This UoH alumnus’ unique initiative, Flybrary, impresses Civil Aviation Minister

Sujit Mahapatra’s ‘Take a book library’ initiative inspires passengers flying to and from Bhubaneswar Airport to pick up a book, and even take it for free if they like it and return it on their next visit

Hyderabad: 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.

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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 it if they like the book 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.”

Would like to share a wonderful initiative at Bhubaneswar Airport—FLYBRARY, a first-of-its-kind concept in India that makes books freely available to passengers. Travelers can pick up a book, read it at the airport, or even take it along and return it on their next visit.

I am… pic.twitter.com/k3aUFPh2Q7

— Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (@RamMNK) March 9, 2025

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.

The first donor for the Flybrary was Sunitha Krishnan, well-known 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.

The text in the stand next to the bookshelf says, ‘It’s ok if you cannot return’, that’s because, Mahapatra says, they wanted to ensure that people do not have any inhibitions in carrying books.

“But now, we are seriously thinking of changing the text to make people more responsible and say that this can continue as long as they keep giving books,” he says, hoping that the time comes soon when there is a circularity and the books given at the airport come close to the books being taken away.