Notes from Pilani
Oasis '07
By Sandpaper Pilani Team
Oasis - in the middle of this desert we call home. Oasis - a reprieve from the scorching heat of academic rigour that is a semester. Oasis - the culmination of every BITSian emotion. Four days of insomnia, activity, music, madness; all easily defined by that one word: Psychedelia.
The Inauguration ceremony began a day early, on the night of the 15th of September, in what may be looked upon as a significant step in getting back to the five day Oasis of yester-year. And what a start to Oasis it was! This was touted to be the biggest Oasis yet, with a total sponsorship of 11.5 lakh INR and State Bank of India (SBI) as the title sponsor. Much was to be new this time: Three professional music shows instead of the usual two, Paintball (a hugely popular and upcoming adventure sport, that allows people to do in real life as they would in counter-strike!), Rolling Stone magazine to judge and cover Rocktaves in their first ever India edition, and yes, those few precious extra hours, to make it the biggest Oasis in more than one way…
The chief guest, Sunit Rikhi, VP-Techology Manufacturing group, Intel, was a huge hit with the audience, refusing to be called guest as he was a ‘Thoroughbred BITSian’ in his own words. He, instead, settled on being called just Chief. Bathed in nostalgia, he entertained us with some reminiscences of his time here, working as head of one of the many organisations that make Oasis. Then came the coup de grace: a poem composed ‘between Loharu and Chirawa’, which took us all back to a time when things where not so different after all… Har Mandir ke andar ghaas dhoondta hoon… har chai ke dukaan me Nutan dhoondta hoon… har deewar ke peeche Meera Bhavan dhoondta hoon!
The fireworks, the music, the drama, the quizzes, the dances, the food, the action, they were all there, to blend the perfect mix. The skies exploded shortly after the Inauguration, hyphenating the celebration that had just begun. Them Clones, Thermal and a quarter (Three Mallus and a quarter Mallu!) and the much awaited Lucky Ali were the professional bands brought to Pilani by Arbits and Jhankar to completely dazzle audiences. The street plays were sheer energy, and the stage was brought alive by colleges all over. Quizzes that perplexed the quickest minds, while still keeping the audiences enthralled. Choreo, the dance event quickened pulses and Razzmatazz brought the roof down on the audience. Vishal Kanoi, eminent dance choreographer had hordes of two-left-feet swaying gracefully, and the outdoor dance floor kept the hips swaying and feet tapping. And finally, that which turned every BITSian into a gourmet par excellence - Caffeine Partner CafÈ Coffee Day ended the search for the perfect cuppa, and Dominoes filled all the gaps of the limited menu we are used to, appetites skyrocketing, regardless of the many holes in the wallet…
How can such a celebration of colour, noise and absolute lack of sleep be pictured in naught but pictures? So here it is, Oasis 2007, Psychedelia!
