Mahashay Dharampal Gulati
Education has a very important place in everyone’s life. Generally, there is a perception among the people that without education progress is not possible. But being less educated is not a curse either. There have been some celebrities, in whose life being less educated did not become a hindrance.
We are talking about one such personality who, despite being less educated, became a successful businessman. This businessman is none other than the owner of MDH Spices, Mahashay Dharampal Gulati, he has studied only till 5th standard. He has earned so much name in the spice business that today everyone knows him “Masala King”. You must have also seen the advertisements of MDH Masale (spices) which are aired on TV often. An old man is seen in them, who is Mahasaya Dharampal Gulati himself. Many people also know him by the name of MDH spiced grandfather or Mahashay.
Mahashay Dharampal Gulati, who is known as the “Masala King”, the king of the world of spices (MDH), was born on 27 March 1923 in Mianpura Mohalla, Navsari, Sialkot (Pakistan). His father’s name was Mahashay Chunilal and his mother’s name was Chanan Devi. His father, who used to work in a social organization, also started the work of a spice company “Mashashian Di Hatti” in this organization. Whose full name is Mahashian Di Hatti Pvt. Ltd. (Deggi Mirch Wale) and it was in the Pansaria market in Sialkot.
The journey of his schooling lasted only till the fifth standard. His mind was less in studies, more in kite flying and pigeon flying, so in 1933 Gulati left school without giving his fifth class examination and started trying to start his father’s new business. He told in his autobiography that he has studied only “up to five and a half years”.
In 1937, he started a mirror shop in his business with the help of his father, followed by the soap business and then the rice business. Along with this he also did many jobs and business. All this did not suit him well and he decided to help his father in his spice business.
When India and Pakistan were partitioned in 1947, this affluent family from Sialkot decided to immigrate to India and after that, the whole family spent some time in the refugee camp in Amritsar. After this, his entire family came to Delhi on 27 September 1947 in search of work. It is said that when Mahasaya Dharampal Gulati’s family came to India, they had only 1500 rupees.
In 1948, he bought a tonga (Horse Cart) in Delhi for Rs 650 and worked to run it from the railway station, New Delhi to Qutub Road and from Karol Bagh to Bada Hindu Road. But he often faced the problem of livelihood, that is why he was sometimes insulted, due to which he stopped this work after two months and started a small shop on Ajmal Khan Road in Karolbagh, Delhi.
As mentioned earlier, his father’s shop had made a good mark in Sialkot, but partition changed everything and brought his family to a small kiosk. When he started a small spice shop in Delhi, after some time he started advertising that “Degi Mirch Sialkot Wale Ab Delhi Mein Bhi”. (The famous Degi Mirch Spices from Sialkot are now available in Delhi too!)
Gradually, everyone came to know about them and Gulatiji’s business started charting the growth path. Meaning it started acquiring the same old opulence which was in Sialkot. After this success, he rented another shop in Chandni Chowk in 1953. As the business started growing and by the 60s, the shop had made a good identity for itself. Their spice was identified by its purity and its true taste. For this reason, Mahashay himself decided to grind the spices and got engaged in this work. With their hard work, the Gulati family started their first spice manufacturing factory in Kirti Nagar, Delhi in 1959 and started “Mahashiyan Di Hatti Limited Company (MDH)”.
MDH: Adding taste to world food!
His company of spices has made a special identity in the whole country as well as abroad. MDH company has a total of 18 factories in India and Dubai and from here the spices are prepared and sent all over the world. 62 products of this company are in the market. Along with this, the company also claims that they hold 80 percent of the market in North India. This 93-year-old company sells its spices in America, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Europe, etc. The turnover of this company is said to be more than 2000 crores.
Mahashay Dharampal Gulati himself used to do advertisements of MDH spices even at the age of 97, which aired on TV. That’s why people also know him by the name of a grandfather with MDH. The question always used to arise in the minds of people that what is the secret of their being so healthy. Let us tell you that their advertisements have also contributed significantly to the popularity of Mahashay Dharampal Gulati and MDH.
He has also established a hospital in Delhi in the name of his mother. Along with this, he has also formed Mahasaya ChunniLal Charitable Trust. This trust also provides a 250-bed hospital facility and also operates the mobile hospital. This mobile reaches the slum dwellers from the hospital. Along with this, this trust also provides financial assistance to school management, orphanage, gaushala, and people. This trust also takes part in social works.
“The person, who treads on the path of truth, refrains from deception, treachery, pretension and remains untouched by falsehood is never devoid of external joy”
