Dessert of the gods

The rasogolla is seasoned with rich folklore, literary tradition and spirituality, and now has the added GI tag as well, writes Monideepa Sahu

A heavenly sweet from Eastern India, this dessert was made and enjoyed at least seven hundred years ago, according to documented historical records. This sweet is seasoned with rich folklore, literary tradition and spirituality. It recently caused a fierce social media war between two neighbouring states. The hostilities continued until both states were awarded GI tags for their respective versions of this sweet treasure.

The rosogolla of Bengal and the rasagola of Odisha caused the flare-up. Let’s begin with Bengal’s side of the story. The spongy and chewy white rasgulla — as it is also known in the rest of India — is believed to have been introduced in 1868 by sweet maker Nobin Chandra Das of Calcutta. Das started making rasgulla by adding semolina or sooji to the chena/fresh paneer/cottage cheese and then placing balls of the mixture in boiling sugar syrup. His descendants claim this recipe is an original innovation. These sweets do not easily crumble or spoil as quickly as the original rasogolla made only of chena, which Das made in his shop in today’s Baghbazar in Kolkata.

The descendant of Nobin Chandra Das, K C Das, popularised this sweet by canning them, and they safely travelled to all parts of India and the world. However, some scholars state that Nobin Chandra Das adjusted the traditional Odisha rasogola recipe to create his less perishable variant. As British India’s capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi, Bengali sweet makers opened shops such as the Annapurna Bhandar in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk (1920s), popularising rosogolla, sandesh and mishti doi as Bengali sweets.

In Odisha, rasogola is offered by Lord Jagannath to appease his wife Lakshmi Devi when he returns home to his temple after the ratha yatra. According to documented historical records, this tradition is at least 700 years old, says noted Jagannath scholar Asit Mohanty. He adds that rasogola is mentioned by name in the Odiya Dandi Ramayana in the 15th century by Balaram Das. Rasogolas play an important role in Niladri Bije rituals of Lord Jagannath on the final day of the rath yatra. Lakshmi Devi is furious with her husband Lord Jagannath for leaving her behind during the ratha yatra. She watches from the top of the temple’s main gate as Lord Jagannath returns from the journey. As the deities alight from their chariots, she allows her elder brother-in-law Lord Balabhadra, sister-in-law Devi Subhadra and the divine weapon Sudarshan to enter the temple. Lakshmi Devi’s grievance is against her husband. Why did he forget his newly married wife?

Laxmi has reason to be upset as just five days after their marriage on Rukmini Harana Ekadashi, Lord Jagannath took his annual ritual bath on Deva Snana Poornima. Then he fell sick and was quarantined for two weeks. Immediately after recovering, he set off on his ratha yatra. Worried and lonely, Lakshmi went to see him at the Gundicha temple. Priests welcomed her and Lord Jagannath sent his garland, but he did not meet her. Lakshmi returned hurt and disappointed. When Jagannath returns, he spends a day outside in his chariot blessing devotees and observing various rituals. When he finally tries to enter the temple, Lakshmi vents her grievances.

At this point, priests act out the spat between Lord Jagannath and Lakshmi Devi. Accusations and arguments flow fast and furious. This conforms with the ancient holy texts Brahma Puran and Skanda Puran, and classical poetical works such as Deulatola of Sisu Krushna Das, Laxmi Narayana Kali of Kali Charan Kabisurya, and Nila Sundar Gita of poet Sekhar Das. Depending on the classical texts followed in Jagannath temples in different regions of Odisha, the dialogues can be sharp and earthy.

Thus, Lakshmi calls Jagannath a black-faced cowherd and accuses him of having fun with the gopis on the pretext of going away to perform spiritual duties. Lord Jagannath explains his commitments and then tries to win his wife over with gifts of gorgeous chitrameghi silks and sweet flattery. Nothing cuts ice with the wounded wife until the rasogola appears.

Lord Jagannath’s rasogolas, made according to the ancient traditional recipe, are soft melt-in-your-mouth balls of pure chena cooked in light sugar syrup. How can Lakshmi Devi resist them? Asit Mohanty draws our attention to the Skanda Puran, which refers to the deeper spiritual significance of these charming rituals. The Nirakar or formless Supreme Divine takes the form of Lord Jagannath to do manab leela or human activities. Thus the god shares the daily joys and sorrows of ordinary mortals. In 2015, a committee formed by the government of Odisha asserted that the sweet had originated in Odisha, where it has been offered at the Jagannath Temple in Puri for many centuries. And then social media exploded. Finally, both West Bengal and Odisha won GI tags for their versions of the delectable sweet. The Odisha rasagola, originally made in the village of Pahala near Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, also got the GI tag. It is different from the spongy white Banglar rasogolla with its brownish colour and soft, crumbly texture. Irrespective of where you get to eat it, let’s appreciate the unique characteristics and enjoy all variants of this divine sweet.