"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
“An interesting literary journey back in time, capturing — within the breathtaking stories — the joys and sorrows, thrills and disappointments of growing up in rural Punjab.”
“Bhupendra’s stories bring out the simplicity, sensibilities, vibrancy, languor, humour and irony in lives from the Punjab countryside.”
“Countryside Tales is the closest you can get to the Malgudi Days of Punjab.”
“Bhupendra’s powerful narratives transport the readers back in time to that place and situation, where they become a part of the action and emotion. One can visualise the scenes so clearly that the feeling is of actually being present there.”
“Great memories narrated with utter simplicity. Bhupendra really has an amazing talent for bringing alive the people he writes about — and that too with crystal clear precision.”
“Bhupendra Dogra exhibits a great skill of transmuting personal memories into an impersonal and universal art. While reading the stories, I felt like a toddler once again in the company of my young and muscular dad, working in the fields in the village.”
“Bhupendra’s stories capture the mood and aura of a bygone era perfectly. They remind me of R.K. Narayan’s short stories especially Swami & his Friends!”
“Bhupendra is an amazingly gifted writer… a master story teller who is unbeatable in narrating and converting simple incidents into interesting stories.”
“A raconteur par excellence.”
“Bhupendra’s relationship with his father must have been very very special. His abiding love for his father peeps through every word he writes about him.”
“Intensely engaging, some of the best short stories that I have ever read in my life.”
Bhupendra Dogra
Bhupendra Dogra was born in 1951 in Kalijpur village, located in present-day Gurdaspur District of Punjab. His early school education was at St. Joseph’s Academy, Dehradun. He later joined Sainik School, Jamnagar, Gujarat, to complete the Indian School Certificate (ISC) Examination in 1968, and returned to Punjab to graduate from Government College, Gurdaspur in 1972. However, it was only in the postgraduate Department of English at the Baring Union Christian College, Batala, Punjab, that Bhupendra’s flair for literature and dramatics came to the fore, under the benign watch of the respected American missionary Professor Dr. Paul Linder Love, who went out of his way to forge life changing bonds with most of his students.
After post-graduation, Bhupendra taught English for a few years at a small college and at a public school near Delhi, before joining the Indian Revenue Service in 1977 through the Civil Services examination. Bhupendra superannuated in November 2011, and is now leading a quiet, retired life in Panchkula (adjacent to Chandigarh) with his wife and children. Bhupendra has been experimenting with creative writing for several decades, but this is the first time an entire collection of short stories is being published. The author can be contacted at bhupendra.dogra1951@gmail.com
