Born in Agra Uttar Pradesh, India in 1893 , a young man named Shuparshad Bansal arrived in Taiping, Perak Malaysia to assist his uncle in a general provision shop (GauriShanker)After a few years he moved to Tapah and opened up his own sundry shop. There after he expanded his business by acquiring 70 acres of land to plant rubber in Bidor. Meanwhile the work on the road from Tapah to Cameron Highlands had also started He got the food contract to supply the food rations and sundries to the contractors.. A big labour force brought from India and Pakistan to work on the road project. In the 1920’s ………….From Tapah to Camerons …As the road link got established so did Shuparshad who moved his shops from Ringlet to Boh estate and to Tanah Rata.The shop in Tanah Rata became the headquarters of the business known as Shuparshad and Sons. He used his income in the sundry business to expand further and bought 50 acres of land from the British Government for tea cultivation in Kuala Terla..After the demise of Shupershad in 1940 his eldest son Datuk Seri Brij Kishore further expanded the business under the guidance of his uncle Nand Kishore and his brother Sriniwas..They acquired more land for tea and  other properties in and around Cameron Highlands.Their family history is synonymous with the creation of Camerons and is intertwined with the growth of Cameron Highlands to what it is today. 4 generations of their past present and  future as a family business is closely linked with Camerons. THE family strongly believe in the preservation of the environment and the sanctity of this place ………..They favour development but done mindfully and with a heart …………….aesthetically and again in harmony with the environment ……. THEY  believe that agriculture and tourism can coexist as you can see in their tea gardens………

GROUP PHOTO TAKEN IN FRONT OF SHUPARSHAD AND BROS TANAH RATA TOWN 1957 (Late Datuk Seri Brijkishore fifth from left)

Cameron Highlanders should close ranks  and not allow their beautiful mountain kingdom in the clouds to be destroyed completely. I had an opportunity to talk to Dr Ashok Kumar Agarwal the eldest son of Datuk Seri Brij Kishore to recount some of the early days in Camerons. He spoke about the struggles of his family in the fifties.. ..He fondly recounted growing up in the Camerons and he spoke of his childhood when he swam and picnicked in the pristine water of Parit waterfall which has ever since become a flowing river of rubbish and toxic waste …Among other memories he also reminiscenced about his time catching butterflies as a young child and how disappointed he was at the fact that one would see mostly flies and very few butterflies in Camerons  today..He also mentioned that the monstrosities that line the roadside in the name of development are an eyesore to say the least …He is also deeply upset that the weather is not as cool any more and our dense vegetation is slowly vanishing as we see more brown patches of exposed earth .. He is definitely very unhappy with whats happening here around him…unless things change here , the destructuction of this place is imminent, he says ..We finished on a sad note but were left with a lot of thinking to do…..till we meet again in cyberspace..