Bhorda Primary School

Bhorda is a small place in Vadodara, and the primary school is right in the heart of the village. It’s an old building, but it holds up well. The kids come walking in from the nearby houses, some of them with dust on their uniforms from playing on the way. We start early before the sun gets too strong. There’s a big tree in the yard where the children sit when they aren't in class. You can hear the sounds of chanting and multiplication tables coming from the open windows. The floors are stone and stay cool even when it’s boiling outside. We don't have many computers or high-tech gadgets. Mostly it’s just chalk, boards, and books that have been passed down. The midday meal is a busy time, with the smell of dal and rice drifting through the corridors. Some of the teachers have been here for twenty years and know the parents of the current students because they taught them too. It’s a tight-knit community here in Bhorda. The school gate is always open, and sometimes cows from the village wander near the fence to see what's happening. It’s not a fancy private academy, just the local school where the village children learn to read and write. We do our best with what we have, and the kids seem happy enough. It gets very quiet in the evening after everyone goes home to their farms and the sun starts setting over the fields nearby.