BackWhy the Rasagola War is not over yet
The Rasagola War has also landed up in Odisha high court through a PIL where granting of the GI tag to West Bengal has been challenged
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After spending a late summer vacation of nine days at his aunt’s place, popularly known as Rath Yatra, Lord Jagannath along with his siblings, has returned to the grand road or Bada Danda near the temple but still sitting pretty on his chariot.
On the first day of his return, the Lords are adorned with fancy gold jewellery in the ritual known as Suna Besa. On the second day, the Lords are offered a sweet and scented drink prepared by concocting milk, cheese, fruits and camphor known as Adharapanaa. The Lords only get to enter the temple on the third day of their return.
But that’s not easy either. Lord Jagannath—the Lord of the Universe—has to first woo his disgruntled consort Goddess Laxmi as the Lord has been holidaying without his wife. To pacify the spouse, Jagannath offers a pot of syrupy Rasgulla. Only after that, the Lord is allowed to enter the temple. This ritual is called Neeladri Bije and is celebrated on Wednesday. That day is now marked by Odias as “Rasagola Dibasa" or Rasgulla Day every year.
While West Bengal got the geographical indication (GI) tag last year for the local variety of Rasgulla from the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks, the debate over the origin of the syrupy cottage cheese (chhena) dumpling is far from over. Odisha has also applied for the GI tag for its local variety which is quite distinct from the Bengal version in texture and taste. The issue has also landed up in Odisha high court through a Public Interest Litigation where granting of the GI tag to West Bengal has been challenged.
Though Bengalis claim Rasgulla was invented by Nobin Chandra Das (Birth: 1845) at his Bagbazar residence in Kolkata, Odias cite the age old tradition of Niladri Bije where Rasgulla is offered, at least starting 12th century when the present structure of the temple was constructed. However, there was little written evidence available to support the claim. At one time, even the Odisha government declared that a committee set up for the purpose has failed to collect any evidence. However, an Odia culture scholar Asit Mohanty brought out many unknown facts about Rasgulla through his diligent research. Mohanty found mention of the word Rasagola in the 15th Century Odia Dandi Ramayan written by the famous poet of the mediaeval age Balaram Das, who wrote his own version of the epic well before Tulasi Das wrote Ram Charita Manasa in the 16th century. Mohanty also quoted many other Odia and Sanskrit texts to prove that chhena or cottage cheese was known to Indians much before the French and Portuguese arrived in India.
Some argue that the French introduced cheese to India first when they arrived at Chandannagar on the bank of Hooghly river in 1673, in support of the claim that Rasgulla was invented in Bengal.
In his book Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert, food historian Michael Krondl writes: “Certainly the French were partial to fresh curd and cheese, but then so were the English; they too occasionally used an acid to coagulate milk as was the common practice in India."
Krondle also disagrees with the argument that since cheese is prepared by splitting milk, Rasgulla could not have been a part of Jagannath culture before it was first prepared in Bengal. “In Bengal, sweets made with chhena have traditionally not been permitted in Hindu temples, yet it is entirely possible that this restriction didn’t exist in Odisha; Hindu dietary rules vary greatly from region to region," he concludes.
The Rasagola war between the Odias and Bengalis is certainly far from over.
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