Dharampal Gulati, the owner of the Mahashian Di Hatti (MDH) Masala, popularly known as Chachaji, died on 3rd December 2020. He was 97. Reports said that ‘Mahashay’ Dharmpal Gulati was in hospital in Delhi for a few weeks. He died of a cardiac arrest early in the morning. Mr Gulati was born in Pakistan's Sialkot in 1923. He was a fifth grade school dropout. He had joined his father’s spice business early. According to his biography on the MDH site, he set up his own business in 1937 with help from his father and started selling mirrors, soap, hardware and rice. When the business failed, he returned to work with his father for the company Mahashian Di Hatti (MDH).

He moved to India during the Partition in 1947 and arrived in Delhi only with Rs. 1,500 with him. He opened his first store in Karol Bagh in Delhi and expanded his business from there. He re-established the MDH company in 1959. Today it sells 62 products available in over 150 different packages and are sold worldwide. Mr Gulati at the age of 94, became the highest paid CEO in India in 2017. Dharampal Gulati was the face of ads of MDH spices. Usually dressed in his trademark red turban. Last year, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. He was also known to be a philanthropist and built several hospitals and schools. Gulati's demise felt like a personal loss to many who paid their tributes to the 'Chachaji' on Twitter.

Tags

• MDH
• Masalas
• Spices
• Dharampal
• Gulati
• Mahashay

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