Passengers alighting at the Arasalu Railway Station in Shivamogga district can savour a slice of the imaginary town of Malgudi, created by writer R.K. Narayan, as depicted in the popular TV serial Malgudi Days .
Indian Railways has developed a museum on the station premises as some of the episodes of the Doordarshan TV serial, directed by the late Shankar Nag, were shot at Arasalu.
The ‘Museum Malgudi’ initiative features photographs and artworks associated with the serial and was inaugurated virtually by Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi on Saturday. The museum was incorporated into the renovation plan for Arasalu’s old railway station building as a tribute to the makers of the popular TV serial and the novelist, according to Aparna Garg, Divisional Railway Manager, Mysuru Division.
The old building stood on the metre gauge track and was abandoned after gauge conversion was carried out. Subsequently, it was developed as a museum at a cost of nearly ₹25 lakh. One of the sculptors and artists associated with recreating Malgudi at Arasalu during the shooting of the serial, John Devaraj, was roped in for development of the museum.
There are various scenes from the serial sketched on the walls, apart from portraits of R.K. Narayan and that of the character Swami played by Master Manjunath among the exhibits. A narrow gauge coach stabled at the station has been converted to a tea shop and named ‘Malgudi Chai’.
