‘Mahashay’ Dharampal Gulati, the 97-year old founder of the leading spices brand MDH and fondly known as the ‘King of Spices”, passed away on Thursday reportedly after suffering a cardiac arrest.
The company’s unique strategy of featuring him in every single advertisement of the brand, made this Indian entrepreneur a household name.
Over the year, the lively “Dadaji”, who was always dressed in the familiar red turban when featured in MDH ads with the tagline, “Asli Masale Sach Sach. MDH MDH”, had emerged as an iconic figure.
Born on March 27, 1923 in Sialkot (Pakistan), his entrepreneurial journey started from a humble shop at Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh in New Delhi, which was set up under the banner of Mahashian Di Hatti of Sialkot “DEGGI MIRCH WALE”.
The school dropout persevered to set up the company’s first factory in 1959 in Kirti Nagar. Today, MDH has several plants and offers a range of 62 products available in over 150 packages. The brand is also exported to many countries including US, Canada, UK, South East Asia among others.
Credited with building a home-grown brand from the scratch with a strong brand equity, he was conferred with the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award last year. He also set up Mata Chanan Devi Hospital and several educational institutes, and earned recognition for his philanthropic work.
Condolences
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid their condolences to the family on Twitter.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, “The passing of Mahashay Dharampal Gulati Ji, the grand old man of Indian entrepreneurship is a sad day for the country. He added spice to our lives & was a part of every Indian household. I offer my heartfelt condolence to his family & admirers.Om Shanti.”
“Deeply saddened to know the passing away of Padma Shri #DharampalGulati ji, popularly known as #MDHDadaji. He was a shining beacon of India’s entrepreneurial journey who turned #MDHSpices into an iconic brand. He will always be remembered for his philanthropic work. Om Shanti,” wrote Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha.