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November 7, 2014

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Oasis ’14, BITS Pilani, turned out to be an exhilarating show for everyone when some great artists came down to the campus to give their best performances. This year, the fest saw entertainers like Benny Dayal, Raghu Dixit, Mysore Brothers, The East India Comedy and Sunburn, which helped the BITSians (as they like themselves to be called), the faculty and over 1400 outstation students to have a gala time. The fest was also studded with personalities like Dr. Kiran Bedi, as her session on ‘India in your Hands’ showed us the truth behind our country’s corruption, politics and policies.

Day 1 – Benny Dayal and Mysore Brothers

Benny Dayal

The evening of 1st November 2014 at BITS Pilani welcomed Benny Dayal, the artist whose peppy numbers have always been able to make each and every one of us move our feet. The scenario seemed to be pretty much the same inside the BITS Pilani auditorium where the singer filled his audience with immense enthusiasm with songs like, “Batameez Dil”, “Disco Deewane”, “Bang – Bang” and “Locha-e-ulfat”. Besides these, he also gave his voice to many old Bollywood and Punjabi songs, which included “Yamma Yamma”, “Hayo Rabba” and many more. Once, during the show he also found a chance to jump down, amidst the audience, which got crowd even more excited. He ended the 100-minute performance by clicking a selfie with the crowd.

[caption id="attachment_27445" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Benny Dayal Live at Oasis 2014 | Image Credits: Chirag Sharma Benny Dayal Live at Oasis 2014 | Image Credits: Chirag Sharma[/caption]

Mysore Brothers

Under the name of their concert as the “Violin Duet”, the Mysore Brothers, Dr. Mysore Manjunath and Mysore Nagaraj, performed stunningly in front of the audience. Their immaculate performance left the crowd in an enthralled state. The best part of their performance was the spontaneous selection of the raga depending upon their mood, the ambience and the audience. The concert was the first classical one to happen in BITS in six years organized by Ragamalika, the classical music and dance club of the college. Both percussionists given a free rein over what they want to play, they extracted every single sound possible from their instruments, the mridangam and the khanjira, leaving quite a few heads scratching. The violin maestros concluded wth ‘Baro Krishnayya’ and ‘Raghupati Raghav Rajaram.’

[caption id="attachment_27452" align="aligncenter" width="720"]Mysore Brothers for the Violin Concert | Image by Department of Photography, BITS Pilani Mysore Brothers for the Violin Concert | Image by Department of Photography, BITS Pilani[/caption]

Day 2 – Raghu Dixit, Dr. Kiran Bedi and Banana Man

Raghu Dixit

November 2, 2014 at BITS Pilani was the day when the fusion king of India, Raghu Dixit, with ankle bells tied to his feet, guitar in his hands and his smiling crew, stepped on the stage to set it on fire. He shared, with the audience his memories of how he had visited the college back in 1996, without telling his parents and without the money to get back home because he was sure that he would win the Western Solo event, which unfortunately, he did not. He then participated in a dance competition where he stood first and got the money to get back home. With songs like, “Hey Bhagwan!”, “No man will ever love you, like I do” and “Lokadakalaji”, he managed to revive the audience’s love for his kind of music. Apart from his performance, the crowd also appreciated his other band members who had their efforts devoted to guitar, drums and flute.

[caption id="attachment_27449" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Raghu Dixit at Oasis for The Raghu Dixit Project | Image Credits: Kashish Madan Raghu Dixit at Oasis for The Raghu Dixit Project | Image Credits: Kashish Madan[/caption]

Dr. Kiran Bedi

Apart from all the fun and frolic, there was also a learning session by Dr. Kiran Bedi, who preferred to come to BITS Pilani over a trip to Germany. The inspirational personality showed an interactive presentation based on the topic, ‘India in your Hands’. Through her talk, she tried to make the youth aware of what is going on in their country and what can the youth do to contribute. She also talked of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and how the present government was genuinely working towards the goal of a ‘Better India’ but at the same time she also cleared that she was not there to support any political party. At the end of the session she also asked for questions from the audience and answered them all, no matter how controversial some of them were.

[caption id="attachment_27453" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Dr, Kiran Bedi during her session on "India In Your Hands" | Image Crediits: Chirag Sharma Dr, Kiran Bedi during her session on “India In Your Hands” | Image Crediits: Chirag Sharma[/caption]

Banana Man

Besides the popular and known faces, someone also made audience fall in love with him at the first sight. Pierrick St. Pierre a.k.a Mr. Banana was an unfamiliar face, which the students got to witness during this year’s Oasis. Popularly known for his juggling and hat – tricks, the Banana Man managed to bind the audience with his witty jokes and occasional rants. The crowd seemed to enjoy the unusual comedy as much as his juggling act.

