MDH owner 'Mahashay' Dharampal Gulati passes away at 98

MDH owner Dharampal Gulati. Pic: mdhspices.com

Dharampal Gulati, the owner of MDH Masala, passed away on Thursday morning. He was 98. According to reports, Gulati was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Delhi for the last three weeks. He suffered a cardiac arrest on Thursday morning.

Fondly called 'Mahashayji', Gulati was born in Pakistan's Sialkot in 1923. A school dropout, Gulati joined his father's spice business in Sialkot and, after partition, moved to India where he opened a shop in Delhi's Karol Bagh.

From there started the journey of building a spices brand with the birth of MDH in 1959. Ever since then the brand has now established itself as the most recognisable one in the species segment with a global presence in over 100 countries.

And the brand itself has been synonymous with Mahashayji whose presence in TV commercials sporting a flowing white moustache and wearing a red turban became an iconic image on Indian television.

His decision to appear on the masala commercials for his own brand became a big commercial success story making MDH and 'Dadaji' household names in the country.

His success was not without its share of rewards with reports suggesting that Dharampal Gulati was the highest-paid CEO in the FMCG space in 2017 drawing a mind-boggling salary of over Rs 20 crore, much higher than the likes doyens of India Inc. that time.

Expressing his condolences, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Dharampal Gulati started his small business and made a mark of himself.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia remembered him as "India's most inspiring entrepreneur".

According to MDH Masala, Mahashayji used to donate 90 per cent of his salary to charity. A trust run by MDH runs several hospitals and schools in Delhi.

For his work, Mahashayji was awarded the Padma Bhushan, third highest civilian award in India in 2019.

Dharampal Gulati took MDH to new heights with its masala packets selling in crores and becoming a household necessity. MDH now has a capacity of producing 30 tonnes of spices in a day. The baton now passes to the next generation to keep the flag flying.

(With inputs from agency)

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