May 27, 2020
Now, West Bengal is the sole owner of the GI tag as far as rasgullas are concerned!!!
West Bengal observes 14th November as ‘Rosogolla Day’ to celebrate the GI tag.
Bengalis and Rosogolla are almost synonymous. Every occasion the only dessert that pops up is Rasgulla or “Rosogolla” as fondly hailed by Bengalis. This sweet relation between the Bengalis and Rosogolla was established when “Banglar Rosogolla” was awarded GI (Geographical Indications) status by the Registry Office of India of Chennai in 2017.
Nobin Chandra Das, a Bengali confectioner, is widely considered the “Father of Rosogolla” or “Columbus of Rasgulla”. He reportedly created this round spongy dessert in the second half of the 19th century. There are many stories that envelops the invention of Rosogolla by him.
His unremitting efforts to create Rosogolla out of fragmented clumps of cottage cheese saw success in the Bagbazar sweetmeat shop in 1868. Not limiting the patent of his sweet delicacy, he wanted to spread the recipe to popularise Rosogolla all over the country.
West Bengal, has given the nation several achievements to be proud of and Rasgulla being one of them has gained popularity far and wide. West Bengal’s rasgullas have reached international shores.
Historically speaking, the sweet was first made in East India that is the present-day states of West Bengal and Odisha. Hence, both these states claimed to be its heir with a controversy over its birthplace. After several deliberations, on 14 November 2017, the Geographical Indication Registry of India granted West Bengal the GI status as its sole originator. The Registry further stated that Odisha can too claim GI status if they can provide accurate details of the place of origin of their variant along with colour, texture, taste, juice content and method of manufacturing.
After much discussions, debate and struggle, the GI Registry of India eventually decided to grant the honour to Dhiman Das, the successor of Nobin Chandra Das and executive director of K. C. Das Pvt. Ltd. of Kolkata with the GI certificate in hand.
Dhiman Das is an executive member of Federation of Sweets and Namkeen Manufacturers (FSNM) and was rewarded with “25 Most Innovative Product Award” at the World Mithai and Namkeen Convention (WMNC) held in Hyderabad on 8, 9 and 10 January 2020.