Bengal celebrates 'Rosogolla Day' to mark GI tag granting

'Rosogolla Dibas' (Rasgulla Day) was celebrated in West Bengal on Thursday to mark the granting of Geographical Indication (GI) tag of 'Banglar Rosogolla' (Bengal's Rasgulla) to the state on this day two years ago.

The statue of Nabin Chandra Das, inventor of the Bengal variant of the sweetmeat, at Bagbazar area of north Kolkata was garlanded in the presence of state minister Sashi Panja, said Dhiman Das, a descendant of Nobin Chandra Das and owner of K C Das Private Ltd.

Street children and inmates of shelter homes near the residence of K C Das (Krishna Chandra Das), son of Nobin Chandra Das, at Gourimata Udyan Park in the northern part of the city were treated with Rosogollas on the occasion, Dhiman Das said.

"For the first time in the history of the sweetmeat industry in West Bengal, almost all sweet shops in the state are dedicating this day to Rosogolla," he said.

At state government's 'Misti Hub' in the northeastern fringe of the city, new varieties of Rosogollas have been displayed at the outlets of popular sweetmeat brands, an official of the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), that runs the hub, said.

Hundreds of people were treated with the sweetmeat at an event at Khadina More in Hooghly district, said Amitava Dey of 'Felu Modak' and an office-bearer of Paschim Banga Mistanna Byabasayee Samity (West Bengal Sweetmeat Traders' Committee).

"The centuries-old truth was vindicated by the GI tag," Dey said, adding that this year's celebration was on a scale grander than last year.

A GI tag identifies a product as originating from a particular region.

West Bengal and Odisha were involved in a tug-of-war to stake a claim for the origin of the sweetmeat.

While West Bengal was granted the GI tag for 'Banglar Rosogulla' or the Bengal variant of the sweetmeat in 2017, Odisha got the GI tag for 'Odisha Rasagola' or the Odisha variant earlier this year.