tournaments occurring during BOSM and could not be invited as keynote speakers.

Agastya also mentioned that the club’s alumni network was especially helpful in connecting them with various athletes and providing contact information. He believed that the sentiment of the alumni willing to help was due to the club’s great bonding within the workforce, which was established during their calling meets, where they contact potential guests from their database. 

Agastya shared that the responsibility of being the club coordinator was especially hectic closer to the fest, but was quite manageable otherwise. He also stated that since the club was an institute body, they were therefore representing BITS Pilani itself and hoped to uphold its honour. As a parting note, he stated that Embryo organises rather interesting talks and encouraged the GBM to lend them an ear.