Postal dept to have a cover on rosogolla inventor

Kolkata: The Department of Post has decided to come out with a special cover on sweetmeat maker Nobin Chandra Das, who invented rosogolla in the 19th century, a senior official of the department said.

This is the 150th year of invention of rosogolla and the department has taken the decision after West Bengal was granted the Geographical Identification (GI) tag for the popular syrupy dessert in November last year.

“We are planning to come out with a special cover on Nobin Chandra Das soon,” chief postmaster general, West Bengal circle, Arundhaty Ghosh said. The department has written to the GI registry office for a letter of confirmation in this matter and it will finalise and release the design of the special cover after getting it, Ghosh said.

Dhiman Das, director of sweetmeat maker KC Das Pvt Ltd and great grandson of Nobin Chandra Das, welcomed the move.

“It’s a great honour for us, our family and our colleagues. This is for the first time that a special cover will be designed on the person who created such a magical delicacy,” Dhiman Das said.

He said officials of the department of post had contacted him soon after the GI tag was given to rosogolla. “They wanted a brief summary of Nobin Chandra Das and collected his photographs which they will use for the special cover,” Dhiman Das said.

“Nobin Chandra set up a sweet shop in 1866, but the last thing he wanted was to run a mere sales counter. The passion to create something of his very own haunted him.... He toiled for months, and sometime in the year 1868, his labours paid off.... (He) christened it the  ‘Rossogolla’ and a legend was born,” KC Das’s website said.

The postal department has shelved its plans to come out with a stamp on Nobin Chandra Das after the Das family requested them to come out with it in 2020 on his 175th birth anniversary. The state will also witness the release of a biopic on the inventor of rosogolla soon.