MDH Spices owner and iconic face Dharampal Gulati dies at 97


MDH Spices owner and iconic face Dharampal Gulati dies at 97

Dharampal Gulati opened his first store at Karol Bagh in Delhi and expanded his business from there.

New Delhi:

Dharampal Gulati, the owner of the MDH Masala brand, often called the great old man of spices, died Thursday. He was 97 years old.

“Mahashay” Dharmpal Gulati had been in the Delhi hospital for weeks. He died of cardiac arrest early this morning, reports said.

Dharampal Gulati was the face of the MDH spice ads. Last year, he received the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award.

Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were among the first to post tributes on Twitter.

“Dharm Pal ji had a very inspiring personality. He dedicated his life to society. God bless his soul,” Mr. Kejriwal tweeted.

“India’s most inspiring businessman, MDH owner Dharm Pal Mahashay passed away this morning. He has never met such an inspiring and vivacious soul. May his soul rest in peace,” tweeted Mr. Sisodia.

Mr. Gulati was born in Sialkot, Pakistan in 1923. Dropped out of fifth grade, he joined his father Mahashay Chunni Lal Gulati’s spice business early.

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According to his biography on the MDH site, he established a business in 1937 with the help of his father and began selling mirrors, soap, hardware, and rice. When the business failed, he returned to work with his father at the Mahashian Di Hatti company. At that time, they were popularly known as the “Deggi Mirch Wale” people.

He moved to India after the 1947 Partition and arrived in Delhi with 1,500 rupees to his name.

He opened his first store at Karol Bagh in Delhi and expanded his business from there.

MDH, the company it reestablished in 1959, currently sells 62 products available in more than 150 different packages. Its spices are also sold all over the world.

Gulati, aged 94 in 2017, became India’s highest paid CEO in 2017. He was also known for being a philanthropist and built several hospitals and schools.

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