The International Day of Peace was for our foundation an evening of joyful noise. The crowd enthusiastically took to the Djembe drums, rattles and tambourines under the able guidance of Michael Carberry of ZaBoomBa. A poem by Pattiann Rogers pointed to the heartbeat as the quintessential drumbeat. Central to the evening was the recognition that Peace is not a goal. Peace is an attitude. If peace is only a goal, the goal post can be shifted at will. Peace as an attitude is a personal commitment and hard work. 

Our friend Faraz showed us the various beats of the tabla which he has already mastered to concert perfection at his young age (13y.). He usually accompanies his father Ustad Ghulam Nizami in nationwide concert performances. Poems by William Stafford, Lucille Clifton, and Wislawa Szymborska showed us that all cultures long for peace.

Finally, the spoken word students of Huston-Tillotson University brought us their take on personal peace. Their rhythmic performances were like words drumming into our hearts.

We associate peace with a quiet space or time, a moment of silence in the cacophony of voices. But in this day of electronic and political noise it seems that even peace needs to have a louder voice to be heard. Urban birds sing louder than their country cousins, so peace mongers have to speak up too. The Shanti Foundation is planning to do just that with our inaugural event in conjunction with the UN International Day of Peace. Although we line up with a big day of peace we are not aiming at influencing world peace. We see peace more as a personal effort to create islands of sanity, mutual understanding, and respect within personal relationships, families, and communities. Our event will bring together a diverse group of people who might not see themselves as a community.

Indian tabla

We will gather on September 21, 2012 at 7 pm in the Student Union of Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, TX. To align our hearts and bodies into a community we will start with an interactive drumming, where the audience becomes the performers. Peace words from many faith and secular writings will form a bridge to a tabla performance in the Sufi tradition. Poetry from the Americas will lead into the last performance of the night: a collaboration between the English and Music Departments of the University, bringing us spoken word and jazz drums. It should be a night of joyful noise for peace. We may even leave with a sense of community. The event is free.