Mahashay Dharampal Gulati: The master of spices who blazed a trail

MDH promoter leaves legacy built on family values

MDH ads will no longer feature the familiar sight of a smiling grandpa in red turban doing a cameo appearance at the end. Those moments have been relegated to history with the passing away of 97-year-old Mahashay Dharampal Gulati, best known as the face of MDH Masale, on Thursday. He died of cardiac arrest in a New Delhi hospital, leaving behind a Rs 2,000-crore group counted among the largest organised spice players in the country. He is survived by a son and six daughters.

Celebrities, politicians and ordinary citizens were quick to offer their condolences on the death of Gulati. Regarded as the oldest brand ambassador in India, Gulati, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 2019, managed to hold his own among a sea of popular faces on television.

MDH ads were simply incomplete without him, as KV Sridhar, global chief creative officer, Nihilent Hypercollective, said.

"Gulati was a trademark of his brand. And the MDH brand stood for good, old family values, culture and celebration. Why MDH's advertising stands out is because it never steered away from this proposition. It was consistent with its communication," Sridhar said.

At a time when most organised spice players have been looking to trade up, targeting working women and younger audiences in their ads, MDH was happy to stick to its core consumer: the housewife and her family. Experts say MDH remains generic to the spices category because Gulati realised early on that he had to appease a wider audience, rather than a niche.

MDH not only produces over 60 different spice products, but also exports to over 100 countries including in the Middle East and Europe. It has offices in London and Dubai, managed by Gulati's son who is in charge of overall operations of the company. Gulati's daughters manage distribution in India.

Short for Mahashian Di Hatti, MDH was founded by Gulati's father Chunni Lal in 1919. It was a small shop in Sialkot, Pakistan, where Gulati's father sold spices. Chunni Lal gradually built a reputation as a spice trader, fondly called Deggi Mirchwale for the distinctive red spice made from capsicums and Kashmiri chillies.

By the time Gulati arrived on the scene, as a school dropout in 1933, MDH was a fairly settled business. Gulati was soon yearning to start his own little venture and branched off with a shop in Sialkot in 1937. His outlet sold mirrors, groceries, commodities and other general merchandise. But the business didn’t take off and like an astute trader, Gulati wound up his venture to go back to his father.

By 1947, Gulati and his family were forced to abandon life in Sialkot and head to India during Partition. He started afresh in New Delhi after spending time at refugee camps.

Life was in no way easy for Gulati, who began doing odd jobs and saving enough to pursue his entrepreneurial dream again. By 1953, he rented a small shop in Chandni Chowk before setting up his own store at Karol Bagh. By 1959, MDH was re-established in New Delhi and Gulati never looked back, gradually expanding operations in the north and other parts of India.

MDH is popular in three segments — Deggi Mirch, Chat Masala and Chana Masala — and each sell over a crore packets a month, with its share unaffected by the entry of newer players.

Apart from being the promoter of a popular spice brand, Gulati was also a philanthropist who dedicated a sizeable portion of his salary to set up hospitals and schools. He once said 90 per cent of his income went towards helping the poor and downtrodden, a memory he carried from his early days in New Delhi.

He put in over 15 hours a day when MDH was re-established and continued his daily rounds to factories and markets into old age. Despite dropping out at 10, Gulati was keen to learn new things till the end and kept a close eye on business operations with help from a team of associates.