Bhubaneswar: In a meeting held today under the Chairmanship of Development Commissioner Shri R. Balakrishnan, it has been decided to file an application for Odishara Rasagola with the GI Registry. ACS, MSME; Principal Secretary, Law; Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Science & Technology and Director of Industries were present in the meeting amongst others. Banglar Rasogolla has been registered with Geographical Indication (GI) on an application filed by Govt. of West Bengal. This only provides GI Tag to the Banglar Rasogolla specific to the West Bengal. It is clarified that the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag is an intellectual property identifier for a product. GI is a name or sign used on certain products, which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin e.g. a town, a region or a country and possesses qualities or reputation that are due to that origin. Registration of GI for Banglar Rasogolla in no way affects the claim for GI registration of Odishar Rasogolla. The Bengal and Odisha variants are different in colour, texture, taste, juice content and method of manufacturing. The Odishara Rasagola is softer and light brown in colour whereas, Bangalar Rasogolla is white and cream in colour. The syrup used in both the variants is also different. To illustrate further, similar products and goods that are essentially the same kind of product or good still exist as a separate Geographical Indication due to the virtue of their geographical origin, distinctness and uniqueness.
Some of the examples are :• For Laddu – Tirupathi Laddu and Bandar Laddu
• For Tea – Darjeeling Tea and Kangra Tea
• For Chilli – Mizo Chilli and Bhiwapur Chilli
• For Mango – Laxman Bhog Mango and Banaganapalle Mango
There are historical mentions of Rasagola’s association with traditions and practices associated with the Lord Jagannath. Rasagola has been traditionally offered as bhog to Goddess Lakshmi at the Jagannath Temple, Puri and this ritual is known as Bachanika; a part of the “Niladri Bije” observance, which marks the return of the deities to the temple after the Ratha Yatra Festival. This practice has existed for centuries.
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