Mahashay Dharam Pal Gulati

Dharampal Gulati (27 March 1923 – 3 December 2020), also known as Mahashay Dharampal Gulati, was an Indian businessman, and founder and CEO of MDH (Mahashian Di Hatti; ), an Indian spice company.

He was referred to as 'spice-king' in reference to his pioneering of ready-to-use ground spices. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2019.

Early life Gulati was born on 27 March 1923 in Sialkot in present-day Pakistan. His father, Chunnilal Gulati, had a spice shop in the town named Mahashian Di Hatti, which was also known by the name Deggi Mirch Wale. In 1933, at the age of 10, he dropped out of school and worked assorted jobs including carpentry, rice trading, and selling hardware, before joining in to help his father in his spice business. Finding other tangawallas uncouth, and with little monetary reward, he opened a small stall to sell cane sugar which he shut down due to no prospects.

Career In 1958, he set up a small wooden pop-up store in the Karol Bagh region of New Delhi to restart his father's spice store and restored it with the same name, Mahashian Di Hatti. He advertised in the popular Hindi newspaper, Pratap, increasing the store's popularity. His image with ethnic wear of a turban, hook moustache, glasses and pearl necklace was printed on all of his company's spice packages as well as on advertising messages, making him one of the most endearing and likeable brand ambassadors in the country, according to brand consultants.

Personal life and death Gulati founded 20 schools for furthering primary and secondary education, including the MDH International School, Mahashay Chunnilal Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Mata Lilawati Kanya Vidyalaya and Mahashay Dharampal Vidya Mandir. He set up a 200-bed hospital for the poor in New Delhi and a mobile hospital for slum dwellers. His charity foundation, with his father's name, Mahashay Chunnilal Charitable Trust, administers some of his charity initiatives.

Gulati was awarded with Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2019.

Gulati died on 3 December 2020, at the Mata Chanan Devi Hospital in Delhi of cardiac arrest due to post COVID-19 complications. He had been admitted in the hospital in November. He was aged 97.