Chennai: Leaving aside all the modern age idiosyncrasy of always being in shape, is there really any ;authentic;bong who can defy those ever-tempting white, tender, spongy balls, brimming with some thick, intense, drool-worthy sugary syrup? Yes, you guessed it right! We are talking about the apple of discord between West Bengal and neighbouring state Odisha.
To much delight, November 14 will always remain a red-letter-day for the bongs as the Geographical Indications Registry declared those as the winning party in the decade-long debate over ‘who owns rosogollas’?
It all started 3 years ago when an Odisha based researcher Surya Narayan Nath Sharma suddenly came up with the neighbouring state's parentage over one of the most mouth-watering desserts of the county.
Not just that, the state's science and technology minister even went to the point of setting up committees for that matter. Exhibitions, awareness campaigns were organised across the state to claim its dominance but, to much of satisfaction, the West Bengal government didn't keep quiet and chose to take the legal path instead as Bengal's Nobin Chandra Das has always been widely touted as the ‘Columbus of Rosogolla’, the godfather of present-day renowned confectionery ‘K.C. Das’.
While a little dig into history reveals, it took Das years to come up with the perfect ingredients which would rightly compliment the taste, the texture and literally everything about the pride of Bengal and today's verdict is just worth all the efforts, sentiments of thousands of bongs spread across the world.
From foreign dignitaries like Fidel Castro, our very own Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan (officially the brand ambassador of Bengal) to any random visitor to a Bengali household, rosogolla has always proved appealing, a key to the heart.
The colour, the texture, the thickness, the lustre: everything is just so perfect! Heartfelt thanks to the government of West Bengal for taking the initiative to let the truth be known!
