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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

Content

Topic

Page No.

Introduction

Geographical indication in West Bengal

Chosen potential GI- Kolkata Rosogolla

History of Rosogolla

Geographical location

10

Economic importance

11

Uniqueness of product

11

Bibliography

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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.

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

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.

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
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 Chandras Rosogolla
including Rabindranath tagore, Swami Ramkrishna, Swami Vivekananda and many more.
It is rumored that Rabindranath Tagore was such a fan of Nobin Chandras 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 Chandras 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 fathers legacy.

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

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 nonperishable 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/#