Thank you for calling me to this peace party

Dr Coomi Vevaina hasn't stopped smiling after a second grader told her this, at a peace initiative she organised in December. Peace poetry and collages created by Mumbai's school kids find place in a book that will be released by American civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King's son. She tells Tinaz Nooshian why peace takes hard work

Thank you for calling me to this peace party

Dr Coomi Vevaina misses a secretary. Perhaps someone who will miraculously conjure up the 50 certificates of participation that she fell short off after an unexpected turnout at last week's student seminar. Somebody who can arrange for a bottle of chilled mineral water, because the one she carried from home turned tepid on that balmy January afternoon. Someone who can photocopy documents faster than the genial peon who lurks around her office like a drugged fly, can.

student volunteers, who familiarised them with a PowerPoint presentation.
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Introducing kids as little as eight to the idea of non-violent conflict resolution through stories and
identifiable situations (What would you do if the class bully snatched your tiffin every day?), pumped the lot with enough fodder to spend the next three hours labouring over paintings, collages, rhythm and tempo. "They loved the presentation, and insisted on discussing every slide. We tried getting them to explore various facets of peace, but most of them were preoccupied by the Mumbai terror attacks," Vevaina says, clearing her glass-top desk that holds passport-size pictures of family, and what could be a poem written for her by a student.

School principals have suggested she patent the presentation and make it available to educational institutions.

But that's going to have to wait. For now, the woman behind six titles, is gearing up for the release of a book published by Orient Black Swan; one that that will hold the essays and artworks that Mumbai's school kids created.

The American Resource Center in Mumbai was keen that the launch coincide with American civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King Jr's son Martin Luther King III's visit to the city, this month. He is expected to release the large-format, paperback book on February 18.

Vevaina, who started her career as an ICSE school teacher at JB Petit High School, says she'd rather talk to kids in their own language. And so, the revered Bard takes on the garb of a "cool dude who still rocks!" at a seminar she held on the relevance of Shakespeare.

Candid about the insignificance of value education classes at most schools, she says kids hate dictators. "Be courageous, honest. Who wants to hear that! Why must it sound like, I, the teacher knows what's right, and you follow without any questions? Autocracy needs to make way for interaction," she says, stuffing her zipped bag with material she needs to scan over the weekend. Up next is coordinating a book of peace stories from around the world, and converting them into story-based learning systems for schools.

Book on sale: The yet untitled book will be a large-format, paperback version, printed on art paper. It will be available at all major bookstores after this month's formal release

Martin Luther King Jr's son in Mumbai next month

Martin Luther King III speaks at the fourth annual Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration and Realizing the Dream Awards event held on January 18, 2009 in Washington DC. pic/AFP

The US Department of State will join in the February celebrations in India to commemorate American civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King Jr's visit to Mumbai 50 years ago, to study Mahatma Gandhi. The delegation will include King's son Martin Luther King III, civil rights movement veteran John Lewis and legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock.

They are scheduled to meet political leaders, activists, and the youth in New Delhi before they travel around the country to visit sites associated with Gandhi's work, including the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.u00a0 In Mumbai, a special performance featuring Hancock has been organised by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

In Chennai, Indian musicians will pay their tribute, with composer-of-the-hour AR Rahman joining in, followed by a dramatic reading by actor-director Kamal Hasan.

When King last came to Mumbai
In February 1959, Dr Martin Luther King Jr and wife Coretta Scott travelled through India in search of the roots of the non-violent social action movement for Indian independence, studying Mahatma Gandhi's ideals, and meeting his followers. On their return to the United States, Dr King and other leaders of the civil rights movement drew on Gandhi's ideas to usher changes into American society

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