Om Book Retail

Running Om Book Retail in Rasta Peth is a full-time job for us. We are situated in Shastri Nagar, right by the National Council. The shop is full of books of all kinds, and honestly, it can be a struggle to keep them all in order. We have rows of shelves that go up quite high, so we’re often using a ladder to reach things for people. Rasta Peth is a busy area, but our street stays relatively calm compared to the main roads. We get a mix of people coming in—some students, some older folks who have lived in Pune forever, and the occasional passerby. The air in the shop always has that specific smell of old and new paper mixed together. We don't have any fancy displays or bright lights. It’s just a regular bookshop where we try to keep track of what’s selling and what’s been sitting on the shelf for too long. Sometimes we spend the whole afternoon just rearranging a single section because it got messy. The counter is usually covered in notebooks and pens and whatever we are currently reading. We don't have a big team, just a few of us who know where most things are hidden. It’s a lot of work to keep a retail shop going these days, but we like being here in this part of town.