Shambhavi Rani, the coordinator of the Dept. of Informalz was busy peeping down the curves of Silicon Valley when the rest of her batch sat down with the BOSM English Press to talk about their department, the fest, and the emotional toil of handling a long-distance coordinator-department relationship. Their juniors sat in the background playing a game of Uno with an Informalz twist – with the red, green, yellow, and blue cards being replaced with communist, capitalist, fascist, and socialist ones.

With the fest just two weeks away, the department has a lot left to do. Two of their most popular events from previous editions of BOSM–Anti-Chess and Human Foosball–will be conducted again this year, in the hope of attracting people who are unskilled at real chess and football. Although the department has planned to conduct at least two more events, slow internet on campus has resulted in work being sluggish. However, the department is confident of coming up with ideas for events very soon. If all else fails, they can rely on their ability to combine two existing sports into a new, original event.

Ardra Ayyappath, their APOGEE Coordinator, said that the department’s main motive is to provide an enjoyable experience to the physically-underwhelming sections of the crowd, who may otherwise be indifferent to the happenings of the fest. Informalz are also trying to collaborate with Radioaktiv and DLE, to organize a sort of carnival.

From the data they have collected over years of conducting events for the biggest sports fest in India, the department have to come to realize that games with a “sports” theme seemed to attract more participation. ‘I know it’s counter-intuitive, but you can’t argue with the numbers’, said Nidheesh Sudheesh, their Oasis Coordinator who also coincidentally happens to be a PCB Pharma student.

Speaking about her experience as coordinator, Shambhavi said “California is a great place. Do not forget to taste some clam chowder if you’re ever in San Francisco”. Speaking about Shambhavi’s experience as coordinator, Ardra simply grunted.

With work sessions in full flow, the department is gearing up for a hectic two-weeks. Even though they are behind schedule in terms of work, they’re confident of getting work done in time for the fest. When asked what they had to tell the BITSian junta, the cried out in unison “BOSM mein luft uthao!”.