With Oasis just around the corner, the Department of Stage Controls is warming up for a spate of events in the auditorium. The Oasis English Press spoke to the coordinator, Sankalp Sangle, to learn about their responsibilities and understand how they have prepared for the fest.

The department is primarily responsible for the Inauguration ceremony, and for stage setup, scheduling, and support during all the events and professional shows that happen in the central auditorium. It also conducts BLAB, a Just-A-Minute competition during the fest. The department consists of thirty-five odd people and starts its preparation through work sessions twenty days before the fest kicks off. Sankalp told us that the group has to face new challenges every year and more often than not, there are always a lot of last-minute changes. 

On being questioned about the impact of this year’s theme on their work,  he said that the theme of the fest only affects a part of their work. He felt that the theme predominantly influences the aesthetics of the fest and to some extent, the core ideas around which the events are built. In his opinion, the past few years have seen the fest’s standards improve to match those of professional events. Oasis is a unique fest in offering 96 incessant hours of fun, which is a difficult feat for even colleges in metro cities to achieve. ‘Pilani’s remote location filters the crowd and makes the experience much more exhilarating and intimate’, he said.

His one advice to the general BITSians on how to make the best of this Oasis is to not be afraid of unknown territory and explore as much as possible.