In 1987, thirty-six schoolboys had just left their classroom in the building on the right when I briefly gathered them before they headed home.

None of the boys wear shoes; a few wear sandals; none wear glasses; and no girls are present. The scene quietly reflects both the economic realities and gender divisions of rural education at the time. Their worn clothing and bare feet suggest modest means, while their collective presence points to a generation shaped by expanding access to schooling. The photograph captures a transitional pause between classroom and village life, recording a moment soon absorbed into the rapid changes that followed.