A treat, says Hillary after Victoria Memorial visit
Kolkata, (IANS) “It has been a treat for me” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exclaimed Sunday after a 15-minute visit to the Victoria Memorial British-era museum.
Founded in 1921, the Victoria Memorial houses a major collection of paintings, sculptures and manuscripts from the British period and is considered the largest repository in India for a visual history of Kolkata.
During her stay at the museum, Clinton was shown an exhibition of paintings of Gaganendranath Tagore, a 19th century Indian painter and cartoonist of the Bengal school and a nephew of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
The exhibition, scheduled to begin Monday, was advanced by a day to give the visiting dignitary a peek into the oriental art form.
The museum was spruced up for the VVIP visit to enable Clinton a spectacular view of the art creations.
She also saw the paintings of 19th century artist Charles D’Oyly and some other creations at the exhibition hall, said Victoria Memorial curator and secretary Swapan Chakraborty.
“She was very happy on seeing the exhibits,” said Chakraborty.
“It is a monumental hall. It has been well preserved,” he quoted Clinton as saying.
“For long, I wanted to visit the Victoria Memorial. It has been a treat for me,” she commented.
Clinton seemed in high spirits and waved to the waiting media persons before leaving the place.
The museum was put under high security and closed to the public from 1 p.m. Sunday.
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