Abdul
Gani/Kausav Baruah
Guwahati:
The grass on Nehru Stadium in Guwahati wept silently on Monday as their mentor
bade his final goodbye, putting an end to his three-decade-long affair with
them. Even the soil and workers at the pitch will miss him.
A glorious
chapter in the field of sports in Assam came to an end on Sunday when one of
the senior-most and renowned pitch curators of the country, Sunil Kumar Baruah,
left for his heavenly abode at the age of 70.
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| Dr Sunil Kr Baruah with BCCI pitch committee chairman Daljit Singh and other workers. Pic: Dasarath Deka |
Their relations had started three decades ago when
Team India faced the mighty West Indies at Nehru Stadium on December 17, 1983.
“Sir was very close to us. Working with him was a
nice experience. He never forgot to wish us on every occasion in our lives. We
learnt a lot by working under him,” Bhabesh, a member of the ground staff at
Nehru Stadium, remembered his superior on Monday after paying his tributes with
tearful eyes.
“Last night, he suddenly had problems after having
dinner, and he left us before we could do anything,” said a close aide of
Baruah. He left behind his wife Dipali Baruah, a son and a couple of
grandchildren.
From childhood he was attracted towards the game of
cricket and used to follow it passionately till his last breath.
“The game taught me the lessons of life, and I will
always be in debt to cricket for what I’m today. It taught me to be disciplined
in life and to face the challenges with a cool mind,” Baruah had told this
correspondent in a chat a few months back.
He used to cut the uneven fields to play cricket
during his childhood days at Shillong, and those activities drew him towards
the job.
During his college days, he went all the way to
Kolkata, Kanpur and several other venues to watch test matches, and used to
talk to the people involved with pitch and ground preparations.
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| Dr Baruah with BCCI pitch committee chairman Daljit Singh during the later's visit to Guwahati. Pic: Dasarath Deka |
“Once Krishti Bikash Sangha of Guwahati organised a
friendly cricket match between film stars and cricketers featuring several big
names, including Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, and I was involved in preparing
the pitch of that match. That was the first cricket pitch I prepared in my
career with the help of veteran Badal Thakur,” he had said.
Then he got the opportunity to prepare pitch for the
India-West Indies match. After that no-looking back as he prepared the wicket
for all the 16 matches played at Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. Besides, he also
prepared the wicket for Ranji and Duleep Trophy matches. He was also invited
for several national seminars at various places in the country.
Born in Shillong in 1942, Baruah was awarded with
PhD by Gauhati University for his research on “Certain problems of Fertility
among Khasi Women of Meghalaya”. Besides cricket, he also worked in several
fields of academics and retired as assistant director, Directorate of Census.
He also wrote several books on sports. He was also associated with Dibrugarh
University, and was the academic director at the Assam Institute of Mass
Communication and Media Research at Guwahati.
Meanwhile, cricketing fraternity of the state, both
past and present, have expressed grief and shock at the demise of Baruah.
“It is a big loss for Assam cricket. We have lost
one of the best curators of the country. It will be a tasking time for the
state to fill the void as there is hardly anyone of his caliber. He was very
dedicated and his passion for the game pegged him to carry on with his job till
such an advanced age. Whenever we sought for a pitch to suit our game plan, I
don’t remember him saying no at any stage. His experience in pitch curating
will be always missed,” said former Ranji player Gautam Dutta. Senior curator Badal
Thakur recalled his association with Baruah saying that his passion for the
game drove him towards pitch curating.
“There was time when I used to prepare the wicket in
the Nehru Stadium and that was when I took him along with me. He adapted very
nicely to the new techniques of pitch preparation. I don’t think anyone in the
state stands to his stature to prepare pitches for the international standard
today. I don’t know to what extent he played as a cricketer but certainly his
passion for the game could be seen in his work. He will be missed in a big way
by Assam cricket,” recalled Thakur.
Another ex-ranji player Javed Zaman attributed the
development of cricket to the highly-rated curator. “I was in a state of shock
when I heard about it this morning. Just two days back I had a long
conversation with him at the stadium regarding the wicket at the Barsapara
stadium,” stated Zaman.
Ratul Das, present curator in the BCCI’s zonal
curators’ panel lamented on the demise of his colleague. “We worked together
for a long time and shared a very good relationship. He will be missed by the
cricketing fraternity.” Das remarked.
“It is a great loss for Assam cricket and Sir was
always there for us whenever we needed him any assistance from him regarding
the pitch. His service for Assam cricket is unforgettable and whether he can
ever be replaced,” said Gokul Sarma, an Assam Ranji player. The Assam Cricket
Association (ACA), Ankurjyoti Club of which he was the former president, Assam
Sports Journalists’ Welfare Association (ASJWA) have also condoled the demise
of Sunil Kumar Baruah. (Seven Sisters Post)
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