With Oasis ’26 knocking at the door, the Oasis English Press sat down with Pranav, Coordinator of the Department of Stage Controls (Backstage), to discuss their preparations for the fest.
Pranav explained that Backstage is one of the three Stage Controls departments, responsible for tasks ranging from managing curtains to coordinating with clubs and departments to ensure the smooth execution of events. Its primary focus was the Inauguration ceremony (Inaug), for which preparations were set to begin well in advance, with the team working almost continuously until the event. Alongside the Inaug, the department is also organising two events: Jeopardy, a quiz game in which participants raced to answer questions displayed on a board, and Polybius, a retro arcade game built from scratch by the department.
Jeopardy had previously drawn around 150–200 participants, and the team was looking forward to another strong audience turnout. The questions would feature a wide range of topics, from memes to BITS history. In addition, there would be a column dedicated to the fest’s theme (Dawn of the Djinns). He also mentioned one of the department’s favourite parts of the Inaug: the throne ceremony, during which each StuCCAn is called onstage and individually subjected to a round of good-natured roasting.
When asked about the progress of preparations, Pranav humorously remarked that ‘99% is in progress and has started, and 1% is completed’. He clarified that most of the department’s work involved on-ground preparations that would continue until the day of the event, while the completed portion consisted of filling out the numerous forms sent out by StuCCA.
Pranav spoke fondly about his four years in the department and how he had seen it grow and evolve over time. He expressed a lot of appreciation for his juniors for readily throwing themselves into work, adding that he could not have asked for a better team. Having witnessed several fests, he observed that each coordinator inevitably identified things they wanted to improve upon and what already worked. As he put it, ‘I want to do ABC because I saw this happen, this happen, this happen’.
He spoke about efforts to improve coordination, begin practices earlier than in previous years and keep Lights and Sounds more in the loop. This would help prevent a lot of last-minute ‘ad hoc’ calls with other departments. This year around they had also worked more closely with Accord over the last three months, gaining valuable experience in auditorium production and scheduling that they hoped would benefit the upcoming fest.
One goal, however, remained unchanged: a ‘BST-less Inaug’. The department had managed this only once in the past four years, but Pranav hoped that the team would achieve it again this year. He signed off on an optimistic note, saying, ‘Aiming for the stars. Hopefully we’ll get there.’