A unique initiative of a University of Hyderabad (UoH) alumnus has caught the attention of Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu.
Sujit Mahapatra, who completed his Masters in English from the UoH, has set up “Flybrary”, India’s first ‘take a book library’, at the Bhubaneswar airport.
An initiative of his Bakul Foundation, in partnership with the Airports Authority of India, Flybrary inspires passengers flying from the Bhubaneswar airport to browse through books at the airport, and also take a book if they like it and want to finish reading it. They can return it on their next visit to the airport, or to the Bakul Foundation.
“This is a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, where passengers can take the book to read for free without having to submit anything. There are other airports in India now that have set up libraries such as Varanasi, Pune and Bengaluru (in their lounge) but they do not allow books to be taken,” says Mahapatra, the founder of Bakul.
Sharing about this initiative on his X handle, Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu wrote: “I am truly impressed by how this thoughtful initiative not only elevates the travel experience but also transforms waiting time into a delightful opportunity for both learning and leisure. Our airports today are more than just transit hubs. I appreciate this initiative taken by Bhubaneswar Airport and Bakul Foundation, which promotes ease of flying in the country.”
Appreciation has also come in from others, including Andrew Fleming, the British Deputy High Commissioner for East and North East.
There are two shelves, one each at the Departure and the Arrivals, and both are unmanned. The one at the Departure comes just after crossing security before one moves into different directions and the other at the Arrivals is just before one picks up the baggage from the belts. So both are ideally placed.
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The first donor for the Flybrary was Sunitha Krishnan, a well-known social activist based in Hyderabad. Seeing a post on the initiative on Facebook, she sent a carton of her favourite Mills and Boons to Bakul, shares Mahapatra.
There are books in English, Hindi and Odia though most are in English. There are more Hindi books at the Arrivals and more Odia books near the Departure as Odias, particularly senior citizens travelling from Odisha might want to read in their mother tongue while those visiting Odisha might prefer to read in Hindi. Besides, the Flybrary has coffee table books, magazines like National Geographic, novels, self-help and motivation and children’s books.
Every day, a Bakul volunteer takes stock of the books and restocks them. About 300 books and magazines are kept on the shelves daily. The Bakul Foundation won the Award for the Most Innovative Library at the India Reading Olympiad Awards in 2023 at the Hyderabad Literature Festival.
The big challenge for Mahapatra now is to keep the shelves filled as these are all books that had been donated to Bakul.
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