By Siddhi Jain

New Delhi, Mar 31 (IANSlife): The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is celebrating its 66th Foundation Day, amid the COVID-19 lockdown, with a virtual tour of its repository of several thousand artworks.

Virtually recreated to represent the Gallery's four levels, the virtual tour has plenty to explore and ponder over.

"Due to Coronavirus, visitors cannot come to us, but with the virtual tour, we want to give them a glimpse of what they can expect when they finally can visit us," NGMA Director

General Adwaita Gadanayak, who has gotten a 3-year extension of his tenure at the NGMA, told IANSlife.

He added that it is important to have e-exhibitions that showcase the archival strength of the repository of the NGMA collection.

The artistes included in the tour are Amrita Sher-gil, Jamini Roy, Rabindranath Tagore, Ramkinkar Baij, and Nandlal Bose, among others.

"The sculptures and the paintings and prints in the visual tour are a step further to showcase the hidden treasures of our reserve collection. It all began with the exhibition titled 'Itihaas' which was NGMA's celebration of its 63 years - the first exhibition that happened after I took charge as DG, NGMA.

"My quest has always been to reflect the treasure trove of the NGMA's repertoire. This creative and wonderful journey of representing the treasures has continued with several such exhibitions and this virtual tour is one such exhibition which I believe will take this journey to greater heights. I present this visual tour as a tribute to our modern masters and firmly believe that this would generate greater interest among people towards the legacy of sculptures, paintings and prints as a creative medium", mentions Gadanayak.

The free-of-cost virtual tour can be accessed at www.ngmaindia.gov.in.