It’s only been a short time of the removal of the 11:30 PM rule for Boys in the campus, a major change which happened in this week is the extension of hostel timings for girls till 12:30 AM.

With the opening of the All Night Canteen w.e.f. 4 Dec 2010, now students can avail the facilities available in the mess to have Coffee, Tea, Noodles, Maggie, Sandwich even during the night hours from 11 PM – 1:00 AM.

With an aim to promote research and development in the campus, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Student Branch was established in the campus. The inauguration for the same was done on 23th November 2009 (i.e. Monday). The Chief Guest for the inauguration was Prof. V.K. Madan, Visiting Professor, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus and the Guest of Honour for the inauguration was Prof. M. M. Shah, Students Activity In charge, IEEE Bombay Section.

Prior to inaugurating the IEEE Branch in the campus, Prof. V. K. Madan Interacted with the students to discuss some points regarding future projects and he gave a brief talk on Digital Signal Processing.

Prof V. K. Madan is a Visiting Professor from BITS-Pilani Pilani Campus. He is B. Tech. (EE) IIT Delhi and Ph.D. (EE) IIT Bombay.

 

Wake me up when September ends. Humming this Greenday score, on this starry night of nights, in a mass exodus from the now barren Gym-G, I stroll into quieter pastures- the huge pile of haversacks reminding me of how BOSM’s come to end now. And some fest it’s been.

This year saw the fest come to age. With close to 40 colleges participating, around 1000 outstis on campus, BOSM’09 delivered all it promised, and more. From increased sponsorship and prize money, to tougher competition. From six pack ‘munde’, which most girls find eye-candy, to cute ‘kudis’, who we definitely find eye candy. BOSM’s no more just about BITS, it has transcended to a stratum where mercurial talent from colleges across the country wish to showcase their skill in, all in a highly competitive environment.

Sitting through the rigors of the usual post fest ValD, my head was still whizzing from the exhibition in perfection we saw from the boys’ basketball final tonight. An exhibition in excellence, an exhibition of super- talented players doing what they’ve always known to do best- play ball. As the boys from KMC left the courts like gladiators from an epic battle, through a haze of dust in Gym-G, led by the tournament’s MVP- ‘Sachin the Spartan’, it looked a fitting end to the four day gala. The BITSian team was good- better oiled and coordinated than most teams we’ve had before. But in KMC they met rivals far beyond good. The breakneck pace at which they moved the ball, the deadly accuracy in their shots, the display of breathtaking athleticism- all made for a lesson in basketball. We can take heart from a well deserved silver, knowing that we’ve been beaten by a better team.

There were similar stories in most other events, with BITS bagging silver in boys’ volleyball, football, and badminton, bronze in cricket, and a few golds in athletics, swimming and chess. The only sport we bagged a double gold- boys and girls-in was TT.

I’ve reached C’not now. It’s definitely quieter pastures tonight- the chirpy outsti girls and the loud outsti guys missing. Seems like forever that they were here. Sharmaji  quips ”Aaj BITS BITS jaisa lag raha hai.”

He’s right. As I take a seat, I overhear an animated group cribbing about an ES (Electrical Sciences) project they’ve to submit the day after. I smile, and vanish into the darkness of this starry night.

Courtesy: English Press Club, BITS, Pilani.

Swimming

Athletics

Who was it that said 'The only thing I understand is that I understand is that I don't understand anything' ? George Bush? Pintu Sir? I can't remember, and Google's not helping. But someone said it, and it could easily have been exasperated response from a pundit being asked to analyze the girls' basketball scene this BOSM. One day you're good, the next day you're not, and every team you see on their best day seems to make you think that they'll walk away with the title. A night before it was BITS, and tonight it's JMC, perhaps, it's best to call it a tale of two nights.

Fresh from its 34-17 drubbing of MITS, you'd have expected that little bounce-in-the-steps from the girls team, as they squared up against albeit tougher (and taller) opponents in JMC. But then it was down to playing ball, there was only one team that showed up. For their very first tap, things worked like clockwork. Push-pass-move-pass-score. The BITS team looked on in despair as a bevy of JMCites flew across the court, converting every move, forcing errors and then some more of the same. The game finished at a 38-15 to JMC, leaving our team with lot to think about.

