The English Language Activities Society, referred to as ELAS to avoid a mouthful, handles the quizzes conducted during Oasis. With less than a fortnight remaining, it was a tall order to ask the ELAS coordinator, Samksha Bhardwaj, to give this interview. He however agreed to answer the questions and gave some valuable insight on ELAS’s work for the fest.

Apart from the 4 events-The Oasis Quiz, Theme Quiz, Wordstock and Speed Scrabble-that ELAS conducts every year, it will also be handling the Potter Quiz and the Music Quiz, the latter being in collaboration with ARBITS. The Theme Quiz for this year has a lot of potential as it will be based on “The Realms of Fiction”, ensuring no shortage in content.

The coordinator and joint coordinator have scheduling duties other than inviting the quiz masters. They have been quite successful in the latter, as the Oasis Quiz master Vikram Joshi is one of the best in the country. The other members help with publicity and increasing the footfall. During Oasis, they ensure that events run smoothly and also participate in them. While freshers take care of the “logistical” work, the seniors make all the decisions (on where to order food from, whose card is to be used, and which junior to send).

He also mentioned the unique culture developed to keep ELAS ELASy. ‘We don’t take people if they’re basic bitches. A good litmus test is to see if they read while listening to Taylor Swift. If they do, they’re out,’ he remarked.

When asked about the experience of being a coordinator, Samksha said, ‘Coordship helps win over the bimbos, especially during Speed Scrabble, innit (sic)! So that’s all wack (sic), know what I’m sayin’ (sic)?’ Upon being asked further about girls and Speed Scrabble, Samksha steered the topic to more important issues.

He mentioned that he has to ensure that his authority will not be overlooked and will have to rise up to the occasion to ensure that the events reach new heights of success. He added that he will be wearing high heels, to do things differently compared to last year. With the country’s best quizmasters coming, an infinite pool of content for the quizzes and Samksha leading them, ELAS seems set to conduct events of high quality.