Now, Odisha seeks validation for its ‘Odia rasagola’

On a day the West Bengal government celebrated GI status for rosogolla, the Odisha government did not contest the claim but asserted it was in the process of getting the same validation for the original Odia avatar of the sweet — rasagola.

On Tuesday, the Geographical Indications (GI) registry announced that the rosogolla originated in Bengal, and not i n Odisha.

“It has come to our notice that Banglar Rosogolla has been registered with GI on an application filed by the government of West Bengal. This only provides GI tag to the Banglar Rosogolla specific to West Bengal,” said LN Gupta, additional chief secretary of Odisha’s micro, small and medium enterprises department. “Odisha is in the process of obtaining the GI for Odishara Rasagola,” he added.

His department has been entrusted with the task of moving the GI registry for validation. The state is yet to apply for the GI status. Gupta said Odisha was building a foolproof pitch.

In September 2015, Odisha decided to stake claim for the GI registration for rasagola and formed three panels for suggestions on the process of the application. Rasagola was the first food item for which Odisha would seek GI status, and officials said a thorough approach was necessary.

One of the committees, in its report, cited several references to the sweet in Dandi Ramayana, a version of the epic adapted by Balaram Das in the 16th century. The report said the sweet was offered to deities in mutts and temples for over 600 years.

Odisha claims rasagola has been served in the Lord Jagannath temple since the 12th century, much before Bengal knew about it.

The Chennai-based GI registry’s officials said Odisha could lay claim to rasagola’s origins with proper documentation.

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