A rare photograph of Rabindranath Tagore signed by him showing the poet with Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi in Santiniketan in April 1940; Tagore in the clouds during his first flight from 1921, painted by Gaganendranath Tagore; and the pages of a handwritten manuscript titled Geet\u0101shtak<\/em> by the poet in Nuremberg and Munich on 18-19 September, 1926 \u2014 these exhibits are part of an online exhibition organised by Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH) and Ministry of Culture on the occasion of India\u2019s 74th Independence Day, through Google Arts & Culture.<\/p>\n The organisers said that the virtual exhibition not only pays homage to Rabindranath Tagore, but also offers an opportunity to learn more about the Nobel laureate\u2019s contribution to India\u2019s freedom movement.<\/p>\n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Some of the noteworthy moments included in the exhibition are references to how Tagore opposed Lord Curzon\u2019s Partition of Bengal in 1905, and used his gift of the pen to write songs to unite the Bengali population, including \u2018Banglar Mati Banglar Jol<\/em>\u2019 (\u2018Soil of Bengal, Water of Bengal\u2019) and \u2018O amar desher mati tomar paaye thekai matha<\/em>\u2019 (\u2018O my motherland! I bow to thee\u2019). The exhibition also points out how Tagore gave up the knighthood when he was honoured by the British, in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919. A selection of 16 images from the collection of the VMH in the virtual exhibition can be viewed at: https:\/\/artsandculture.google.com\/exhibit\/rabindranath-tagore\/iALivpnofn5SKQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSince the museum is still shut, we are trying to enhance our digital presence on various platforms. This has led us to use the innovative but user-friendly technology offered by the Google Arts & Culture platform to curate thematic exhibitions that offer online visitors a novel experience,\u201d Jayanta Sengupta, Secretary and Curator of VMH, Kolkata, said. Mr. Sengupta expressed the hope that the exhibition will help visitors engage with Tagore in hitherto unexplored ways and appreciate his creative genius.<\/p>\n This is the second exhibition to be organised by the VMH after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the galleries of the iconic structure to shut down. Earlier this month, the museum organised a virtual exhibition \u2018An Inheritance of Imaginations\u2019 showcasing the paintings of Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore and Sunayani Devi.<\/p>\n The VMH Curator said there was little doubt that every museum would have to expand its digital footprints in the present circumstances, but also added that institutions will have to be cautious about the digital divide in India.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
\nA letter by Tagore to Dilip Kumar Roy \u2013 written in verse in a humorous style on 18 January 1928 \u2013 saying how much the poet misses his company.
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\n<\/h4>\nUser-friendly tech<\/h2>\n