Museum in Lucknow to offer a virtual tour of British relics in a bid to harness new technology

The state museum that is located in the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden in Lucknow, will soon be a click away for the virtual visitors. The facility of virtual tours would initially be available only for the 'white house', a wing of the main museum that is labelled as 'foreign sculptural museum'. According to AK Singh, director, State Museum, "It has been a learning phase for all of us as pandemic has taught us to make use of technology. Hence, we are going to start holding virtual tours. Initially, this facility would be only for the sculptor museum and not the main museum."

State museum's wing -- a small hall that houses the 'controversial' statues and sculptures that were brought from across the state is situated on the backside of the imposing building. Painted in white, the hall houses almost two dozen of colonial relics. It includes the life-size bronze statues of Queen Victoria, who also held an additional title of Empress of India. The statue brought from Allahabad was, perhaps, the grandest one, portraying Victoria wearing a long gown, with tight fitted bodice and holding a sovereign's Orb (a piece of coronation regalia) in her left hand. In her right hand, she holds a sceptre which points downwards.

The bust of Queen Victoria, made up of one-piece marble, also brought from Allahabad, is another attraction. Other statues like George V that was brought from Deoria, single piece marble statue of Sir John Woodburn, governor of Bengal and Awadh (1843-1902) and many others, brought from different districts, are lined up on the hall. "Statues, especially those of iron are decaying day by day. Initially these statues were lying in open but in 2006, the hall got constructed and these statues finally a roof over their head," the official said.