Buddha art from the Indian Museum getting a virtual gallery thanks to Google

Beginning with its prized collection of Buddhist art, including the famous Gandhara sculptures, the Indian Museum is now putting all of its galleries online in 360- degree panoramic viewing for anyone to see.

As part of a tie-up with the Google Cultural Institute, which allows art lovers to explore artifacts from all over the world on its website, the Indian Museum is launching an e-version of its exquisite exhibition titled "Indian Buddhist Art" tomorrow.

Among the important highlights in the exhibit is a fifth century sculpture of the head of Buddha from Sarnath, which is featured even in school textbooks. "This is the first virtual exhibition we are organising after which all our galleries will gradually be available on the Google Cultural Institute website," museum director Jayanta Sengupta told PTI. Three galleries, including those on Buddhist sculptures, are ready for 360-degree panoramic viewing online. "This allows anyone to have a walk through the gallery and see it as you do it with your eyes. You can scroll around to see even the ceiling and the floor," he said.

Since last year, a Google team from the UK and the US have been working hard with their specialised and patented camera technology to click high-resolution photos of the treasures lying in the museum. The process is taking time because the work can only be done on Mondays when the museum is closed to visitors. It is expected that all galleries will be online within a year's time.