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Friday, 30 April 2021

Zest for Rasagola And Zero Reference #RasagolaA2Z

All these years, it has been terrible to spot fake news and misinformation regarding Rasgulla i.e. Rasagola. The propaganda still continues. 

The choice is- either to simply watch or to do something to change the wrong perception.

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. -Ralph Waldo Emerson"
Zest means- a feeling of enjoyment, excitement, and enthusiasm.
Zeal means- great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.

Our zeal and zest for Rasagola and belief in Shree Jagannatha has kept our hope alive that the truth- Odisha is the land of invention of the Rasagola & Rasagola has centuries-old association with the Shree Jagannatha Temple, Puri, Odisha- will triumph one day.

Zero Association

Despite being the birthplace of Rasagola, Odisha used to have zero association or top-of-mind-recall when it came to Rasgulla. 

Even today, what will most people answer when asked- "Which place is famous for Rasagola?"

Thanks to our zest that ensured activism, advocacy, and action, now many know that Odisha is "also" linked with the Rasagola.

Zeal And Zest for Rasagola  

Odisha loves Rasagola.

Odisha first celebrated Rasagola Dibasa i.e. Rasgulla Day in 2015 on social media to inform all about Niladri Bije, the centuries-old continuing tradition on the last day of Rath Yatra where Rasagola has been offered as prasad for centuries. This year 2021 will mark the seventh celebration online.

Odisha submitted the GI application on February 23, 2018 (and not in 2015; misinformation was spread that "Odisha lost".) 
Odisha earned the GI tag for Odisha Rasagola on July 29, 2019.

Our zeal and zest has ensured that the Niladri Bije tradition of Rath Yatra is celebrated on social media as #RasagolaDibasa.
Also, our zeal and zest has made the Odisha Rasagola Geographical Indication (GI) tag possible.
Now, the world must accept Rasagola's link with Odisha and the "origin" issue as well. 

Note- Rasagola has been a part of Odisha's traditional knowledge, continuing tradition, cultural heritage and identity for centuries. Rasagola is ubiquitous in Odisha- in all events, festivals and celebrations - from birth to death. 

These posts dedicated to Rasagola show our zest- Rasagola posts.

"Food Wars" prove the zest of all to claim ownership of a great dish/food/cuisine!

When two states fight, it is time for others to stake claim and say that a third is right!
As per this satire published in My Voice of Quint, Rasgulla owes its existence to Mughals! 
But, such zest, must be aware of supporting evidence and historical and cultural association.

Why the cultural appropriation?

Zero Reference

We Odias do not refer to "zero" as Rasagola.
We would rather use "Alu" (Potato) to refer to zero.
Rasagola is a sacred treat.

Apart from being served as a bhoga/prasad for Devi Lakshmi and Shree Jagannatha on Niladri Bije, the last day of the Ratha Jatra, Rasagola has a cultural and emotional association with Odias. 

We cannot even dream of tampering our Rasagola.
That would be sacrilege as Rasagola means a lot to us. 
Who would think of creating it using mud and pebbles?

Two years ago, it was quite shocking to see the words of the CM of West Bengal for the PM of India:
Such comments tarnish our product's reputation.

However, the PM had a ready sweet reply:
Odisha has Shree Jagannatha Sanskruti- i.e. the culture of the Lord of the Universe that welcomes and accepts the whole world. 
We welcome all, especially CM of Bengal and PM of India, to visit Odisha and taste Odisha Rasagola.

Last time, TMC's Bengal election prediction came wrong. BJP did manage to earn 18 seats i.e. 18 more than the TMC's rosogolla (zero) prediction for them.
It was time for sweet celebration for BJP supporters at Kolkata.
This is how they celebrated by distributing orange rasgulla at Howrah Station:
This year too the ruling party in Bengal has said- "You will get Rosogolla!!!" It means ZERO seats in election! The Bengal election process has just concluded this year. Election results are anyone's guess! 

Here are some Rasagolas for all you super folks!

