Rasogolla, the famous sweetmeat, finds itself at the centre of a debate as to where it originated.
After Odisha said that the sweet originated from the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the West Bengal government now wants to formally stake its claim to the Rasogolla by state invention through the GI authentication route, which will specify geographical location or origin. GI authentication is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin
The Science and Technology department of the state government has started the process to approach its central counterpart for GI authentication of Rasogolla so that it is identified with Bengal.
Sanjay Das, the Director of KC Das and the fifth generation descendant of Navin Chandra Das family, said it was historically known that the Das family had been the pioneer of the sweet. KC Das is one of the leading sweet chains of the country.
With Rasogolla getting the legal seal of having originated from the city, the sweet can be showcased globally and there can be more R&D initiatives. If there is a formal recognition of Rosogolla having originated from Bengal, we can go for patents also in future.
–Sanjoy Das, Director, KC Das
Das also said there were plans to turn parts of the Rasogolla Bhavan, set up in early last century in North Kolkata, into a memorial where the history and evolution of Bengal’s famous sweets would be depicted and the primitive tools like the boiler would be preserved for research purpose.
We have no fight with Odisha. Everyone knows Rasogolla is Bengal’s product like Odisha’s indigenous sweet is Chhanapora. Let all the states of the region work together to project our own indigenous delicacies and fight the battle with cakes and pastries.
-Sanjoy Das
(With inputs from PTI)
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