La Cantar

La Cantar is over at the Heaven Party Lounge in Rajkot, right across the road from the Balaji Wafers factory. If you know that part of town, you know it can get pretty busy with trucks and people going to work. Being part of a lounge means we see a lot of different things. Some days it’s quiet and we’re just doing basic maintenance, and other days there’s a big gathering and the whole place is jumping. We have to be ready for both. The space is fairly large since it’s built for parties, so there’s a lot of floor to sweep and many chairs to keep straight. We don’t really go in for anything too polished or corporate. It’s more about being a practical space where people can get together. In the kitchen, we just stick to the basics. We spend a lot of time prepping for the weekends because that’s when most people show up. You can hear the noise from the main road outside, but once you’re inside, it’s a bit more settled. We’ve got our regular staff who have been here a while, and we all know how the equipment works—even when the stove acts up or the lights flicker a bit. It’s just a local Rajkot business, doing our thing day by day. We don’t have any fancy mission statements; we just keep the place open and make sure there’s enough food for whoever walks through the door.