On Tuesday, the Indian state of West Bengal declared victory over the neighbouring state of Odisha ending a bitter tug-of-war over a traditional sweet ‘Rasgulla’ that's made with cottage cheese and sugar syrup.
West Bengalchief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her state had been granted the GI statues (Geographical Indication) for the sweet that’s called Rosogolla in the region. She was clearly delighted and took to Twitter to break the news to the people of her state.
NDTV reports that the jubilant people of the state took out celebratory processions in the state capital, Kolkata after the Geographical Indication Registry announced its decision.
The GI tag provides an assurance of quality and uniqueness, attributable to the place of its origin.
This agricultural, natural or a manufactured cultural product is awarded a tag by experts to protect manufacturers who produce these genuine products. They also get a premium pricing for the same in the domestic and international markets thanks to the tag.
In 2005, the feud between West Bengal and Odisha intensified when the latter claimed the sweet had originated in Odisha and not West Bengal. The state’s Science and Technology minister claimed there was conclusive evidence that the sweet had existed in his state for over 600 years.
But, the West Bengal government claims that ‘rosogolla’ (that’s what the sweet is called in the region) was invented by a famous sweet maker Nabin Das in the nineteenth century. Das also founded a famous confectionary chain, KC Das.
“There was in him an intense desire to create a sweetmeat that was never there before... the ultimate delicacy. He toiled for months, and sometime in 1868, his labour paid off. He made small balls of casein (cottage cheese) and boiled them in hot sugar syrup. The result was a succulent, spongy sweet with a unique taste. Nobin Das christened it ‘rosogolla’ and a legend was born,” says a booklet published recently by KC Das.
His great-grandson Dhiman Das, the executive director of KC Das Pvt Ltd, said they were feeling relieved.
“We provided evidence to back the claim that ‘rosogolla’ originated in Bengal. We are also thankful to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for taking the initiative of applying for GI registration,” The Tribune quoted him saying.
However, Odisha isn’t willing to give up just yet.
“We will scrutinise the GI order. I shall hold a meeting with the ministers of Odisha government as well as with my party leaders to decide the future course of action. The door of the courts is always open,” Maheswar Mohanty a ruling party legislator told the Hindustan Times.
