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Intellectual Property Right

Geographical Indication on Tant Saree

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Prof. Dr. Sanjeev Malage Puja Kumari Ram

MFM - III

2014-16

National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore

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Content

Topic Page No.

Introduction 3

Geographical indication in West Bengal 4

Chosen potential GI- Kolkata Rosogolla 5

History of Rosogolla 6

Geographical location 10

Economic importance 11

Uniqueness of product 11

Bibliography 13

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Introduction:

A geographical indication is an indication or a sign which specifies the geographical origin of

the product and links it with the essential qualities that are present in the product due to that

place of the origin. It is mainly used to identify the agricultural, handicraft, manufacturing

goods from the particular territory which has developed a good will and reputation in the

market due to the special characteristics like temperature, humidity, soil etc. associated with

the territory that are unique, and that help producing the goods, for example, Darjeeling tea.

Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 is the first act in

India to provide for registration and better protection of GI to goods. It came into force in

India since 2003.

GI should be protected in India because:

India is a rich storehouse of goods with reputation or quality which can be adduced to

their geographical origin or place of manufacture, need to protect Indian Treasures

The economic potential of these goods is enormous.

To prevent GI goods becoming generic

Need for a rule based system that is open, fair and provides for an enforcement

mechanism

Some identified Geographical Indications in India are Basmati Rice, Darjeeling Tea,

Kanchipuram Silk Saree, Alphonso Mango, Nagpur Orange, Kolhapuri Chappal etc.

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GI in West Bengal

Bengal is known for its rich agricultural, handloom, cottage industry, art and crafts, and food

and culinary heritage.

The state government has considered it expedient to provide adequate legal protection to the

Geographical Indications (GI) in West Bengal and to prevent unauthorized use of the

registered Geographical Indications by others.

The Government of West Bengal has declared the following Policy for the Registrations and

Protection of Geographical Indications of Goods in West Bengal and prescribed the following

procedure for identifying and dealing with the agricultural, natural or manufactured goods

originating in some specific area, region or locality within the territory of West Bengal,

leaving a special quality, reputation or production characteristics unique to such geographical

location. Only an authorized user will have the exclusive rights to use the Geographical

Indication in relation to goods in respect of which it is registered. The registration of a

Geographical Indication is for a period of ten years, with provision of renewal for further

periods and if it is not renewed, it is liable to be removed from the register. A Geographical

Indication will not be the subject matter of assignment, transmission, licensing, pledge,

mortgage or such other agreement.

Products are selected and verifies if at all suitable to protect under GI by consulting with the

Members of the Steering Committee, line Govt. departments/agency, producers and

Agriculture Universities (BCKV), having seen the market potentiality and export

possibilities.

Registered GI in West Bengal:

Darjeeling Tea

Nakshi Kantha

Shantiniketan Leather Goods

Lakshmanbhog Mango

Himsagar Mango

Fazli Mango

Shantipore Saree

Baluchari Saree

Dhaniakhali Saree

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Some potential GI in West Bengal:

The Patient Information Centre established in West Bengal State Council of Science and

Technology, has already identified some items which can be registered under G.I. Act, 1999.

Some of the identified items are as follows:

Murshidabad Silk

Phulia Tant

Bardhaman Mihidana

Bardhaman Sitabhog

Kolkata Rasogolla

Krishnanagar Sarbhaja

Jainagar Moa

Bardhaman- Purulia Dokra

Bishnupur Terra Cota

Krishnagar Matir Putul (clay-doll)

Chosen potential GI- Kolkata Rosogolla:

Rosogolla is a syrupy dessert popular in the Indian subcontinent. It is made from ball shaped

dumplings of chhena (an Indian cottage cheese) and semolina dough, cooked in light syrup

made of sugar. This is done until the syrup permeates the dumplings. The dish originated in

East India; the present-day states of Odisha and West Bengal are variously claimed to be the

birthplace of the dish.

However, keeping the debate aside, the Rosogolla originated from Kolkata, West Bengal has

its old history, unique flavour, reputation, and good will which differentiates it form

Rosogolla of any other place.

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History of Rosogolla:

The spongy white rosogulla is believed to have been introduced in present-day West

Bengal in 1868 by a Kolkata-based confectioner named Nobin Chandra Das. He is famously

known as "Rasagolla's Columbus".

Das started making rasgulla by processing the mixture of chhena and semolina in boiling

sugar syrup in contrast to the mixture sans semolina in the original rasgulla in his sweet shop

located at Sutanuti (present-day Baghbazar).

His descendants claim that his recipe was an original, but according to another theory, by the

time Nobin Das introduced rasgulla to Kolkata, it had already become a traditional sweet of

Orissa, in the cities of Bhubaneswar and Puri.   The recipe or rasgulla then spread from

Orissa to West Bengal. All this happened during the Renaissance when the Brahmin cooks

who belonged to Orissa were employed by the Bengali families. It was from here that the

various Orissa delicacies got incorporated into the Bengal kitchen.   During 1868, Nobin Das,

who belonged to Kolkata, modified the recipe of the rasgulla as he wanted to extend the life

of the sweet which was originally highly perishable. As a result of his modification, the

rasgulla became a lot spongier than it originally was but it remained non-perishable for quite

some time, which made it easier for Nobin Das to market it as a product. Subsequently, K.C.

Das who was Nobin Das's son began to can the rasgulla which resulted in the widespread

availability of the sweets.

