No beef here: Mamata and Naveen should jointly host a roshogolla party
In the end, it really doesn't matter if it's of Bengali or Odiya origin, because the roshogolla has today become the preferred dessert for millions across India though it must be conceded its iconic status as an 'anytime, anywhere' sweet indulgence is manifest most visibly in the two eastern States. The Geographical Indications (GI) status granted to West Bengal, where the syrupy, cottage cheese sponge ball was created in 1869 by Nabin Chandra Das, comes after a protracted legal battle with neighbouring Odisha which too claimed to be the place of origin of the roshogolla. That debate is now settled and residents of the neighbouring States should revel in the epicurean delights afforded by a couple of roshogollas rather than gloat or groan.
Though variants, generically dismissed as rasgulla, have been around in other States, it is safe to say that the version created by a Bengal confectioner looking to beat his competitors with something unique and whose invention was endorsed by the Brits became the popular choice and one of the first example of the successful marketing of an Indian sweetmeat. Today, cans of roshogollas are routinely exported the world over though connoisseurs will tell you they just don't taste the same when not freshly prepared and, ideally, consumed the same day. That the sweetmeat tastes divine can be gauged from the fact that many in Odisha ascribe the existence of the roshogolla to the 12th century in the temple of lord Jagannath. The legend goes, according to some priests, that the lord created the sweet to placate an angry Goddess lakshmi who was upset at being left out from his annual Rathyatra. It reportedly settled the spousal tiff. Culinary historians, however, are clear that curdled milk or milk solids, in this case cottage cheese, were not offered to any avatar of lord Vishnu except as flowing milk, butter or ghee; in fact, it was considered unholy to break down the elements. So, the Puri temple may have co-opted the innovation, particularly as cottage cheese began to be seen as a quick and consumable option to deal with excess milk. And given that Odisha is yet to file a GI application of its variant, its legacy will surely also be recognized. In the interim, Chief Ministers Mamata Bannerji of West Bengal and Naveen Patnaik of Odisha can do no better than to host a joint roshogolla party with the condition that no guest will be allowed to have just one! That would be an appropriate nod to more gentle and gracious times when intellectual property was not about protection but sharing. Das — whose innovation was to add reetha to inflate the micro pores of the cottage cheese balls and bubble them up in a hot sugar solution, making them absorbent and buoyant — certainly did his bit by educating everybody about his new sweetmeat.