R. K. Dogra is a Punjabi short-story writer. She has been writing short stories and articles for Punjabi magazines and weeklies for the past twenty years or so.
She had a sudden attack of rheumatoi...voir plusR. K. Dogra is a Punjabi short-story writer. She has been writing short stories and articles for Punjabi magazines and weeklies for the past twenty years or so.
She had a sudden attack of rheumatoid arthritis and was advised to take an early retirement from her last job, which was with Ealing Council. In spite of working full time, she also enjoyed looking after her grandchildren. Once they were ready to attend school full time, she realised that it was time for her to do something creative.
In the past years, while working outside her home, she managed to get a number of stories published in the Punjabi papers and the monthly magazine. Once she had time on her hands, she decided to get them published in book form. Her second book was published a few years ago.
Her popularity as a writer for women gave her many opportunities to air her views on Desi Radio, most notably on March 8, when celebrating Women’s Day.
She had the gift of becoming a fine arts graduate, but early hardships in life made that task impossible. Coming to England was a bonus and allowed her to fulfill her ambitions. She joined the correspondence school ICS and achieved a diploma in portrait painting in oils.
Her love for reading books in English and Punjabi stirred up a wish to write something in English. The chance came when her granddaughter suggested that it would be nice if she wrote something about her early life, which she spent in Kenya and Uganda.
The suggestion gave her an idea to write a novel based on the life she had to face with her family upon Amin’s order of expulsion of all Asians from Uganda in 1972. She had so many ideas that she had to give herself a deadline of ninety days.
This novel, The Secret of Anu, is the first attempt by the author to write in English. It is a historical novel, and she hopes that readers will overlook any flaws in expression and dialect.voir moins