varanasi the lal bahadur shastri international airport here has become the first in india to have a reading loungechief minister yogi adityanaths advisor awanish awasthi inaugurated the lounge on tuesday apart from books on kashi the lounges library has a collection of literature and books in many international languages besides books of youth authors published under the prime minister yuva yojanatalking to toi on wednesday lbsi airport director aryama sanyal said varanasi airport has become the first airport in the country to have a reading lounge the lounge has been established with the assistance of national book trust nbt an indian publishing house and autonomous body under the ministry of education of the union government the nbt will operate this lounge created near the entrance point of the airports main lobbya wasthi told toi being associated with the nbt for fourfive years and working on the issue of disability i was requested by it to take part in the inaugural event of this unique initiative inspired by the vision of pm narendra modi who is giving equal emphasis on promotion of sports and studies such reading lounges can also be opened in the state with the help of nbt i will be happy to get an opportunity to carry forward this idea in the state the airport reading lounge is a reflection of kashi for both traditionalists as well as the contemporary visitors and passengers and for those who wish to seek further knowledge on the mystical heritage of this ancient city apart from indias culture history traditional knowledge systems health and wellness literature in hindi french spanish english and many other indian languages the reading lounge also celebrates literary icons of varanasi through their works iconic places and unknown facts and connections with the city the lounge also has a dedicated shelf of the budding authors displaying their recently published books under the prime ministers mentorship scheme for young writers pmyuva scheme from toddlers to young adults the lounge has books for all young readers wellstocked with a large collection of childrens books with colourful illustrations attractive covers friendly characters peppy storyline intriguing and imaginative text emotional connect with the child the range of books from pictorial comic style bilingual and to ageappropriatelygraded content ensures that each child is constructively engaged during the long waiting hours at the airport the lounge takes care of minutest attributes to bring the comfort of a library and a lounge at one place with long benches lowheight stools for kids led screen playing digital content books categorized on different accessible shelves and a reading boat inspired by the nbtindias floating library initiative started last year for keen travellers who like to click every backdrop to capture the memory for posterity there is a spot in the lounge which depicts the traditional umbrella seen on the illustrious ghats of varanasi it creates the impression of a person actually sitting on the banks of the ganga under the umbrella for the ones in a hurry