Published: 12:00 AM, 26 August 2016
War on Rasgulla
Rasgulla, the syrupy dessert, was first originated and developed in Bangladesh. It is one of the traditional foods of Bangladesh which has a heritage of some 250 years.When any Bengali talks about sweet, nothing can beat Rasgulla. In every Bangladeshi occasion or any good news it is a must have dessert.
However, Bangladesh is very reputedly well-known all over the world for its food habit, tradition and culture. Though Bangladesh had a great history of making Moslin and Jamdani cloths but these traditional arts are being abolished. Moreover, Basmati rice, another traditional food item of Bangladeshis has now been an item of another country.It's a silent threat to the next generation as they are unaware of this matter. Bangladesh government should take necessary steps in this regard.
On the other hand, the Indian claim over ownership has raised fresh controversies of the historical origin of Rasgulla between West Bengal and Odisha. Who owns the delicious Rasgulla? The two states of West Bengal and Odisha have racked up a fight over the origin of the sweet which have even taken the matter to court.While West Bengal claims that the first-ever Rasgulla was made by Bengal's Nabin Chandra Das, Odisha government has claimed it to be a traditional sweet of the state's famous Jagannath Puri temple. Both Odisha and West Bengal governments are at loggerheads over the issue, and the latter has appealed for acquiring geographical indication (GI) tag for Rasgulla. GI tag is like a brand name granted to a product because of its geographical uniqueness. This might give West Bengal an upper hand in the case.
On the other hand, Odisha government celebrated ' Rasgulla Diwas' on July 15 this year to justify Odisha's claim as the birthplace of Rasgulla.The first hearing of the case took place on August 22. The decision may take over a year, West Bengal government's science and technology department's nodal officer Mahuya Hom Choudhury said.West Bengal has submitted the application for a (Geographical Indication) GI tag for the Rasgulla to stake claim on the sugary delicacy and beat Odisha in last September. The syrupy, soft spongy balls of Indian cottage cheese, the Rasgulla, have virtually unleashed a war between two Indian states.
Both Odisha and West Bengal have entered the fray to stake their claim on the famed dessert.The Odisha government recently decided to form three committees which will counter Bengal's claim as the birthplace of Rasgulla.Bengal is claiming that Nabin Chandra Das had introduced the sweet in 1868, while the Odisha government has said the tradition of offering rasgulla by Lord Jagannath to Goddess Laxmi on the day of Niladri Bije (the day when the deities return to their abode after the annual Rath Yatra) is at least 300 years old indicating that it was much older than the 150-year history of Bengal's Rasgulla.
"Bengal is the birth place of Rasgulla and we prepared a detailed dossier on its origins based on evidence from Das family and historian Haripada Bhowmik. There is no question on the origins as far as Bengal is concerned," the official said Odisha government claimed to have found a new evidence about the origin of 'Rasgulla' in the state to bolster its case for getting the GI tag for the sweet, for which West Bengal is also a claimant.
"Now we have collected authentic evidence about the availability of Rasgulla in Odisha prior to 1500 AD," Science and Technology minister Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi said.The minister's claim was based on a report prepared by the expert committee set up to collect evidence in favour of Odisha's demand for geographical indication (GI) tag for the sweet, known in West Bengal as Rasgulla."Committee member Asit Mohanty has submitted evidence regarding existence of Rasgulla in Odisha before 1,500 AD. The department will examine the report and take appropriate steps within two weeks to present the evidence before the central government," Panigrahi said.
The commitee has presented a 27-page research paper and a 100-page document comprising 75 points proving that Rasgulla originated in Odisha."Odisha will definitely get the GI tag on Rasgulla as the West Bengal government hasn't applied for the same due to lack of concrete evidence to support its claims," Mohanty said.The committee in its report said Rasgulla as a sweet was cited in 'Dandee Ramayana', the Odia adaptation of the Valmiki Ramayana by sage poet Balarama Das.
Further, Dandee Ramayana has featured in World e-Book of 1921 published by Calcutta University which has a mention of Rasgulla's Association with traditions and practices associated with Lord Jagannath, Mohanty said.He claimed that the sweet was being offered to gods in muths and temples of Odisha for over 600 years.The committee also refuted Bengal's claim that Rasgulla came to Odisha under the influence of Shri Chaitanya. The Mohanty committee in its report has also mentioned that selections from Odia literature published by Calcutta University in 1924 had references to the sweet's origin in Odisha.
