WPL: Country’s first woman curator is a paddy farmer’s daughter who started off as a receptionist

When Jacintha Kalyan moved from her village Harobele, 80 kilometres from Bengaluru, to work as a receptionist at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) office at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, she never imagined that one day she would become the country’s first woman curator. Over 30 years with the KSCA has seen her switch roles; from receptionist, to administration to accounts to preparing pitches for the second season of the Women’s Premier League which begins on Friday.

Jacintha’s career has seen more twists than the weekend stage plays in Harobele.

In 2014, when the paddy farmer’s daughter was asked to oversee the ground staff at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, she paid close attention to how the pitch and the outfield were readied and maintained. She learnt on the job and then approached then KSCA secretary and former Test player Brijesh Patel about wanting to be a curator.

“I was like a LKG student among college students. I didn’t know anything. But I was interested in learning. And after Brijesh sir put in a word, PS Vishwanath sir and K Sriram sir (both curators) took me under their wings and started sharing their knowledge. And in 2018, I took the BCCI examination,” Jacintha, 49, told The Indian Express.

It's not just the players and fans who are geared up for #TATAWPL 2024 😃

Meet Jacintha Kalyan, 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 who is all set for a challenging yet exciting season in Bengaluru 👌👌 – By @RajalArora

WATCH 🔽 pic.twitter.com/KkXs8YaZfW

— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) February 21, 2024

In many ways, Jacintha shares a special bond with the soil. Growing up at Halobele, she would help her father in the paddy fields. And even now, years after her father passed away, she retains a part of their farmland and still grows paddy.

But working with soil on a field and on a cricket pitch is very different, Jacintha said.

Farming different from pitch preparation

“Although both farming and being a curator involves science, I have learnt that both are totally different. With farming, once you do the right things, it will grow on its own. But this (curator) koncham kashtam…kashtam na ishta pattu panrathu (little tough, but one you do it with full love). If you think it is too hot, you can’t say ‘let’s go inside’. You need to nurture it because in summer it will behave differently and in winter, it will act differently. So you should take good care of the pitch. Every season it changes and you have to be with her (pitch) and take care like a baby. Only if you do that, she will listen to what we say,” Jacintha said.

From 2018, Jacintha has been involved in pitch preparations at the KSCA, where she has been assisting Sriram. But the 2023-24 domestic season was a breakthrough one for Jacintha, who was assigned as a neutral curator for the Ranji Trophy. In the ongoing round of the Ranji Trophy, she had overseen the pitch preparations at Pondicherry, Goa and Kerala before she got the call to do the same for WPL.

“I am constantly learning,” she said. For Jacintha, academics has always been a priority.

After Class 3, Jacintha moved out of her village and stayed in a hostel in Kanakapura town, Ramanagara district, to access better schools. “My parents prioritized education and till Class 10 I studied while staying in the hostel. And after that I joined KSCA as a receptionist,” she said.

When she moved to Bengaluru to work at KSCA, she used part of the salary to pay for her evening college fees.

Being a curator involves long hours, unlike her earlier day job timings. Her husband Kalyan Kumar and son Sharath, who is working for an IT major, bought into the idea of her switching roles.

“I have my husband and son Sharath who is now working at Infosys to thank. This is not an easy job, but they have been totally understanding and supportive.”

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