RIP Dharampal | King of masalas, Sultan of spices

King of Masalas, Sultan of Spices and a face remembered on every MDH TV advertisement Mahashay Dharampal Gulati dies at 98.

Tributes poured in from different corners with Delhi's deputy CM Manish Sisodia calling him one of the country's most inspiring entrepreneurs.

Mahashay Dharampal, born on March 27 in 1923 in Sialkot (Pakistan), was a pioneer to India's spice industry. The face of MDH for almost a century has been a personality of many dimensions and achievements. His immense modesty and down-to-earth charm have been actively spoken of by all.

In 1947, Gulati, a school dropout with just Rs 1,500 in his pocket, purchased a tonga for Rs 650 and drove it from New Delhi Railway Station to Qutab Road and Karol Bagh to Bara Hindu Rao at do-aana per sawari for few days. With the money he saved from this, Gulati bought a small wooden khokha (shop/hatti) measuring 14 ftx9 ft at Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh, New Delhi for his family business of ground spices and again raised the banner of Mahashian Di Hatti of Sialkot "Deggi Mirch Wale".

Gulati, who came to India after the partition, with the help of his father in 1937 set up a small business of mirrors. Thereafter he set up a soap business and went about doing carpentry jobs, working as a cloth merchant, conducting hardware business and rice trading. Somehow these petty businesses did not hold him for long and he again joined hands with his father in his parental business of spices under the name of Mahashian Di Hatti, popularly known as ‘Deggi Mirch Wale‘ people.

His brand, MDH, which finds a place in cabinets of many households, reflects his philosophy: “Give to the world the best you can, and the best will come back to you automatically”.