Rave Up

If you look around Somwar Peth, you’ll see it’s packed with students all day long. We are tucked into Shop No 21 of the Siddhivinayak Building, which is right where the Chartered Accountancy Academy is. Because of that, Rave Up is almost always full of people worried about their exams or clutching thick textbooks. We kept the place simple because we know students aren’t looking for luxury, they just need a place to sit for a while and have something to eat. The building is quite old and has that busy, cramped feeling of Pune’s central areas. We have some stools and a counter where we serve everything. Sometimes the line gets long during the breaks between classes, and things can get a bit chaotic with everyone trying to pay at once. We don't use any fancy ordering systems, just a notebook and memory. The tea is always hot, and we try to keep the snacks coming as fast as the stove allows. On Sundays, it's a bit quieter when the academy is closed, and we use that time to scrub the floors and fix anything that broke during the week. It’s a small space, so you hear everyone’s conversations, which can be interesting. We’ve been here long enough that we know which students are going to pass and which ones are just here for the fun. It’s a hectic little spot but it has its own rhythm.