Dharam Pal Gulati: At the age of 95, this Padma laureate is the highest paid CEO of FMCG | India News

Do you remember TV commercials where "dadaji" blesses newly married couples, kisses small children and shakes one leg while the jingle "asli masala sach sach" is played in the background? It is Dharam Pal Gulati, who, at the age of 95, is probably the oldest advertising star in the world. And this is not his only claim to glory. Gulati is the owner of Mahashaya Di Hatti Group (MDH), with a crore of 2,000 crores, and has just been awarded the Padma Bhushan for trade and industry.

The phone has not stopped ringing since last night's announcement, but Gulati, better known as "Mahashaya ji", with her red turban and white mustache, is used to be recognized. And he likes that. "The main aur koi nasha nahi karta. Mujhe pyaar ka nasha hai (I have no dependence except an addiction to love). I love it when children and young people meet me and take pictures and selfies, "he says.

According to some sources, Gulati, a clbad V member who dropped out of school, would also be the highest-paid CEO in the consumer staples sector, earning a salary of Rs 25 crores in 2018. Born on 27 March 1923 in Sialkot, present-day Pakistan, Gulati's is a lambda story. After the partition, Gulati and her family came to India with just 1,500 rupees. At first, he started working as a tangewala (horse-drawn shooter), but his family quickly gathered enough resources to open a spice shop on the Karol Bagh Road, Ajmal Khan.

Business has gradually flourished and Gulati now has more than 18 factories in India and Dubai, which distribute MDH spices around the world. The company sells 62 products and claims 80% of the market in North India. Even though he is 96 years old in less than two months, Gulati travels every day to at least one factory, whether in Delhi or the nearby towns of Faridabad or Gurgaon. His six daughters and one son help him run the Masala empire he built.

Gulati says that the secret of his long life lies in his spartan diet and his regular exercise. "Hand bhudha nahi, jawan hoon (I'm still young)," he said, bending his muscles and opening his mouth to show his pearly whites. He gets up every morning at 4 am to walk to Nehru Park, followed by a yoga session and a frugal breakfast. He also walks in the evening and night after dinner and keeps abad of news on his phone and regularly checks WhatsApp.

He still loves the limelight, of course. Almost every inch of the wall of MDH House, in the industrial area of ​​Kirti Nagar, west of Delhi, is covered with its radiant face, be it photos inlaid with shiny gold frames, calendars, large carvings and even a clock that traces its life through images.

The television advertisement of his father occurred by accident when the actor played the role of the father of the bride. "When the director suggested to me to act as a father, I thought that it would save money, so I accepted", Gulati says. There was no turning back. Gulati has been part of all MDH TV commercials ever since. Obviously, India does not seem to have enough of Dadaji and his Deghi Mirch.