Another theory is that rasgulla was first prepared by someone else in Bengal, and Das only

popularized it. In Banglar Khabar (1987), food historian Pranab Ray states that a man named

Braja Moira had introduced rosogolla in his shop near Calcutta High Court in 1866, two years

before Das started selling the dish.[22] In 1906, Panchana Bandopadhyay wrote that raosolla

was invented in 19th century by Haradhan Moira, a Phulia-based sweetmaker who worked

for the Pal Chowdhurys of Ranaghat.[23] According to Mistikatha, a newspaper published by

West Bengal Sweetmeat Traders Association, many other people prepared similar sweets

under different names such as gopalgolla (prepared by Gopal Moira of Burdwan

district), jatingolla, bhabanigolla and rasugolla.[22] Food historian Michael Krondl states that

irrespective of its origin, the rasgulla likely predates Nobin Chandra Das. A sales brochure of

the company run by Das' descendants also hints at this: "it is hard to tell whether or not

cruder versions of similar sweets existed anywhere at that time. Even if they did, they did not

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match the quality of Nobin Chandra, and having failed to excite the Bengali palate, they

slipped into oblivion.

Bhagwandas Bagla, a Marwari businessman and a customer of Nobin Chandra Das,

popularized the Bengali rosogolla beyond the shop's locality by ordering huge amounts.

Many of the eminent Bengali personality were fond of Nobin Chandra’s Rosogolla

including Rabindranath tagore, Swami Ramkrishna, Swami Vivekananda and many more.

It is rumored that Rabindranath Tagore was such a fan of Nobin Chandra’s rasogollas that he

could tell the difference just from the taste of it. Rani Rasmoni was also an elite customer of

Nobin Chandra Das, the first time when she had  a rosogolla from Nobin, with great

satisfaction she uttered “abar khabo!” (one more). This incidence inspired Nobin to include

one more variety called abbarkahbo.

With Kolkata being the second metropolis of the British empire, rosogolla became

synonymous with it and the emerging Bengali identity (although it was a Shekhawati

millionaire, the timber merchant Bhagwandas Bagla, who popularised it far beyond the

obscure corner of Baghbazar from where Nobin Chandra operated). Nobin Chandra, though,

must get the credit for using reetha (soap nuts) to counter an enzyme in the protein named

casein, the main component of chhena, which caused rosogolla balls to disintegrate when put

into sugar syrup.

The technique not only gave rosogollas stability and durability, but also their famed

sponginess by trapping the bubbles produced during the cooking process. And of course, it

was Nobin Chandra’s son, Krishna Chandra Das, who made these rosogollas a household

name by canning them. It was also KC Das who opened the first proper shop, Krishna

Chandra Das Confectioner, along with his younger son and Olympic weightlifter Sarada

Charan, to carry forward his father’s legacy.

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Types of Rossogolla

Rossogollas are available in different sizes and varieties. Some of these varieties are

described bellow.Conventional Rossogolla (white colored, soft and perishable)

1. Sponge Rossogolla

2. Kamola Bhog (Orange colored and orange flavored)

3. Cham cham

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4. Rajbhog

5. Nolen Gurer Rossogolla (Rossogolla with Bengal jaggery flavor)

Preparation:

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Geographical Loction:

Bagbazar was the origin of Bengal Rosogolla

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Geographical facts:

Country: India 

State: West Bengal 

Latitude: 22 degree 82 minutes North 

Longitude: 88 degrees 20 minutes East 

Altitude: 17 feet from sea level

Distance from sea: 60 miles from Bay of Bengal 

International Time: (+ 5 1/2) hours from GMT

Temperature Winter:(12-27C) Summer: (24-38C)

Average Rainfall: 160cm

Economical importance of Rosogolla:

The confectionery industry has flourished because of its close association with social and

religious ceremonies. Competition and changing tastes have helped to create many new

sweets, and today this industry has grown within the country as well as across the world.

Uniqueness:

Though there is a clash going on between Orissa and West Bengal about the claim for

Rosogolla, the sweet produced in Kolkata has its unique nature, taste and reputation.

To the world, rosogolla is actually synonymous with Kolkata.

The Kolkata rosogolla is a much developed version of the Orissa one and it went on being so

popular that rosogolla has been known as a Bengali delicacy only.

Nobin Das, who belonged to Kolkata, modified the recipe of the rosogolla as he wanted to

extend the life of the sweet which was originally highly perishable. As a result of his

modification, the rasgulla became a lot spongier than it originally was but it remained non-

perishable for quite some time, which made it easier for Nobin Das to market it as a product.

Subsequently, K.C. Das who was Nobin Das's son began to can the rasgulla which resulted in

the widespread availability of the sweets.

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In 1930, the introduction of vacuum packing by Nobin Chandra's son Krishna Chandra

Das led to the availability of canned Rasgullas, which made the dessert popular outside

Kolkata, and subsequently, outside India. Krishna Chandra's son Sarada Charan

Das established the K.C. Das Pvt Ltd company in 1946.] Sarada Charan's younger, estranged

son Debendra Nath established K.C. Das Grandsons in 1956.

Today, canned rasgullas are available throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as

in South Asian grocery stores outside the subcontinent.

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Bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasgulla

http://www.pinkjooz.com/index.php/rosogolla-who-owns-it-bengal-or-orissa/

http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/history-of-rasgulla-2327.html

http://www.ipindia.nic.in/eLearning/GI.pdf

file:///C:/Users/Admin/Downloads/Chap-May07_16.PDF

http://www.indiamarks.com/rasgulla-a-traditional-syrup-based-dessert-bengal/#