The Oasis English Press sat down with Shreyas Nanotkar, the Coordinator of the Mechanical Engineering Association (MEA) to gain some insight into the association and its plans for Oasis ’26.
Shreyas explained that the MEA’s chief duties involve organizing hackathons, seminars, and events for Oasis and APOGEE. The association is also working on two tech projects: a wind tunnel and a closed loop thermal system. They also conduct farewells for seniors in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
For Oasis ’26, the MEA is bringing back its old event, Egg Drop. In this event, participants are given an egg and a miscellaneous assortment of stationary items. The goal is to create an enclosure around the egg to cushion it. The team that can drop the egg from the greatest height without breaking it is crowned the winner. When asked about the task of cleaning up the mess made by broken eggs, Shreyas said that it hadn’t been an issue the previous year thanks to some assistance of the canine variety. ‘Last year, the dogs had a really fun time,’ he remarked.
Two other events are also being organized by the MEA this Oasis. One is Balloon Stickman, where two players control two stickman puppets with balloons for heads wielding needle-like weapons. The two players duel and try to pop the enemy stickman’s balloon head. The other is Ball Maze, an event where the player has to control a ball using two threads and navigate a vertical maze to reach the top as fast as possible.
Shreyas said that while Egg Drop was a fairly simple event to organize, Ball Maze and Balloon Stickman require a lot more effort. Balloon Stickman required the production of a puppeteering mechanism, and Ball Maze needed a rather intricate maze to be designed and fabricated. The association had faced problems with using the laser cutter on campus to cut the maze, forcing them to fabricate the maze by hand. Some of the necessary materials also required them to travel to an iron workshop outside campus, transporting the big maze board by auto.
On his experience being a Coordinator, Shreyas said that while he ‘wasn’t expecting to work as much’, it was still a rewarding experience. He stated that there had been a lot of paperwork and administrative work involved in getting approval for all the events. Shreyas concluded by encouraging every BITSian to try out as many activities as possible, and to not be shy with applying to a variety of clubs, departments and associations. Even though rejection invariably stings, ‘time heals all wounds’, he said.