Meanwhile, down at the volleyball court, it was a tale of two bulls from the same city. As BITS met BKBIET, you couldn't help but be amused for the BITSians sitting in the stands, trying to match up with the 'BK..O-BK...Go BK' roars from our cross wall neighbors. Feeling ever so embarrassed, taking cautious look outs for acquaintances, our average BITSian started slow on the cheering, but it wasn't long before he caught up, and caught up he did. Just as we thought that the game was slipping away, deafening chants of 'Boooo' filled the stands and beyond, every time a BK player touched the ball oddly reminiscent of the 'Hoo..Hoo' of the old day's coliseum. It rallied the home team into winning the 2nd set, before wrapping it up in the 3rd. 2-1 to BITS, and this one goes out to the crowds.

As I straddle into Dr. Dosa, the head will whizzing from the game, I smile at a friend, and he smiles back, both acknowledging the different selves we've seen of each other tonight, from the usual introverts to the gut-wrenched Romans of yesteryears.

Courtesy: EPC, BITS, Pilani.

For details log on to  http://www.bits-bosm.org/epc

Toggling through commercials on DC, as a wingie selects his ‘Ad-of-the-day’ for a PAVA (Print and Visual Advertising) section, we suddenly discover the Nike-shoes-toting naked man who runs through the length of the football pitch, making a mockery of the security. Reminds me of scenes a few hours back, only that time it was a (thankfully) fully clothed loki running rabid in Gym-G, chased down by chowki bhaiyyas.

It was one of those nights where just about everything seemed to be happening. From the almost animalistic celebrations following BITS’ first win in a hockey match in four years (they scored their first goal in two years), to the composed grace of acknowledging a drubbing handed out to the rival team on the football grounds, to jubilant crowds on the basketball courts, it was a night where you never seemed short of action.

With ears still buzzing from the “askalakadi gala gala gala! Hoo! Haa!”, and the odd “Oye Lathi-Lathi oye” (for Lathi, a towering presence on the court), tonight’s basketball matches, always the show stoppers, were a spectacle to behold, more so for the festivity around the courts, what with buckets and non-stop cheering for the home team. It’s one of those things players dream of- loud “oooohhhhh”s on missing a point, and violent claps on scoring one. They say it gets the best out of you. And that it did, for both the girls’ and the boys’ teams wore their best jumpers to the court, and put on an exhibition performance. With expectations already rising, it’ll be interesting to see how they fare against some of the tougher nuts around.

Outstis finally seemed to have discovered Cnot. It’s as full as I’ve ever seen it at 11:30 pm. As I stroll in, I’m met by ‘Gerrard’ and ‘Lampard’ playing ball in the middle of the street. I manage a little pass myself, and smile past, imagining myself in a jam packed Wembley. Some results on Day 2, BOSM are as follows:-

Cricket:

BITS Pilani bt Vasavi College of Engg. by 8 wickets

Football:

BITS-PILANI vs SINGHANIA UNI. BITS-PILANI 7-0

Basketball(boys):

BITS PILANI 45-19 JIET

Basketball(girls):

BITS Pilani 34- 17 MITS

Hockey:

BITS Pliani 1-0 IT BHU

For other results and detailed analysis, log onto www.bits-bosm.org/epc

BOSM 09(16-20th Sept) Day 0

With European giants gracing the pitch on this starry Champions League night, out here for the eternal sports enthusiast, it’s time for “Operación Retorno”, a big wakey-wakey after a long siesta. BOSM’09 promises everything from previous editions, only bigger and better-boasting of not just the shimmies and the feigns, but also four days of festive chaos. As I stare at the usually dark Gym-G backdrop, now floodlit, suddenly alive, thronged by outsti girls scurrying around for pies, Nutan flooded by ‘Dilli’, I know that the fest is well and truly here.

The usual clamor over cabbage pitches aside; teams have managed good practices, and there’s an air of nervous expectancy. This year’s seen a record sponsorship for the fest- reportedly in double digits. There are print and media partners, namely HT and JAM. There are cultural assocs performing at the Inaug, with a Western Music Night and a BITS-Marathon also in store later on. All this when ‘flying pigs’- as a certain Nostradamus’ famously predicted, threatened the fest’s very occurrence.

For the not-so-sporty amongst us, there’s always Domino’s and CCD on the fringes, not to mention rapper-outfit clad jocks with Mohawks and cute ‘kudis’ with cuter accents. As for BOSM itself, we might not have roofs and balconies over-spilled with rapturous fans, but somewhere, through this unglamorous title in unglamorous settings, the magic of sport maintains faith in the solidarity of community.