The BOSM English Press sat down with Vedant Tuli, the Coordinator of the Department of Live Events (DLE) to discuss their preparations for the upcoming sports fest. 

For this edition of BOSM, DLE will be organising four events. The first, “Bollywood Nite”, is going to be a professional show at South Park featuring a performance by a popular Indian playback singer, Benny Dayal. The second event, “Adventure Zone”, consists of five individual events—Archery, Zorbing, Air Hockey, Bull Riding, Balloon shooting, and the Hammer.

The third would be a repeat of the tattoo artist stall that was set up at Inter-BITS, and the fourth would be a small fireworks display on the last day of BOSM. 

Talking about DLE’s work during the fest itself, Vedant stated that the department mainly manages the on-ground logistics of the professional show and the Adventure Zone. This involves conducting the ticketing for the Adventure Zone and ensuring that the production for the professional show is happening smoothly.

The planning for the professional show started about two months before the fest and involved discussions about the budget and the preferred artists to be called with the CoSSAC. The final deal was signed about a month prior to the fest. As for the Adventure Zone, the work started a couple of weeks prior and concluded recently. A significant part of the department’s pre-fest activities consists of publicising the event and conducting signings for the Bollywood Nite. DLE has conducted rounds of both mess signings as well as ANC and Looters signings. 

Due to the department’s requirements of inventory and space to organise their events, most of DLE’s inter-departmental communication occurs with the Department of Controls, BOSM and the Department of Reception and Accommodation. To accomplish this, Vedant contacts either the CoSSAcn or the POC. 

According to him, the most essential requirement for the smooth functioning of the department is clear communication and punctuality, since even the smallest of misunderstandings can lead to huge consequences and the tiniest of delays can compound to two to three-hour delays.

Vedant stated that normally the primary issues faced by DLE during the fest are related to managing the workers who set up the production for the professional show in South Park. Sometimes fights break out between the workers. Another major difficulty faced by the department every year is the spontaneous requirement of inventory that was previously unspecified.

Vedant stated that he has thoroughly enjoyed the process of being a part of the negotiations with the vendors, pitching events, and participating in the CoSSAc meetings so far. He expressed satisfaction with the communication with all the CoSSAcns and the SFC.

‘Since this is going to be the first fest for a lot of new BITSians, just enjoy it to your fullest. Make sure that you explore every avenue that’s available in the fest and have fun,’ Vedant said, as a concluding message.