[caption id="attachment_27446" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Banana Man performing his famous rope trick for the crowd at Oasis | Image Credits - Iresh Gupta Banana Man performing his famous rope trick for the crowd at Oasis | Image Credits – Iresh Gupta[/caption]

Day 3 & 4– Sunburn Campus and East India Comedy

Sunburn Campus

On November 3, 2014 – Sunburn came down to BITS Pilani with the EDM Pro Night. Sunburn Campus gave all the inhouse BITSians and the outstation students the freedom to dance to the beats set by DJs Anish Sood, Lost Stories and Kash Trivedi. With security at its best, Sunburn at BITS Pilani attracted a huge crowd.

[gallery ids="27450,27447,27448"]

East India Comedy

Oasis had a lot to offer besides music. With their ‘intended’ puns and vulgar humour, comedians from the East India Comedy made the closing evening a hysterical one.  Sahil Shah, Sapan Verma and Sorabh Pant came on the stage one-by-one to entertain their audience.

[caption id="attachment_27451" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Saurabh Pant, Sahil Shah and Sapan Verma from East India Comedy performing at Oasis | Shutter Released by Kashish Madan Saurabh Pant, Sahil Shah and Sapan Verma from East India Comedy performing at Oasis | Shutter Released by Kashish Madan[/caption]

While some of the students took time to realize what the joke was about, the others laughed until their stomach ached. They had their puns revolving different kind of people in India, politics and of course students.

Feature Image Courtesy: Iresh Gupta

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2 weeks from now, every Delhi University student will get caught in the trauma that strikes twice every year. After bunking the classes the entire semester and doing everything in college except studying, we sit down one week before the deadly dates on the calendar with newly brought books that smell as fresh as a daisy and Solved Ten Year Question Papers that work as a Bible for each of us the night before the exam.

While the third year and second year students are very familiar with the mantra ‘to pass Delhi University exams by studying for a week’, the freshers are both confused and nervous about the first semester exams.

Well the mantra to pass still remains the same for freshers too- get your books, go offline, drink up on caffeine, pull up all-nighters(only if you’re comfortable, otherwise you may screw up the paper) and have faith in some invisible power that only whatever you’re studying will be asked in the exam.

The two weeks of penance are coupled with anxiety, crazy strategies which we all develop suiting our own convenience, the constant urge not to watch the latest movie or complete the TV series that you can’t stop thinking of and sacrificing the dear sleep. While there are always people who go all competitive, scare you with Kitna padha?” every hour on Whatsapp and jolt you the day of exam by bombarding terms and phrases which you are totally oblivious of, even after reading the entire book, it’s advisable to stay away from them and give the exam without any negative thoughts.

Since the quantity and quality of studies is an entirely subjective notion differing from each other, one should never try ideas put into their head by others especially during exams. We all have our own reasons, plans and approaches for studying at the last minute for the exams. But each semester exam of Delhi University reminds you the purpose of being at the most prestigious university of India-academics!

Even before we have completely prepared our minds to renounce the worldly things and follow the path of studies (for a few weeks and then back to be the social butterfly), the plans for post-exam parties are always ready.

 If you’re still struggling to sit down surrounded by books for some weeks and abandon the outside world, think of all great things that post-exam break has got you to offer to make you cut some slack on yourself of exam pressure!

I would like to leave you all with my mantra for exam season to chant after you’ve studied by none other than the great Shakespeare-“This Too Shall Pass”! Believe me! It has been working for the past four semesters! Here’s wishing all DU-ites an amazing exam season with books and notes!

Dear Amma, I have been having crushes since my 1st year, but never understood how to express it. Basically the problem is I don’t know how to get along with girls. I mean I don’t know what should I say to make myself interesting to them. Tell me how to start a conversation. I’m in final year now and I feel it’s high time to have girl friend. Please give me some tips.

Ah, a classic problem! No matter how strange and absurd the usual questions get, we always seem to come back to the basic issues every now and then, don’t we, little idli? Well, let me share a few pieces of wisdom I have acquired over the years.

First of all, don’t get intimidated because you are talking to a girl- just see her as a regular person. Secondly, put aside any stereotypes you may have in your mind about what girls like to talk about and how they behave. Every girl is different and has a unique set of interests, so I can’t really tell you what might seem universally interesting. However, some topics that are always good topics are everyday things like books, TV shows, talking about college experiences and so on.

When it comes to starting a conversation with a girl for the first time, be careful not to come across as creepy- it’s sad but true that most girls are accustomed to receiving a lot of unwanted attention. Having said that, you don’t have to walk around eggshells; just be friendly and calm. You can strike up a conversation depending on the context. Met her at a party? Ask how she knows the host or any mutual friend. Met her through society related work? Talk about your shared interest.
Lastly, do not feel the need to see every girl you talk to as a potential girlfriend. If that’s your sole aim, you’ll end up being as disappointed, macchi! You can befriend them too, you know. In fact that’ll help you loosen up and be more comfortable around the opposite sex. And who knows, they could maybe introduce you to some of their single friends too!