Countryside Tales: Short Stories From Rural Punjab

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.