In Photos: Connaught Place's People Tree Closes Doors For Good After 33 Years

The store was set up in 1990 by a collective of designers and artists.

People Tree was set up in Delhi’s Connaught Place in 1990 by a collective of designers and artists. It was primarily run by graphic designer Orijit Sen and his wife and exhibition designer Gurpreet Sidhu.

(Photo: Ashna Butani/The Quint)

For the residents of Delhi, People Tree was more than just a store – it was a safe space where creative minds came together, where art and handicrafts from across the country found a place on the shelves. The store was started in Connaught Place in 1990 by a collective of designers and artists – and it was primarily run by graphic designer Orijit Sen and his wife, Gurpreet Sidhu, an exhibition designer. “Our growth was quite organic because we never had a bigger business model. We thought that if we did that, it would have taken away from a lot of other things. Instead, we were excited about creative entrepreneurs and suppliers. That is what kept us going...” said Gurpreet Sidhu, the Director of People Tree.  

With a heavy heart, Gurpreet and Orijit are letting go of People Tree. When The Quint visited the store in Connaught Place, Gurpreet was packing up. Customers poured in to say their final goodbyes to the store. Almost every customer that walked in spoke about the nostalgic value of the store.

From Gamcha wallets to carefully curated artwork, the store was studded with works by numerous artists from across the country, that People Tree has collaborated with over the years. In the last four days, it had all started coming down.

Sidhu said that the pandemic impacted their business, and they could not recover from it entirely.

Speaking about how ‘smaller businesses’ find it hard to survive, Sidhu said, “If we had picked one iconic product such as our screen print T-shirts, and decided to mass produce it, it would have been different. But that was never the essence of People Tree.”  

A customer writes a goodbye note to People Tree on 5 May, Friday. While she was packing up, a customer who has been visiting the store since 1996, walked in to bid farewell to the store. He told Sidhu, “The last hippie store in the city is shutting down,” and went on to narrate his memories of the store. 

The store on its second-last day.

“We had never intended to be a ‘hippie’ store. A lot of foreigners have told us that over the years... But this is just who we are as people. We were among the first in the city to recycle and use natural materials,” said 62-year-old Sidhu.  

A flyer of People Tree. People Tree started as a design-studio and store.

Raju, from West Bengal, used to work as a driver before he started helping with handcrafted products at the store. About his future plans, he said, "I will focus on making products to sell them online." People Tree will continue to sell products online. 

The store comprises a bookstore, too. Sen’s graphic novels were featured in the store. On Friday, a customer asked Sidhu if they would be willing to design spaces in a school. About future plans, Sidhu said, "We keep taking up projects, we will see what comes our way." 

On Saturday, Sen shared a picture on social media saying that this is the 'earliest known photo of People Tree'. He said, "The name was inspired by the big pipal tree outside the National Institute of Design (NID) gate where we used to go for chai and cigarettes. We didn't expect it to last 33 days even. It grew and thrived for 33 years! We're so grateful it did. It's been the journey of our lifetimes..."