Aparna Nori's Artist Book 'How To Climb A Tree' Chronicles Decade of Mother-Son Correspondence

Artist Aparna Nori's book 'How To Climb A Tree' documents her ten-year epistolary relationship with her son Ved, who attended Rishi Valley School, a boarding institution in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh. The work features letters exchanged weekly while Ved was at school, where digital devices are prohibited and students engage in forestry activities. Nori supplements the correspondence with photographs taken during visits, watercolour and pencil drawings, and her interpretations of Ved's anecdotes. The book's cover uses the same calico cloth as India Post mailbags, referencing the postal service that enabled their communication between Bangalore and Singapore. Visual elements create a linear narrative tracking their evolving relationship, including a photograph of a toy train that transforms into a drawing representing the three-hour journey from Madanapalle to Bangalore. The title originates from step-by-step instructions Nori sent Ved during his early months at school. Empty pages throughout the volume invite reader reflection on gaps in the recorded timeline. Published by Editions JOJO, the softcover retails for ₹4,500 or sgd 80. The project concludes with a portrait of Ved as a young man, marking his transition to adulthood after a decade of documented exchange.