Didi finally gets her rosogolla
A bitter tussle over a popular sweet has been resolved with West Bengal undermining Odisha’s claim and establishing its original proprietary rights to the Rosogolla.
An excited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee celebrated the news with a tweet from London, saying: "Sweet news for us all. We are very happy and proud that Bengal has been granted GI (Geographical Indication) status for Rosogolla." The two states were locked in the legal battle over the origin of the cottage cheesebased sweet since June 2015. Odisha had claimed that it has been distributing the delicacy at the famed Puri Jagannath temple for ages.
(The GI status under the World Trade Organization is an acknowledgement that a product originated in a particular place.) Confronted with the claim, West Bengal, which had sought the GI tag, altered its application and contended that it was vying for the unique status for its variant of Rasogolla, popularly known as Banglar Rasogolla. It had then argued that this variant was different from the similar looking sweet made in Odisha in terms of colour, taste, texture and juice content.
According to G Naidu, who heads the Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai, once the GI tag has been awarded to the Banglar Rasogolla, it cannot be prepared by anyone outside West Bengal and sold under that name.
Bengal food processing Minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah welcomed the GI announcement and said, “It was not merely a battle over Rosogolla, but a battle of pride and identity for Bengalis.” The battle turned bitter when Odisha’s Science and Technology Minister Pradip Kumar Panigrahi set up several committees in 2015 to trace the origin of 'Rosogolla'. They even went a step further to declare July 30 as ‘Rasagolla Dibasa’, to celebrate its origin. Then Bengal government too then set up a committee and decided to fight the Odisha government's claims legally. The Mamata Banerjee government, while referring to the 19th century origin of the 'Rosogolla,' argued that the quintessential Bengali delicacy was created by Nabin Chandra Das, a famous sweetmeat-maker in 1868.Ganguram's owner, Ram Ji said, “It's a great relief for us. I would like to thank the concerned ministry for doing justice to us.” Ganguram is one of the most popular sweet chains in Kolkata that is famous for its 'Rosogollas'. Owner of the famous sweetmeat chain KC Das, Dhiman Das said, “I don’t have enough words to thank the GI officials. We are in business for several decades and I knew 'Rosogolla' is our creation. This is a victory for all Banga Bashi”. (Quotes CNN IBN)