Visitors to Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, can now go on a free guided tour with a volunteer offering personalised commentary.
All paintings, sculptures, manuscripts and other artefacts exhibited at the Victoria Memorial have descriptive captions that tell visitors about their significance. But now the institute has decided to share more information with visitors through guided tours.
‘‘Guided tours provide a clear understanding and explanation of the history, architecture, paintings, manuscripts and more in a structured and professional manner,’’ said Jayanta Sengupta, curator and secretary of the Victoria Memorial Hall.
The free tours are available to the public during the opening hours of the Victoria Memorial Hall. One can enquire about the tour at the entrance to the museum gallery between 10am and 5pm.
School authorities, who want to take students on a tour of Victoria Memorial, can send an email to edu.officervmhk@gmail.com. For group tours, each group can have 10 to 20 persons.
Volunteer guides Sohail Anwar, Chandrani Nag and Ratanjit Banerjee have been trained by the organisation. The 40-minute tour will include narration in English, Hindi or Bengali.
The Victoria Memorial Hall currently consists of eight galleries — seven on the ground floor and one on the first floor. A newly added gallery named Biplobi Bharat, outlining the contribution of Indian freedom fighters, is among the most popular.
