The weekend before every BOSM, NSS BITS Pilani organises a one-of-a-kind event for specially abled children from across the country, Junoon. One of the most well-known undertakings of the club, Junoon is an event that attracts volunteers from the general student body and not just members of NSS. For this, the organisation raises its own sponsorship and funding, and also calls Chief Guests to grace the event. The Chief Guests for this year were Col Vishal Ahlawat, a distinguished member of the Armed Forces and Dr Shivaji Kumar, founder of the Indian Paralympics team.

On October 8, around 140 participants from seven different NGOs—Amla Birla, Chitramal, Aasha Ka Jharna, Disha, Nirmal Vivek, Umang, and Tender Heart, arrived on campus. They were housed in the common rooms of Ram, Budh, and Meera Bhawans and initially had slight difficulties settling in due to the rainfall that afternoon.

Delays with the lunch arrangements led to a delay of the Inauguration by an hour, but finally, at 4 PM, the Chief Guests made their way to the Students Activity Centre (SAC), where Day 1 was to be conducted. The Inauguration Ceremony commenced by Nandlal Odedara, the President of NSS, greeting all the professors and the guests with bouquets of roses. Following this, Hemant Kumar, the Event Coordinator, and Nandlal assisted the Chief Guest to light the lamp to mark the beginning of the event.

Nandlal’s inaugural speech highlighted the growth of NSS BITS Pilani, from an organisation with few volunteers to the 200-member strong network they are today. He proceeded to explain the significance Junoon held to the club and the institution alike. The Professor-in-Charge of NSS, Prof. Ashish Tiwari, proceeded to recount his experiences in the club and with Junoon. The Chief Guest, Col Ahlawat took to the stage to address the participants. He urged all present to never lose hope and have the courage to march ahead. This was followed by an encouraging address by Dr Sudhirkumar Barai, the Director of BITS Pilani. 

Performances lined up by various student clubs followed. The first of these was a rib-tickling sketch of a cricket match between Shinchan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Shah Rukh Khan, performed by the Mime Club. The children absolutely loved the performance and gave them a thunderous applause. After this came the performance by the Karaoke Club, who performed inspirational Hindi movie songs like Junoon and Roobaroo. After their performances, Dr Barai interacted with all the participants.

Soon after, the area was cleared out to make way for the next events in Day 1, the Recreational Activities and Indoor Sports. The recreational activities organised were painting, origami, and bracelet-making, along with a supplementary activity named Palms of Joy, where participants were made to paint hand impressions into a chart to celebrate the memories they were making. As part of the indoor sporting tournament, there were three main events—badminton, bowling, and table tennis. There were multiple volunteers at each station, supporting and cheering the children on at every step. This was followed by a dance event, wherein all the children, volunteers, and the NGO mentors celebrated the event with zeal and enthusiasm. 

The day concluded with a dinner with the Chief Guests, Col Ahlawat and Dr Kumar in VFAST. Soon after, the participants went back to the common rooms to get rest and prepare for the ‘Sports Day’ the following day.

The following day, the Guest of Honour, Mr Sharath Gayakwad arrived alongside Dr Kumar. The Sports Day was conducted at GymG, under the supervision of a referee, mentors from the participating NGOs, as well as NSS volunteers. The event was divided into three age groups: ages 8 to 11, 12 to 15, and 16 to 20. The event commenced with a 50 metre and 100 metre race, standing jump, shot put, and soft ball throw. Due to heavy rainfall the previous day, other planned sports such as Long Jump and Relay Race were cancelled. All the participants were given two attempts. All the measurements were carried out precisely and subsequently noted by the volunteers. The rules for each and every sport were strictly obeyed.

The volunteers divided the participants on the basis of MR (Mentally Retarded) and HI (Hearing impaired). These factors were taken into account to decide the competing groups. For example, in a few sports like Badminton, MR and HI cannot compete against each other whereas both can compete together in Shot Put.

The volunteers worked extremely hard, providing timely refreshment to all the participants and the NGOs. They ensured that there were no mishaps during the event. After the event concluded, the participants were provided with lunch in the Malviya Bhawan Mess. 

The event came to an end with the closing ceremony, which came in the form of a Junoon Nite. This featured the much awaited prize distribution, along with performances by the different NGOs. The event started with a delay of 30 minutes. The hosts then began by welcoming the audience and proceeded to call upon stage the sponsors for the event, Kluber and Pranic Fruits. The Chief Guest’s welcome followed, after which Music Club had a wholesome inaugural performance featuring famous songs like Dil Dhadakne Do and Aashayein.

The Vice President of NSS, Bhavay Goenka, then took to the stage and spoke about the struggles of conducting Junoon this year and how the volunteers banded together to make this event a success. He invited the Chief Guest to the stage, where he spoke about the importance of satisfaction over the greed of success.

The most fulfilling part of the night came in the form of the performances by NGOs. While some NGOs presented songs and dances, another NGO presented a kid who played the tabla. These performances surged in pride and satisfaction in the hearts of everyone present. In between each of these performances, various clubs including Poetry Club, Dance Club, and Comedy Hub performed to entertain the gathered audience. This was followed by a felicitation of the various sports’ winners by the Guest of Honour, Sharath Gayakwad. The day was concluded with addresses from the faculty-in-charge of NSS, Prof. Ashish Tiwari, and the Event Coordinator, Hemant Kumar. In fact, Hemant’s speech featured a “roast” by some friends of his. 

This marked the end of the ceremony and Junoon ’22 as a whole. The event caused a shift in perspective, especially in the minds of the volunteers. The event left a lasting impression on the participating members of the BOSM English Press as well, who claimed to walk out as different people than when they came in. The event was a satisfying success, in the truest sense of those words, for everyone who got to be a part of it in any form.