Mahashay Dharampal Gulati, the owner of the iconic spices brand MDH (Mahashian Di Hatti), passed away on Thursday.
Gulati has been the face of the spice company for years, featuring in its advertisements.
From losing everything in the partition to building India's biggest spices brand, Gulati's journey was indeed an inspiration for many. Here's all you need to know about 'the spice king of India'.
Fondly called 'dadaji' and 'Mahashayji', Gulati was born on March 27, 1923, in Sialkot in undivided India (now in Pakistan).
He left school before completing 5th class.
His family had a spices business and was popularly known as ‘Deggi Mirch Wale‘ people.
In 1937, with the help of his father, he set up a few small businesses, however, they could not hold him for long and he joined his father's spices business in Sialkot.
After partition, Gulati migrated to Delhi and drove a tonga to earn his living
Later he opened a shop in Delhi’s Karol Bagh under the banner of 'Mahashian Di Hatti of Sialkot Deggi Mirch Wale‘ which later became a multi-billion rupee empire of MDH.
MDH Masala factory was officially set up in the national capital in 1959.
Initially, he started a spices shop in a shack. Later, he opened the same at Ajmal Khan Road in Karol Bagh area.
Today, the company sells its spices across the globe.
In 2017, Gulati became the highest-paid FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) CEO in India. It is one of the biggest brands of spices and manufactures almost 50 different types of spices.
In 2019, Gulati was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award.
Despite his age, it is said that Gulati used to take all major business decisions.
