‘Mahashay’ Dharampal Gulati, the owner of spice company, Mahashian Di Hatti (MDH), breathed his last in the early hours on December 3, 2020. He suffered a cardiac arrest. He was aged 97. The nation mourned his death. Fondly known as ‘MDH Uncle,’ to all the kids born in the 90s, people took to Twitter with #RIPDharampalJi to pay their tributes. India’s dairy brand, Amul as well as shared an adorable doodle to honour the King of Spices, Dharampal Gulati. The doodle depicts Gulati donning his signature look. Like almost all the other topical ads of Amul, this one too was much appreciated by the netizens, especially in this time, when the country is still mourning his death.

Born in 1923 in Sialkot, Pakistan, Gulati left school before he could even complete his 5th class. He later joined his father, Mahashay Chunnilal Gulati’s business of spice under the name, Mahashian Di Hatti (MDH), famously known as ‘Deggi Mirch Wale.’ From a small shop in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk to building an empire, selling spices, he revamped his father’s business. He was referred to as ‘spice-king’ in reference to his pioneering of ready-to-use ground spices. Gulati was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award, in 2019.

On December 3, when reports of Gulati’s death surfaced, people were left heartbroken. Most of us have grown seeing him on MDH ads and would fondly refer him as ‘MDH Uncle.’ People continue to mourn his sad demise, and Amul shared an adorable topical ad, to honour ‘Mahashayji,’ or ‘Dadaji,’ as many preferred to address him. The Indian dairy brand captioned the image, “Tribute to the much respected and revered ‘Spice King’, the owner of MDH.” The topical ad shows Gulati donned his signature look, and appears to guide the Amul girl on using spices. “Yaad bhi taaza. Swad bhi taaza…” reads the topical ad.

Here's Amul's Topical Ad Honouring Dharampal Gulati

Mahashayji’s career inspires every Indian entrepreneur. His work will always be remembered. May, his soul, rests in peace!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 06, 2020 10:25 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).