A unique event in the history of the Vietnam War and the Woodstock music festival of the Summer of 1969 lit up a packed-to-capacity hall at The Bengal Club on Saturday, March 11, drawing rave reviews from members and guests. Harish Mehta, a historian of the Vietnam War, gave an absorbing presentation demonstrating how North Vietnam under President Ho Chi Minh invited American musicians to visit Hanoi to see the real face of the suffering Vietnamese people who were under intense American bombardment.
Mehta, who did his doctoral studies at McMaster University, showed archival documents of folk musicians Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, and Canadian American pianist Anton Kuerti, visiting Hanoi. The Bengal Club event marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement in 1973 that ended the Vietnam War.
Bengal Club President Kunal Sen said, “Members, you have seen many events in the Bengal Club, but this has been an unusual experience for all of us. Harish Mehta’s talk followed by live music by Krosswindz was a great collaboration.”General committee member Manoj Mohanka said, “It turned out to be an amazing evening. Mehta’s deeply researched, riveting talk was followed by awesome music. I only wish Mehta had twice the one hour that he spoke.” Debashish Dutta, a member of the library subcommittee, said, “We all enjoyed it together. It was a unique event.”
The event was attended by eminent persons such as former Indian foreign secretary Krishnan Srinivasan, Tollygunge Club CEO Anil Mukherjee, former Unilever senior corporate director Aniruddha Lahiri, and others.
Prof. Julie Mehta (extreme right) with the members of the club.
A glimpse of the audience during the session
After the talk, folk-rock group Krosswindz that has earlier performed in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, played Woodstock tunes from Joan Baez, Grateful Dead, Santana, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. They also played hits by the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon. It was lead guitarist Vikramjit Banerjee’s rendition of Hendrix’s Purple Haze and his riff on Norwegian Wood that set the night on fire. The audience felt their emotions rise when lead vocalist Chandrani and Vikramjit performed Crosby’s Helplessly Hoping, and Chandrani’s rendition of Joan Baez’s Forever Young brought memories of their activism in support of Vietnam.
One of the guests at the event, Rajesh Sen of the Z’s Precinct, said, “Such a refreshing experience being there. Harish’s presentation was enthralling, setting the tone to enjoy Krosswindz.”
Pictures and text sent by the club