After decades of closure, in the 1970s, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China opened to the outside world. Foreseeing trading opportunities in the Tibet region, Syamukapu International (P) Ltd was established in 1970 by Maniharsha Jyoti. Maniharsha Jyoti’s late father was called “Syamu Karpu” meaning “white cap” by Tibetan traders in Kalimpong. “Syamukapu” was also the name of the Lhasa Kothi established by his late father in the 1920s. In remembrance of both, he named the company, Syamukapu. Syamukapu International traded sundry items such as cloth, Lux soap, Binanca toothpaste, Parker pen, medicine, Horlicks, bear bile, otter skin, herbs and woolen textiles.