Aditya Agarwal, coordinator of the Department of Photography(DoPy) for Oasis 2017, was spotted at SAC instructing a sophomore on handling a camera, while two dispassionate freshmen posed begrudgingly at a distance. On being approached for an interview for the Oasis English Press, his initial disinterest quickly morphed into cheerful willingness.

DoPy generates revenue for the fests by selling snaps of the BITSian junta and outstation participants alike.

In a bid to adopt a more sustainable business model for the future, there has been a shift in focus towards merchandising in the last few years. This year, DoPy has taken up responsibility of the merchandise stall for Oasis and hopes to continue the same for the next few years. Rocktaves and Oasis T-shirts, SU sweatshirts, posters, postcards and diaries shall be sold in different attractive combos. “Handling the merchandise for an entire fest is the right way to start”, says Aditya, and hopes to see DoPy handle all the merchandise on campus within the next few years.

With the advent of smartphones, fest clicking no longer carries the importance it once commanded.

Nevertheless, Aditya firmly believes that fest clicking will never die as long as the junta continue to cherish the hardcopy. “A DoPy snap represents a collection of memories that no BITSian would ever cast away”, Aditya insists. As a testament, the department’s revenue every fest has more or less remained steady. Last year, DoPy had a turnover of INR 1.75 lakhs through clicking. Aditya ascribes this to the fact that DoPy snaps have become a tradition, a part-and-parcel of a BITSian’s life on campus.

Like every year, a photo booth will be set up where people can take photos with a multitude of props courtesy, the freshmen of the department who laboured day-in day-out to make them. This year, Aditya has decided to attach the photo booth, rechristened as the “Comic Booth” to the merchandise stall, thereby increasing publicity and turnover for both. More emphasis will be laid on the photo booth this time around, rather than just regular fest clicking.

Aditya also praised the work of the StuCCA and SU, especially Puli and Jindal, for their undying commitment towards the fest. When asked to comment upon the storm of work about to come their way, he remarked that it takes the combined effort of everyone in the department to get things done smoothly. “First years have shown a lot of enthusiasm and I’m extremely happy about that”, he added. However, a quick glare in their direction sent the juniors scurrying off to their respective work stations as the sun set at a distance.