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Meet India's first female grounds curator Jacintha Kalyan

Karnataka State Cricket Association's (KSCA) ground in-charge Kalyan, a farmer's daughter, is one of the curators on duty along with assistant curator Prashant Rao under the guidance of BCCI's south zone curator PR Viswanathan.

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KSCA ground in-charge Jacintha Kalyan (right) with BCCI’s south zone curator PR Viswanathan (centre) and co-curator Prashant Rao at Chinnaswamy Stadium
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Jacintha Kalyan, 40, believes that women can do anything that a man can. It wasn't surprising to see the lady giving instructions to the groundsmen at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, preparing the field and the pitch for the next ICC World Twenty encounter to be played between hosts India and Bangladesh on Wednesday night.

Karnataka State Cricket Association's (KSCA) ground in-charge Kalyan, a farmer's daughter, is one of the curators on duty along with assistant curator Prashant Rao under the guidance of BCCI's south zone curator PR Viswanathan.

This makes her the first female curator in India. And, she is enjoying every bit of her job. The day started with watering of the outfield before some grass cutting of the wicket.

"I am enjoying this new role," said a shy Kalyan.

Her entry into this field was by accident. Two decades back, she had joined the KSCA as a receptionist and worked hard to get into accounts department. Later, she made her foray into ticketing. "Ticketing is the toughest job and she handled it pretty well. She is a good man manager," said her senior colleague Rao.

Impressed with her man-management skills, the KSCA transferred her to the grounds department that has more than 20 groundsmen. "It is after shifting here that I decided to pursue this field. Now, I am enjoying it," said Kalyan, who is into curatorship for more than a year.

While Kalyan assists the two men curators during the big games, she said that she is still learning. "She knows the base on how the wickets are made and she is now learning the science behind it," said Rao.

Kalyan alone prepares the Chinnaswamy wicket during the local league games. Her biggest individual project was to prepare the wicket during the Bangladesh 'A' and India 'A' one-day series last year.

"I was occupied with Karnataka Premier League in Mysore. Viswanathan sir too was out of the city. She prepared the wicket alone for the third one-dayer that turned out to be good, taking instructions from us on phone," Rao added.

Viswanathan, meanwhile, said that India 'A' coach Rahul Dravid was happy with the wickets prepared for the three games. To which Kalyan smiled. "I didn't know he said that. Yes, I feel proud if Dravid was happy with the wickets prepared," she said.

Rao said that Kalyan can ride all the hydraulic machines in the stadium. "She is so confident about herself that she can do anything she wants however tough it is," he said.

A curator's job is not simple. One has to not just make the wickets, but there are many things involved and it is tough as one has to stand under the scorching sun.

"My husband was not happy initially and would tell me to leave it. But now he is fine. Even my son is proud of the fact that his mother prepares the wickets," she said.

Viswanathan said Kalyan is hard working and will go a long way. "We are proud that she is the first female curator in India and I am sure she will work her way to the top," he said.

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