Riya almost scrolled past it. Literally. She was walking home from her coaching centre, eyes glued to her phone, thumb hovering over a reel of a Bollywood star’s vacation. But the words "No Filter" made her stop. Irony, in a world of perfect lighting, demanded attention.

The first picture hit her like a slap. It was a close-up of a girl, about her age, laughing so hard that her braces glinted and her eyes were squinted shut. The caption, handwritten on a scrap of paper, read: "Neha. 16. Told a joke so bad her samosa fell out of her hand. Worth it."

On the brick walls, pinned to clotheslines, and stacked on wooden pallets were photographs. But not the polished, glossy kind. These were raw. Unposed. Real.