Bharti Public School

Down in Panethi, Aligarh, our school sits a bit away from the main city rush. It’s mostly surrounded by open space and some local shops. The building is a simple two-story structure with a gated entrance that stays shut once the day begins. Inside, the walls could probably use a fresh coat of paint, but they’re covered in student drawings and charts for now. We have several classrooms that open up into a central courtyard area where the kids play. It’s a bit dusty, as Aligarh often is, but we sweep it out every morning before the first bell. Most of the teachers here commute from the city, so there’s a bit of a rush at the start and end of the day. We don't have a big fancy office for the principal, just a small room with a desk and some old chairs for visitors. The benches in the classrooms are sturdy and have survived many years of students sitting on them. During the rainy season, the road outside gets a bit muddy, so everyone has to be careful walking in. It’s a very local operation, where everyone knows the names of the parents and which kids belong to which family. We just stick to the basics of teaching and keeping the place going. There’s a small bell that we ring by hand to mark the periods, and that’s how we keep track of time.