‘Mahashayji’ Dharampal Gulati, the owner of MDH spices, has passed away on Thursday morning. He was 98. According to several reports, he was undergoing treatment at a hospital in New Delhi for last three weeks. He died after suffering a cardiac arrest at 5: 30 am on December 3.
A proficient enterpreneuer, Gulati became household name after he featured in MDH TVCs.
Birth and Early life:
He was born on March 27, 1923 in Sialkot( now Pakistan). In the 1947 partition, Gulati moved to India and after spending some time at a refugee camp in Amritsar, he migrated to Delhi and opened his first store in Karol Bagh.
Fondly called Dadaji, Gulati was a middle-school dropout and joined his father’s spice business in Sialkot in 1919. After moving to India, he officially established his own company in 1959 and went on to become the King of Spices.
A prominent exporter of spices across the world, including the US, UK, Europe and Canda, MDH is a Rs 1,500 crore empire, reports TOI.
Tributes to Mahashayji:
Netizens including political leaders have taken to social media to pour in tribute for the face of India’s most loved spice brand.
Paying tribute to Gulati in a tweet, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said: “India’s most inspiring entrepreneur, MDH owner Dharm Pal Mahashay passed away this morning. I have never met such an inspiring and lively soul. May his soul rest in peace.”
“Dharm Pal ji was very inspiring personality. He dedicated his life for the society. God bless his soul,” wrote Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“Mahashay Dharampal ji was a jovial man. He had a youth-like energy whenever he met. It was the result of his hard work that he built the country’s largest company of spices after coming to India from Pakistan at the time of partition and driving a tonga. Inspiration to many, he has left us forever,” BJP leader Tejinder Pal Singh Bagga said.
“The “grand-dad” or “Dadaji” whose pictures most of our moms had in their kitchens and owner of the famous Masala Brand “MDH” – Dharampal Gulati passed away at 98. He will be missed! What a journey he had..soOne more time in his memory….”MDH MDH” Om Shanti,” wrote Tehseen Poonwalla.
In 2019, Dharampal Gulati was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in the country.