Section 36
Mahashay Dharampal Gulati
MDH (Mahashian Di Hatti) · Sialkot (now in Pakistan)
- ₹1,500
- Money he had on reaching Delhi · 1947
- ₹21 crore
- Annual salary as MDH chief · 2017
The story
Dharampal Gulati was born in 1923 in Sialkot. He left school in 1933 before finishing Class 5 and joined his father's spice shop, Mahashian Di Hatti, known as 'Deggi Mirch Wale'.
Partition took all that away. He reached Delhi on 27 September 1947 with only ₹1,500. He spent ₹650 on a tonga and drove passengers from New Delhi railway station for two annas a ride. A few days later he bought a small wooden shop, 14 feet by 9 feet, on Ajmal Khan Road in Karol Bagh, and restarted the family's ground-spice business under the old name.
In 1953 he rented a second shop in Chandni Chowk, and in 1959 he bought land in Kirti Nagar to set up a factory. MDH grew into one of India's best-known spice brands. In 2017 he was reported as India's highest-paid FMCG chief executive, with a salary of ₹21 crore, most of which he gave to charity. He received the Padma Bhushan in 2019 and died on 3 December 2020.
Timeline
- 1947Reaches Delhi on 27 September with ₹1,500; buys a tonga for ₹650.
- 1947Opens a 14 ft x 9 ft wooden shop in Karol Bagh to restart the spice business.
- 1953Rents a second shop in Chandni Chowk.
- 1959Buys land in Kirti Nagar for a factory.
- 2019Receives the Padma Bhushan.
- 2020Dies on 3 December, aged 97.