![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-77529750,imgsize-79371,width-400,resizemode-4\/77529750.jpg\" "\\"Victoria")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\nVictoria Memorial.(File photo)<\/span><\/p>\n KOLKATA: On the occasion of India\u2019s 74th Independence Day, Victoria Memorial Hall, ministry of culture, shines a special light on Rabindranath Tagore through Google Arts & Culture. Thanks to this new virtual exhibition, users around the world will be able to explore portraits of him made by various artists including his daughter-in-law, handwritten songs and letters, and selected photographs including when Gandhi was visiting him in Santiniketan \u2013 all with just a few clicks at https:\/\/artsandculture.google.com\/partner\/victoria-memorial-hall
The specially curated virtual exhibition, paying homage to Rabindranath Tagore, has been developed for the online visitors to learn more about the Nobel laureate who played his part in the freedom movement of India. A few noteworthy moments include how he opposed Lord Curzon\u2019s Partition of Bengal in 1905, and used his gift of the pen to write songs to unite the Bengali population \u2013 including \u2018Banglar Mati Banglar Jol\u2019 (\u2018Soil of Bengal, Water of Bengal\u2019) and \u2018O amar desher mati tomar paaye thekai matha\u2019 (\u2018O my motherland! I bow to thee\u2019). He also gave up the knighthood he was honoured by the British in protest of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919.
Some of the highlights featured in the virtual exhibition are
* A rare photograph, signed by Tagore, showing him with Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi in Santiniketan in April 1940, when, despite his failing health, Tagore invited Gandhi for a visit.
* Four pages of a handwritten manuscript titled \u2018Geetashtak\u2019 (\u2018Eight songs\u2019) written by Tagore in Nuremberg and Munich on 18-19 September 1926, during his trip to Germany, most of which were subsequently set to music. Among this, is the original version of the poem \u2018Amar mukti ganer sure ei akashe\u2019 [\u2018My liberation is in the tunes of songs, within this sky\u2019],
* A series of wonderful portraits drawn by Pratima Devi, his daughter-in-law, by his brothers Abanindranath and Gaganendranath Tagore, by Jamini Roy and by Atul Bose.
Jayanta Sengupta, Secretary and Curator of Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, said: \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 and showcase relatively less known aspects of our varied collection. In these sombre times, we have partnered with Google Arts & Culture to present a small exhibition on the diverse creative genius of our man for all seasons, Rabindranath Tagore. It is our hope that the exhibition will help visitors engage with Tagore in hitherto unexplored ways.\u201d
The Victoria Memorial Hall is India\u2019s largest and one of its oldest museum libraries, under the ministry of culture. Representing the resplendent and majestic British architecture, Victoria Memorial Hall stands today, as a veritable icon of the city of Kolkata. It was envisaged by Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of British India, as a memorial to the deceased Queen Victoria. King George V, the then Prince of Wales, laid the foundation stone on January 4, 1906 and it was formally opened to the public in 1921. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n