Dharampal Gulati, the owner of the spices brand ‘MDH’ passed away early today after suffering a cardiac arrest at a hospital in New Delhi. Mahashay Dharampal Gulati, popularly known as the ‘MDH uncle’, ‘Dadaji’, ‘Masala King’, or ‘King of Spices’ was the founder of MDH (Mahshian Di Hatti), one of India’s biggest spice brand.

Known as one of India’s most inspiring entrepreneur, Gulati was born in 1919 in Pakistan’s Sialkot, where his father had set up a small shop. Post partition of India, Dharampal Gulati moved to Delhi and set up MDH Masala factory in a plot in Kirti Nagar in 1959 and the rest is history. Today, MDH offers a wide range products and exports spices to several countries across the world including Switzerland, Japan, the US, and Canada.

Many of us might remember his smiling face in advertisement of MDH masale with that iconic jingle “asli masale sach sach”. Twitter condoled the death of the iconic personality and remembered his great journey.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed grief over Gulati’s death and said that he was an inspiring personality who dedicated his life for the welfare of the society.

Gulati was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in the country, in 2019.