Thank you for your encouraging words, support, guidance, and comments and for being a part of this sweet Rasgulla journey. 



This is not all. There is so much more about Rasagola yet to be said, written, explored, discovered, and shared. More information coming up!

Shree Jagannatha knows this writer's great zeal and zest and love for Rasagola :)

May He give strength and zeal and zest to all to #EndRasgullaDebate. 

May there be ZERO "controversy" about Rasagola origin. 

Satyameva Jayate.

I’m participating in the April #A2ZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z

Z For- Zeal, Zest, Zero

I am writing A-Z posts about Rasagola- 26 #RasagolaA2Z posts this April :

A- A To Z of Rasagola - April 1- Utkala Dibasa

B- Blatant Lies And Biased Reports About Rasgulla Invention

C- Cottage-Cheese, Chhena And Comments About Rasgulla

D- Rasgulla Day - Rasagola Dibasa Celebration

E- Odisha Rasagola At Exhibitions And Events

F- Facts, Fake News, And False Information About Rasgulla

G- GI Tags of Odisha And Odisha Rasagola

H- Historical Evidence of Rasgulla And Research

I- Indigenous Knowledge, IPR, Rasgulla And Indian Sweets

J- Lord Jagannatha's Favourite Sweet & Food

K- Khirmohan And Rasagola

L- List of Lunar & Solar Indian New Year Days

M- Maha Bishuba Sankranti Or Pana Sankranti

N- Name Rasgulla, Niladri Bije And New Year Wishes

O- Odisha Art And Sweet- Pattachitra And Rasgulla 

P- Proposal to Odisha Government For Rasagola And GI Celebration

Q- Quiz About Rasgulla 

R- Rasabali And Rasagola

S- Rasgulla Songs- Odia Songs Dedicated To Rasagola 

T- Text-books, Torture, And Rasgulla GI Tag

U- Uniform Spelling And Authorised Users of Rasagola

V- Valuable Victorious Virtue - Valour

W- Wikipedia, Rasgulla War, Wife And Husband Fight

X- EXperts And Rasgulla And GI Tag

Y- YouTube, Rasgulla Videos And Comments

This sincere attempt is to share information about Rasagola/Rasgulla and #EndRasgullaDebate.
This is my fifth #A2Z Challenge, and my last four challenges have been about Odisha, India. 
Are you aware of Rasagola/Rasgulla? Did you know that Rasgulla originated in Odisha? 

Please do share any information about Rasgulla that you may have and which you feel must be documented and shared so that all are aware. 

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6 comments:

  1. SG30 April 2021 at 21:50

    Congratulations for successfully completing this year's A2Z Challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Navita Bhatia30 April 2021 at 22:01

    Your zeal and zest for this cause is admirable!! Take a bow for all the tireless efforts you have been putting. May your hard work bears fruit soon and we can see Rasogola primarily listed as Odisha's invention along with others.
    A wonderful series, Anita. I have missed a few posts. Will be returning to read those too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Durga Prasad Dash1 May 2021 at 07:37

    So the sweet war of rasagola is fought in many different fronts. Nice to come to know all these interesting facts through your posts. On a serious note your zeal to clear all misunderstandings is so much that you have created an entire series of posts around it. It was so informative to be part of your AtoZ series.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu1 May 2021 at 13:19

    I salute your Zesty Zeal to bring forth every minute detail about various sources of misinformation in this Sweet War. I too pray and wish that, Lord Jagannatha help us establish the ultimate truth about Rasagola, its significance in the Jaganatha Culture and Odisha to be perceived its rightful place of origin.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aditi Kapur1 May 2021 at 17:45

    Your A2Z series helped us understand that Rasagola was originated in Odisha. Keep your spirit to spread the truth alive with zeal.
    All the best for your future ventures:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amina Creations2 May 2021 at 15:11

    I never knew so much about Rasagola... your detailed posts were truly amazing... thanks for sharing...

    ReplyDelete

Your words mean a lot to me.