MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA December 31, 2018 05.45 P.M.
It is 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi.
But few people know that it is 150th year of a Bengali sweet known and called ” ROSOGOLLA ” also.
But here lies the controversy. Rosogolla is always known as a Bengali sweet. But all of a sudden Odisha started claiming that Rosogolla is Odia.
I was perplex. For all my life I always knew and believed that Rosogolla is a Bengali sweet . Nobin Chandra Das , the famous Bengali , is credited to invent this sweet in 1868 . He , along with his family , used to live in the Baghbazar locality of northern Calcutta [ now known as Kolkata ] .
Despite these known facts , some Odia zealots started claiming that Rosogoll has Odia origins. Watch the photos and realize that Bengalis have not only invented this sweet but they have become connoisseurs and gave several variations to Rosogolla, which is not common in Odisha .
This brazen and bizarre claim of Odisha was not supposed to be taken lightly in West Bengal . Matter was fiercely debated in Bengal and finally West Bengal government reached GI [ Geographical Indication ] . After a 26-month legal tussle, West Bengal government won the case on November 14, 2017 .
In 2018 Rosogolla became 150 years old and to commemorate the auspicious event West Bengal government issued a special stamp . It was launched at the inaugural function of ” Baghbazar-O-Rosogolla Utsab ” .
Earlier this year, the State government observed November 14 as Rosogolla Day to mark one year of obtaining the GI tag.
My tryst with Rosogolla in particular and other Bengali sweet in general started very early in my life . In my Deoria house , there was a shop of Bengali sweets , known as Jalojog . I tasted Rosogolla once and became a life-long fan and now I can proudly claim that I am a Rosogolla connoisseur . So I refused to believe that Rosogolla is in any way related to Odisha .
I am happy that finally this unnecessary controversy will be put to rest. Odisha has many good things to offer but Rosogolla is quintessential Bengali and it should remain so.
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I have taken some facts and figures from Sunday edition of DNA – Daily News & Analysis , a popular news paper. Pictures of various Rosogollas have been taken from Wikipedia .
I express gratitude on behalf of all the students & staff of VIDUR Acting Institute , VIDUR Editing Studio , VIDUR Club and VIDUR Merchandise .
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