How I Became a Tree - Sumana Roy - 7/16 Ansari Road

Aug 2, 2026

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How I Became a Tree explores transformation, growth, and intimacy through a multi-part meditation on trees, plants, and human emotion. Drawing on literary references and personal inquiry, it moves from imagining a tree inside the mind to learning how to draw, photograph, and study trees, then to tracing shadows, light, and the natural cycle of death and rebirth. The book also connects forests to spirituality and love, culminating in a reflection on becoming and belonging.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages213

Reading Time5 h 28 min

AccessFree to download

Part I: A Tree Grew inside My Head Tree Time

Women as Flowers

The Kindness of Plants

The Woman as Tree

The Silence of Trees

Part II: I Paint Flowers So They Will Not Die

Drawing Trees

Making Leaves

The Literature of Trees

Tree Sculpture

Photographing Trees

Part III: See the Long Shadow that is Cast by the Tree

A Brief History of Shadows

X-raying Plants

Feeding Light to Trees

Becoming a Shadow

Part IV: Supposing I Became a Champa Flower Rabindranath Tagore’s Garden

Studying Nature

Part V: I Want to Do with You What Spring Does with the Cherry Trees

Having Sex with a Tree

Loving Trees

Part VI: One Tree is Equal to Ten Sons

Plants as Children

The Curious Botanist

Gardens and Adultery

Part VII: Lost in the Forest

Lost in the Forest

The Religion of the Forest

Wild Men and Lost Girls

Part VIII: Under the Greenwood Tree Sitting Under a Tree

The Buddha and the Bodhi Tree

Part IX: The Tree is an Eternal Corpse

The Death of Trees

The Rebirth of Trees

How I Became a Tree

Epilogue

Notes and References

Bibliography

[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) ALEPH BOOK COMPANY An independent publishing firm promoted by Rupa Publications India First published in India in 2017 by Aleph Book Company 7/16 Ansari Road, Daryaganj New Delhi 110 002 Copyright © Sumana Roy 2017 Illustrations copyright © Nikhil Das 2017 The author has asserted her moral rights. All rights reserved. The views and opinions expressed in this book are the author ’s own and the facts are as reported by her, which have been verified to the extent possible, and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from Aleph Book Company. ISBN: 978-93-82277-44-6 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 For sale in the Indian subcontinent only. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher ’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Not that I want to be a god or a hero. Just to change into a tree, grow for ages, not hurt anyone. —Czesław Miłosz [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) CONTENTS Part I: A Tree Grew inside My Head Tree Time Women as Flowers The Kindness of Plants The Woman as Tree The Silence of Trees Part II: I Paint Flowers So They Will Not Die Drawing Trees Making Leaves The Literature of Trees Tree Sculpture Photographing Trees Part III: See the Long Shadow that is Cast by the Tree Portrait of a Tree A Brief History of Shadows X-raying Plants Feeding Light to Trees Becoming a Shadow Part IV: Supposing I Became a Champa Flower Rabindranath Tagore’s Garden Studying Nature Part V: I Want to Do with You What Spring Does with the Cherry Trees Having Sex with a Tree Loving Trees Part VI: One Tree is Equal to Ten Sons Plants as Children The Curious Botanist Gardens and Adultery Part VII: Lost in the Forest Lost in the Forest The Religion of the Forest Wild Men and Lost Girls Part VIII: Under the Greenwood Tree Sitting Under a Tree The Buddha and the Bodhi Tree Part IX: The Tree is an Eternal Corpse The Death of Trees The Rebirth of Trees How I Became a Tree Epilogue Notes and References Bibliography [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Part I A Tree Grew inside My Head—Octavio Paz, A Tree Within [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)

FAQs

What is the book’s central theme in How I Became a Tree?

The book centers on transformation through the figure of the tree, using growth, silence, love, and natural cycles to explore how humans change and connect with nature.

How is the book structured?

It is organized into multiple parts that each focus on a different angle of trees—mind and time, art and literature, light and shadows, forests and spirituality, and finally death and rebirth.

What topics are covered alongside the focus on trees?

Besides trees, the book engages with plants as children, botanists and gardens, photography and sculpture, shadows and x-raying plants, and spiritual and literary references tied to nature.

Aug 2, 2026

Upload by Hazel