BOSM:
The BITS Open Sports Meet (BOSM) is the annual sports fest of BITS Pilani, the first edition of which was conducted in 1986. It is usually conducted during the month of September. BOSM witnesses a footfall of over 2,000 people, making it one of the largest student-run sports fests of the country.
Teams from various colleges participate in sporting events like cricket, football, badminton, basketball, table tennis, squash, and hockey. Events like PokémonGo, LAN gaming, kabaddi, and soap football are also organised for students not participating in sporting events. Off-field events include sports quizzes, photography workshops, and exhibitions. Various artists like Prashasti Singh, Anubhav Singh Bassi, and Naalayak have performed in the Professional Shows (Prof Shows).
BOSM is pivoted on a befitting motto of “Grit, Guts, Glory”. The Council for Students’ Sports Activities (CoSSAc), the Sports Financial Committee (SFC), and the Sports Secretary help with the preparation and functioning of the entire fest.
i-BOSM: Those who failed to make the cut for the BOSM teams can still take part in the inter-hostel sports tournament. Usually held in the second semester, i-BOSM is organised on a much smaller scale than BOSM. What it lacks in grandeur, it makes up for in the energy and enthusiasm of its participants.
Oasis:
Oasis, one of the oldest cultural fests of the country, is held towards the end of October. Since its inception in 1971, it has evolved into a highly coveted festival, with a budget of over 1 crore rupees and with more than 5,000 participants. The Students’ Council for Cultural Activities (StuCCA), which consists of the six heads of the StuCCA departments, and the President and General Secretary of the SU, work with the clubs and departments on campus to help organise the fest. Every Oasis has a theme; the theme for the 2020 edition was “The Alchemist’s Prophecy”.
Thousands of spectators and participants from all over the country attend dance events, music performances, quizzes, theatrical shows, and talks. Other than the kernel events—which include Razzmatazz, Purple Prose, and EDM Night—there are a myriad of events that ensure that the fest runs for 96 hours without a break.
Oasis also hosts a semi-professional rock festival known as Rocktaves, which serves as a platform for up-and-coming Indian rock bands to showcase their talent. Events like BLAB, Mock Parliament, and Turncoat consistently draw large crowds. The BITS Pilani Film Festival, which includes events like Metamorphosis, a vlog-making competition, and movie screenings is another flagship event.
Recent editions of the fest have included performances by notable singers like Amit Trivedi, Farhan Akhtar, Kailash Kher, Vishal-Shekhar, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Benny Dayal, and Papon. The fest has also featured several famous stand-up comedians like Biswa Kalyan Rath, Kenny Sebastian, and the East India Comedy group.
APOGEE:
A Professions-Oriented Gathering over Educational Experiences (APOGEE), is the technical fest of BITS Pilani and is usually held in March. It aims to foster innovation and provide a forum for participants to present their projects and papers. APOGEE ’21 was the first edition of any fest in BITS Pilani’s history to be conducted online. It received the highest attendance till date and gather.town, the platform used to host the fest, provided an environment as close as possible to an on-campus experience with a simulation of the campus.
Speakers like Vint Cerf—co-creator of TCP/IP—and Dr HC Verma—physicist and professor—delivered talks this year. Speakers for previous editions include Rakesh Sharma, Ashwin Sanghi, and Kailash Satyarthi. Workshops on story-writing, UI/UX design, drone development, and AutoCAD were held in the 2021 edition. There were kernel events such as The International Coding League, Stock Market Stimulation, Armageddon, N2O, and Robowars.
One notable event of APOGEE is Papyrus Trails, the annual literature fest. Previous APOGEEs featured several speakers like Jairam Ramesh and Radhika Vaz. The online edition had a talk delivered by Avijit Dutt—filmmaker and director. Engaging competitions like Wordstock—consisting of several word games and crosswords—and Conspiring Minds—an event related to fan-fiction of franchises like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones—attract a considerable number of participants. Other events held during APOGEE include BITSMUN, the BITS Pilani Parliamentary Debate, the Overhead Transmission Quiz, and the Sci-tech Quiz.
The Committee of Students for Academic Activities (CoStAA), which comprises the heads of the seven CoStAA departments and the President and General Secretary of the Students’ Union, helps in the functioning of the fest. Every year, this three-day fest follows a theme; the 2021 edition’s theme was “The Digitized Renaissance”.