‘Of unkempt beards and manicured lawns’: a surprisingly appropriate epithet left by an outstation participant catches the eye as we flip through the dusty archives of the college magazine. The year is 1982.

Well, at least that hasn’t changed.

As the 48th edition of Oasis approaches, elders become nostalgic, stare off into the distance and murmur, ‘It isn’t how it used to be,’ before launching into lengthy descriptions of the good ol’ days. And so, to judge how much of it was fact and how much was mere glorification of a rose-tinted past, we decided that the history of Oasis had to be traced.

Oasis (erstwhile called Mayur – the name changed after a student got a brainwave while sipping chai at a café named Oasis in CEERI) had humble beginnings: it was a one-day BITSian-only affair with tiny fete-like events being organised. In five years, however, the sleepy town of Pilani started being courted by some big sponsors. And it has just gotten better from there.

Well, not exactly…

‘Oasis used to be huge! There used to be big names coming down to Pilani; not like the unknown bands these days. Lata Mangeshkar was here once,’ exults a Pilani resident who has been here for twenty years. A similar tale was regaled by a grey-haired shopkeeper, who remembered being mesmerised by Hema Malini’s dance, the entry for which was a mere hundred rupees.

While we could take these descriptions with a pinch of salt, it is pretty clear that the BITSian tastes in music and dance have evolved over the years. While the ‘80s saw prof shows by Nitin Mukesh and Usha Uthup, and events like Shaam-e-Ghazal being the highlights, the mid-‘90s went pop with Remo Fernandez, Euphoria, and for whatever godforsaken reason, Baba Sehgal.

How times have changed.

Back in the day, Oasis (then, Mayur) had two mascots for the fest. The creators had a remarkable sense of humour in christening one ‘Casaram’, the intoxicated camel (because the ’80s) and the other ‘Goran’, the spirit in a bottle, that epitomised every attendee of the fest at the time. A trophy fabrication team also existed for Oasis ’88. They crafted a prize token, appropriately resembling a cactus. Many allude to the ’91 Oasis as the fest that brought the band Parikrama into the limelight (who ironically came second in Rocktaves, after a band named ‘The Unknowns.’).

We hope this slice of Oasis’ vibrant past has managed to pique your interest (for once, it’s not a cliché) to a sufficient degree. Have fun, y’all.