Station-turned Malgudi museum! Indian Railways Arasalu to become one of Karnataka’s tourist destinations

Indian Railways’ Arasalu station-turned Malgudi museum saw more than 51,000 visitors in a year. The museum is expected to become one of Karnataka’s tourist destinations, a South Western Railway official confirmed to Financial Express Online. The list of tourist destinations in the state of Karnataka is being revised by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC).

The popular TV serial ‘Malgudi Days’ based on the collection of short stories by R K Narayan, was shot at British-era Arasalu railway station during the 1980s. The national transporter had converted the old railway station into a museum and developed a new railway station for Arasalu a few metres away from the museum.

According to South Western Railways, an amount of Rs 35 lakh was spent on transforming the old Arasalu railway station into the museum. The station has been turned into Malgudi museum without changing its original architecture. The Malgudi museum was opened for the public on 8 August 2020. However, due to lockdown, the museum was closed down for nearly 90 days. The number of visitors to the museum till August 3 was 51,501. For visitors above the age of five, the entrance fee to the museum is Rs 5 only, the South Western Railway zone confirmed.