How about Banglagolla and, why not, Odiagola?

West Bengal obtaining a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2017 for Banglar Rasogolla left a sour taste in many mouths, especially in the state on its southern border.

So, the GI tag for Odia Rasagola this week can be considered sweet revenge. Even Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted asserting the ancient Odia antecedents of the spongy chhena (cottage cheese) globules floating in sugary syrup and its most exalted consumer, Goddess Lakshmi at Puri’s Jagannath Temple.



Odisha even began celebrating the last day of the annual Ratha Yatra in Puri as Rasagola Dibasa from 2015 to underline its origin. West Bengal’s rasogolla version cannot claim such divine provenance, nor cite lineage going back any further than the 19th century, but the sweetmakers of that state have arguably done more to popularise it than Odisha.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and every version — including north India’s ‘rasgulla’ and ‘rasbhari’ variants — have their fans. It is unlikely, however, that the bitter rivalry between the two eastern states will end with this certification.

The West Bengal chief minister will hopefully not attribute the government-awarded tag to a new entente between the Centre and Odisha. As for the future of the similarly named sweet, it may lead to new monikers for both, as some have already suggested: Banglagolla and Odiagola.