As preparations for BOSM near their summit, the BOSM English Press sat down with Sharan Savakar, coordinator of the Department of Informal Events (Informalz), to gain insight into their preparation for the fest.
Sharan highlighted Informalz’s distinction of being a legacy department, revealing that it had been around since the 1980s. He elaborated that, much like the name suggests, Informalz was responsible for large informal events, such as their flagship this BOSM — Blackjack Nite. Sharan excitedly revealed that they would also be organising events like Pictionary, before he and the interviewer fell into a deep spiral of recalling the name of the ‘game with the pouch and a hole’.
Sharan shared that the department would be conducting Blackjack Nite in place of Casino Nite, a department staple, due to a smaller workforce during BOSM. He was, however, unperturbed by this alteration as ‘people love gambling’. When asked about the aforementioned workforce, his response was overwhelmingly positive, sharing that they had kicked off recruitment with an ‘amazing’ Tamil individual, who very uncoincidentally happened to be the interviewer
(The BEP would like to reassure its readers that the word of the press cannot be bought with mere compliments to this writer; it required at least a paneer roll from ANC).
On incorporating the fest’s theme into the events, Sharan replied, ‘What is the theme?’, and then, following a minute of research from the interviewer, concluded: ‘I guess we aren’t’.
When questioned about member responsibilities, Sharan replied that it involved ‘light labour’ with cleaning, setup, and dealing of cards at Blackjack Nite. ‘It’s not a huge amount of work overall,’ lied Sharan, before he generously added that the members’ primary labour would involve ‘eating his pocket’.
Sharan then addressed the department’s shift from ‘greenery enthusiasts’ to ‘majorly Bangalorean greenery enthusiasts’. He also described his learnings from his seniors and disclosed that they had helped him tremendously with all the formalities related to the fest. He mentioned in particular that he valued his predecessor’s stress-free demeanour, especially while giving out his QR, and wished to emulate his ability to see work as ‘hanging out like a family’.
Sharan was also pleased to share that the CoSSAc meetings had approved his budget completely. According to Sharan, his only real concern was that individuals may end up winning by just ‘buying their way to the top’. He stated that in order to solve this, he had run simulations to find a minimum time investment required to win, and with this information, had also helped set pricing for similar events, thereby cementing himself as the ‘only competent individual in the herbalist cult of Informalz’.
On a more personal note, Sharan expressed his excitement for BOSM — both to connect with the department and to play for his sports team. He then concluded the interview by requesting that any Bangaloreans make their way to Informalz and encouraging the GBM to check out Blackjack Nite.