Nisanth Varma, the StuCCAn of the Department of Controls, was busy on the phone when he arrived at ANC to talk to the Oasis English Press. A couple of minutes later, he found himself at a table with a plate of fruit chat in front of him talking about the fest and everything that goes into making it possible.

“We are involved in almost every aspect of the fest”, said Nisanth, talking about his department’s work. “Registration, scheduling, evaluation of events, stub sales, requisitions, certificates, prize money, travel requirements and making sure all the prof shows happen properly. We coordinate with all the people involved in the fest”. Apart from pre-fest work such as scheduling, requisitions, and travel arrangements, Controls are making club and department certificates before the fest in an effort to reduce their work load after Oasis.

A proper framework has been set in place for deciding on event rules this year. “A lot of different people are involved in this – the event coordinator, PCr, and Controls. To avoid miscommunication, we’ve made sure everything goes through one channel”, said Nisanth. Some changes have been made to the EMS software which is used to judge events too. The software, which failed miserably the past couple of years has been reworked in an effort to get it running smoothly.

Controls, along with other departments has been trying to revamp the registration process. ID verification has been made online and waivers have been given to participants for completing payments via net banking. Nisanth is hopeful that registrations, which typically take around five to six hours every year, will be completed in an hour his time. They are also considering distributing prize money during the fest itself.

“Students from certain departments enter the auditorium during shows claiming that they have work. We are introducing event passes which will only be given to the appropriate number of people. This will hopefully reduce the number of rogue entries in prof shows”, said Nisanth with a sly grin.

Nisanth feels that the nature of Controls’ work helped him in his transition from being a member to a StuCCAn. Although it is hard work, he is enjoying his time in the StuCCA. “We are getting along pretty well. Everyone is handling their own work. We’ve been able to make decisions very fast.”

Nisanth expects better participation this Oasis since it does not clash with any other fest. In a bid to improve the quality of the fest, a lot of money has been spent on decorations and professional performances.  “We’ll probably not make a profit but we are hoping to break-even”, he said.

With two extra professional shows, Oasis is set to be bigger than ever. Apart from big names like Vishal Shekhar, bands like ‘Submarines in Space’ and ‘Agam’ are performing. “Agam is an ex-BITSian band so they’re really excited about performing here”, Nisanth said. He stresses that despite professional shows being a major part of the fest, events are always the cardinal component. “I’d like it if the BITSian junta actually participated in events instead of just spectating and attending prof shows. If one walks around in FD-II, one sees a lot of events happening. Most of them are fun and don’t require any special talent to participate in”, he concluded.