Bhugra graduated in 1968 with a diploma in fine arts from the College of Arts and Crafts in Lucknow. After intensive studies in textile design, printmaking, and batik and silkscreen printing at the Central Design Centre and Literacy House in Lucknow, Bhugra returned to his alma mater in 1970 to complete a post-diploma in graphic art. From 1973 to 1975 he studied printmaking under Somnath Hore (1921-2006) at Kala-Bhavana Institute of Fine Arts and Crafts in Santiniketan.