Mahashay Dharampal Gulati: The Legend that Shaped India's Foodscape
Progressive Grocer|December 2020
THE OWNER OF MDH SPICES AND ITS ICONIC FACE, DHARAMPAL GULATI, PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 98. ACCORDING TO REPORTS, HE WAS UNDERGOING POST-COVID TREATMENT AT A HOSPITAL IN DELHI FOR WEEKS TOGETHER BEFORE SUCCUMBING TO A CARDIAC ARREST IN THE EARLY HOURS OF DECEMBER 3, 2020.
Mahashay Dharampal Gulati: The Legend that Shaped India's Foodscape

All of us have a life to live but very few people can afford a life that’s as inspiring and extraordinary as Mahashay Dharampal Gulati. The life of the founder and CEO of Mahashian Di Hatti (MDH), Dharampal Gulati, is studded with so many crowning accomplishments that ordinary mortals might take several lifetimes to achieve. The news of his death drew condolence messages and tributes from many distinguished personalities of the country across social media - right from President Ram Nath Kovind, ministers, politicians and business tycoons to Bollywood superstars, everybody hailed his entrepreneurial spirit in their eulogy.

“He is definitely one of the India’s most inspiring entrepreneur. He was the one who spread the fragrance of Indian spices in the whole world,” says Gaurav Gambhir, Managing Director, Shubh Food Industries Pvt. Ltd.

Born on March 27, 1923, in the city of Sialkot, Pakistan, Dharampal quit school at a tender age to help his father at their shop Mahashian Di Hatti. The family migrated from Pakistan to India at the time of partition, and stayed at a refugee camp in Amritsar for a while. Dharampal, along with his brother-in-law, then travelled to Delhi in search of work, and after a few gruelling years, during which he pushed his luck trying his hands at and dabbling in many things, he eventually found the spice trade, which became his calling card thereafter. With a humble beginning from a modest shop in Karol Bagh, Delhi, Dharampal Gulati laid the building blocks and the foundation of his future empire in the spice business, whose worth is multi-crore today and growing in value.

This story is from the December 2020 edition of Progressive Grocer.

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This story is from the December 2020 edition of Progressive Grocer.

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