The exterior of an otherwise rundown Ernakulam KSRTC bus depot building is all set for a beautified makeover, thanks to the mural works of a couple of artists who are set to finish it in another ten days. The work is being undertaken as part of the project Donate A Wall, a collaborative initiative of St+art India Foundation, a New Delhi-based NGO, and Asian Paints aimed at giving a facelift to public spaces through mural arts. The project has been running for over six years now and each year, a State is selected. Last year, Uttar Pradesh benefited from the project and this year Kerala has been chosen. “We invite applications online from parties open to donating a wall and from the applications received we select a few. This year, we have already painted a few walls in Kasaragod, Kozhikode, and Thiruvananthapuram districts before starting our work here,” said Akmal S, project manager, St+art India Foundation. Two artists – Pragyesh Parmar from New Delhi and Abhijith Acharya from Nashik — are associating with the project. The KSRTC depot was selected on account of various factors like visibility and to their credit the KSRTC authorities welcomed it wholeheartedly. “The initiative is in keeping with the metropolitan stature of Kochi,” said Ernakulam District Transport Officer V.M. Thajudeen Sahib.
The theme of paintings for each wall is driven among other things by the location. In Kasaragod, the wall of a fisherman’s unfinished house was painted under the project. He had to suspend the construction of the house midway owing to loss of livelihood following the pandemic-induced lockdown. In Kozhikode, a coconut bazaar, and in Thiruvananthapuram, the wall of the Kendriya Vidyalaya at Pattom were painted,” said Mr. Akmal.
It takes anywhere between 12 and 15 days to complete the works.
