IIM Kozhikode, AAI set up reading lounge at Calicut airport

NEW DELHI: IIM Kozhikode director Debashis Chatterjee inaugurated a reader’s lounge, ‘Gyan Pankh’, at the Calicut International Airport today. The reading lounge has been set up by IIM Kozhikode in partnership with the Airports Authority of India. At the inauguration ceremony, AAI Calicut director Seshadrivasam Suresh was also present.

AAI and IIM Kozhikode have taken the initiative to boost Kozhikode’s image as the only city in India to have the UNESCO’s ‘City of Literature’ tag. IIM Kozhikode has set up a collection of around 350 books from across genres and multiple languages. The air-conditioned open premium lounge space provided free-of-cost by AAI Calicut also boasts of cosy reading furniture and spots for a comfortable reading experience for the air-travellers. This unique facility, which is accessible 24X7, will be unmanned.

IIM Kozhikode will further upgrade the collection to 500 books in the coming weeks. The Gyan Pankh can move to the bigger SHA once it's ready. IIM Kozhikode Library and Information Centre (LIC), one of the leading academic libraries in the country will be executing the project on behalf of the premium B-School. The multi-language collection has been handpicked for a lighter reading experience.

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Sharing the idea behind ‘Gyan Pankh’, Debashis Chatterjee said “Kozhikode city has a rich literature history and the recent UNESCO City of Literature tag highlights how this quintessential town values reading and creating the wealth of wisdom. Reading books enhances critical thinking skills and gives wings to the next big ideas. IIM Kozhikode and AAI want to inspire the next generation of readers to discover the richness of knowledge through this unique initiative.”