However, Bangladesh is very reputedly well-known all over the world for its food habit, tradition and culture. Though Bangladesh had a great history of making Moslin and Jamdani cloths but these traditional arts are being abolished. Moreover, Basmati rice, another traditional food item of Bangladeshis has now been an item of another country.It's a silent threat to the next generation as they are unaware of this matter. Bangladesh government should take necessary steps in this regard.
On the other hand, the Indian claim over ownership has raised fresh controversies of the historical origin of Rasgulla between West Bengal and Odisha. Who owns the delicious Rasgulla? The two states of West Bengal and Odisha have racked up a fight over the origin of the sweet which have even taken the matter to court.While West Bengal claims that the first-ever Rasgulla was made by Bengal's Nabin Chandra Das, Odisha government has claimed it to be a traditional sweet of the state's famous Jagannath Puri temple. Both Odisha and West Bengal governments are at loggerheads over the issue, and the latter has appealed for acquiring geographical indication (GI) tag for Rasgulla. GI tag is like a brand name granted to a product because of its geographical uniqueness. This might give West Bengal an upper hand in the case.
On the other hand, Odisha government celebrated ' Rasgulla Diwas' on July 15 this year to justify Odisha's claim as the birthplace of Rasgulla.The first hearing of the case took place on August 22. The decision may take over a year, West Bengal government's science and technology department's nodal officer Mahuya Hom Choudhury said.West Bengal has submitted the application for a (Geographical Indication) GI tag for the Rasgulla to stake claim on the sugary delicacy and beat Odisha in last September. The syrupy, soft spongy balls of Indian cottage cheese, the Rasgulla, have virtually unleashed a war between two Indian states.
Both Odisha and West Bengal have entered the fray to stake their claim on the famed dessert.The Odisha government recently decided to form three committees which will counter Bengal's claim as the birthplace of Rasgulla.Bengal is claiming that Nabin Chandra Das had introduced the sweet in 1868, while the Odisha government has said the tradition of offering rasgulla by Lord Jagannath to Goddess Laxmi on the day of Niladri Bije (the day when the deities return to their abode after the annual Rath Yatra) is at least 300 years old indicating that it was much older than the 150-year history of Bengal's Rasgulla.
"Bengal is the birth place of Rasgulla and we prepared a detailed dossier on its origins based on evidence from Das family and historian Haripada Bhowmik. There is no question on the origins as far as Bengal is concerned," the official said Odisha government claimed to have found a new evidence about the origin of 'Rasgulla' in the state to bolster its case for getting the GI tag for the sweet, for which West Bengal is also a claimant.
"Now we have collected authentic evidence about the availability of Rasgulla in Odisha prior to 1500 AD," Science and Technology minister Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi said.The minister's claim was based on a report prepared by the expert committee set up to collect evidence in favour of Odisha's demand for geographical indication (GI) tag for the sweet, known in West Bengal as Rasgulla."Committee member Asit Mohanty has submitted evidence regarding existence of Rasgulla in Odisha before 1,500 AD. The department will examine the report and take appropriate steps within two weeks to present the evidence before the central government," Panigrahi said.
The commitee has presented a 27-page research paper and a 100-page document comprising 75 points proving that Rasgulla originated in Odisha."Odisha will definitely get the GI tag on Rasgulla as the West Bengal government hasn't applied for the same due to lack of concrete evidence to support its claims," Mohanty said.The committee in its report said Rasgulla as a sweet was cited in 'Dandee Ramayana', the Odia adaptation of the Valmiki Ramayana by sage poet Balarama Das.
Further, Dandee Ramayana has featured in World e-Book of 1921 published by Calcutta University which has a mention of Rasgulla's Association with traditions and practices associated with Lord Jagannath, Mohanty said.He claimed that the sweet was being offered to gods in muths and temples of Odisha for over 600 years.The committee also refuted Bengal's claim that Rasgulla came to Odisha under the influence of Shri Chaitanya. The Mohanty committee in its report has also mentioned that selections from Odia literature published by Calcutta University in 1924 had references to the sweet's origin in Odisha.
