A postal stamp dedicated to Nabin Chandra Das, inventor of Rasogolla, West Bengal's spongy, syrupy round-shaped sweet, was launched on Friday on the inaugural day of the three-day festival marking the 150th year of its invention.
"I am very happy that the 150th year of the great invention is being celebrated so elaborately. The sweet-makers from the districts are here as well, it is a great opportunity for them," said Dhiman Das, inventor's great-great-grandson.
The fest, Bagbazar-O-Rasogolla Utsob, is being organised at Bagbazar Gourimata Udyan from December 28-30.
Appreciating the northern side of the city, Mayor of Kolkata and Urban Developement Minister Firhad Hakim said: "The people of North Kolkata have preserved the creativity and culture very well. There has been a long fight for Rosogolla. Ultimately Bengal got the honour of its invention".
West Bengal won the Geographical Indication (GI) for 'Banglar Rasogolla' on November 14, 2017, signifying that the specific variety of the spongy, syrupy sweet originated in its territory.
The Bengal government applied for the GI tag with documentary evidence to prove the particular variety of the sweet belongs to Bengal and was invented by famous sweetmeat maker Nabin Chandra Das in 1868.
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Deputy Mayor Atin Ghosh said such a fest with 'a single food item is one of its kind'.
"We chose this day for the three-day Rosogolla festival as it is the birth anniversary of Sarada Ma. This is our effort to honour the inventor and also to uphold the history of Bagbazar," said Shashi Panja, the brain behind the initiative and Mayor-in-Council, Kolkata.
It is the 165th birth anniversary of Sarada Devi, the spiritual consort of the 19th-century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
The dignitaries inaugurated the postal stamp in the presence of J. Charukesi, Postmaster General of Kolkata region, national award-winning Bengali actress Rituparna Sengupta and others.
A statue of the inventor was unveiled on the occasion and a book titled 'Bagbazar' written by Haripada Bhowmick launched.
As many as 25 stalls dedicated to different sweets shops of the city are offering the spongy delight and other sweets. Visitors can also enjoy telebhaja (fried snack) and biriyani.
--IANS
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