Straddling the colorful neighborhoods of Mattanchery and Fort Kochi, Xandari Harbour (XH) is in good art company. With galleries hugging the street at every corner and local cafes dedicating their walls to the cause of promoting artists of the land, you are never too far from colors. The second edition of the Kochi Muziris Biennale too played its role in resuscitating street art and bringing art vocabulary into everyday conversations. The canvas so full of action and art being our foremost form of decor in rooms and at the restaurant, 51, it was an obvious choice when it came to bringing life to the bland walls of our staff cafeteria.

A purely democratic exercise – idea conceived, developed and executed by the team – the activity aimed at fostering a good rapport among the XH staff. And, of course, it explored a third of our ethos – collaboration. So in came bottles of paint, brushes, sample pictures and best spirits. What began as hazy sketches by the ones with drawing skills soon became collaborations with the rest adding colors and suggestions. From a distant relative of the Tree of Life and abstract art to everyday scenarios of guests dining by the Cochin harbour, there were influences from near and far. And then the masterpiece – an entire wall plastered with imprints of every staffer’s palm.

So, each time we now sit down to a breakfast of dosa or a cup of tea when the clock strikes the proverbial fourth hour, there’s some extra color in our lives. There’s also the feeling of coming home to ‘see’ another third of our ethos – community. And the beautiful sight of cherry blossoms over your head, as conversations warm the air.