BRAIN OF BITS
BY BMC SOFTWARE
Every year, prior to Brain of BITS, a document is prepared wherein people put down their ideas for the top
six. Now, if one perchance happened to glance at said piece of paper moments before BOB 2014 began, one
would find the name “Akhil” consistently placed first by pretty much everyone. Akhil, who finished a close
second last year was unofficially christened B.O.B in the quizzing circles for the better part of this semester.
Unsurprisingly enough, Krishna Akhil is now, officially, Brain of BITS 2014.
BOB, sponsored by BMC software - an international IT company, was conducted by KC, the previous winner.
After a preliminary round of 30 questions and the disappearance of a certain mysterious ‘Blue Schrader’, 6 finalists emerged - Krishna Akhil, Sayan Basu, Abhishek Veeraraghavan, Tanay Shankar, Sreekar Raghotam and
Samarth Agrawal. The finals consisted of five rounds. There were two infinite bounce rounds and two written
rounds - one was a long visual connect and the other was, as was expected from a KC quiz - on art and artists.
The final round was a tribute to Monty Python. At many points it seemed as if the game was getting out of
Akhil’s hands – Veeraraghavan was off the starting blocks the quickest but Tanay Shankar, fresh off winning
Tata Crucible, took over by the end of round two. However, Akhil blitzed into the lead with his knowledge of
art and maintained it through the rest of the quiz, answering almost all questions of the last round to end up as
the winner of the trophy and as the newly crowned Brain of BITS.
NAB INAUGURATION
Rotunda:
As Wikipedia puts it: Any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome.
As mojostreet puts it: Park in Jhunjhunu
As BITSians put it: A harmless place no one is allowed to venture down to; a topic of conversation with the star struck
junior and the sentimental senior; and oh yes, a place to see the pretty lights from.
In 2012, the construction of this much-hyped ‘New Academic Block’ was announced with a grand presentation in the
Auditorium by Mr. Hafeez Contractor. Work began right away and two years hence, we have a miracle to behold, for
such things have a tendency for mind boggling delays in our country. Many an aged BITSian may have wondered if they
would witness it in their time; and as it happens, they have.
After months of speculation, all doubts were quelled when a mail arrived with detailed instructions about maintaining
traffic decorum for Mr. K. M. Birla’s visit. Our Chancellor, along with Mr. B. K. Birla and Mrs. Sarla Birla, arrived on
campus with an entourage of cars and proceeded to the underground marvel. At 1 PM, the ribbon was cut by the dignitaries, followed by a tour of the place in a caddy, while onlookers gathered at the entrance to witness the proceedings unfold. It was a pleasant surprise when the Clock Tower bells started tolling, and did so 50 times, to commemorate the
Golden Jubilee Celebrations as well.
Clock Tower tolled? 50 times? Well, if you’re one of those people who have no clue what is being talked about, here’s the
story.
In 2011, an enthusiastic BITSian, Rohit John Varghese, came up with the idea of the ‘Clock Tower Restoration’ project,
and as a proof of the concept, a small group of four students manually rang the bells that year. In June 2013, Rohit, now
an alumnus, decided to reopen the chapter with the Director and BITSAA CEO’s approval. The feat during the Inauguration, performed at the Director’s request, stands testimony to the dedication of the team of the nine students and two
alumni who have been working really hard since October.
Back to ground at the Rotunda, the celebrations are apparently not yet over. To round things off, we have a laser and fire
show tonight. Sure to be fun, we say.