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Pitch doctor? Yes, indeed. P R Viswanathan has become an expert in preparing cricket pitches. The one he did for India Cements, Sankar Nagar, Tirunelveli, has been rated among the best in the country and some first class matches, including Ranji Trophy ties, have been played there. Well, he did not achieve this with a 'straight drive'.
When Viswanathan completed his M Sc Botany at Vivekananda College, Chennai, he had no particular wish to become a landscape gardener. But he did gain a lot of knowledge by being with his uncle, P.S. Swaminatha Iyer, at the Soundarya Nursery; where he also honed his gardening skills by experimenting in grafting and crossbreeding.
 He developed over a hundred varieties of hibiscus by crossbreeding with Hawaiian strains. Thereafter he joined Parry & Co. as an entomologist, a position that involved extension work in pesticides; Then he handled marketing of fertilizer and was later into high-yielding paddy seed production. All these increased his practical knowledge, as he had to travel extensively in the rural areas of Thanjavur and Tiruchi. He left Parry & Co after being overlooked for promotion, which was perhaps not wise monetarily, but it ultimately turned out for the best.
P B X Ponniah, former Dean, Agricultural College, Coimbatore, suggested that he take up landscape gardening. At that time, Viswanathan was doing pest control for fields for a living. He accepted the suggestion with some hesitation and initially did landscaping for friends, slowly learning
 and gaining confidence in the process. Thanks to his contacts as a cricketer, his business picked up slowly but steadily. In the meantime, he had ventured into selling motorbikes but gave it up after a few years. Several good orders for landscaping for industries and businesses came his way. He tried to be practical and fair: he would not give wrong advice nor make promises for short-term gains. Though this was initially not helpful for business, it proved to be sound policy. Competitors would quote less and raise more trees over a smaller area. But after the initial agreement period of maintenance, they would disappear from the scene, leaving unfulfilled promises. His sticking to principles won him the confidence of his clients.
 Some important landscaping he did was for Sanmar Engineering, Karappakkam, Spartek Granites, Koodappakkam, R.R. Medipharma, now known as Wolkhart Industries, Indian Airlines Domestic Terminal, Meenambakkam, India Cements Ltd, Tirunelveli, Dalavoi, Ariyalur District, Tandeor, A.P, Kone Elevator India Ltd, Ambattur. The same clients, including Chemplast, some of whom were connected with cricket, gave him an opportunity to prepare pitches. He did make mistakes at first, but learnt quickly enough to prepare good pitches. He himself has been a cricketer, specialising in fast bowling, like his father P S Ramachandran, who had played in the very first Ranji Trophy match, and his brother P R
Sundaram.
 He has undertaken this job for many grounds in Chennai as also in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Besides the Sankar Nagar cricket pitch, he has laid turf pitches and the grassy outfield at Pachaiyappas College, Chennai, sponsored by Kunal Engineering Ltd., Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium, Visakhapatnam, a centre for one-day international matches, Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association's new venue currently under development, which is likely to be the second in the country to have an underground drainage system. This ground is due for inauguration in the season 2002-03 for international matches.
He has done it for the Municipal Stadium, Vijayawada. His work at the Central Polytechnic ground, Taramani, Chennai, was sponsored by India Pistons Ltd. At the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai, he has re-laid the turf partially, beyond the 30-yard circle
 This experience led to his being offered the job of laying and maintaining the Cosmopolitan Golf Annexe greens at Nandanam between 1993 and 1996. He also developed their 15th green. People initially criticised his work, saying he had just laid a lawn. But once it was fully ready, they had to change their opinion and Viswanathan won the acclaim of several serious golf players. This is one Chennai citizen, who has proved that hard work, willingness to learn, and sincerity do pay dividends.
Lakshmi Venkatraman
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