Statue of Nobin Chandra Das

Satyaki Chatterjee 54 months ago

By 1846, when Nobin Chandra was born, their traditional business had ceased to flourish. Nobin Chandra's father died three months before his birth. The only property that he inherited, besides his dwelling, was a plot of land. In 1864, left with little provision to complete his education, he sold this to establish a sweetmeat shop at Jorasanko in Kolkata at his mother's instance, in partnership with his relatives. Due to mismanagement, this venture was not very successful. Recovering from his shock, he managed to collect some money and started a new venture with another shop in Bagbazar in 1866. Most sweetmeats made then were either "Sondesh" (a delicacy exclusively for the affluent), or sweets made of "dal" (lentils) or flour from various grains. Choices were limited. Lovers of sweets yearned for novelty. Moreover, in those days, sweetmeat shops used to depend on credit sales. However, Nobin Chandra had no resources to offer credit to his customers. Consequently, his shop became a rendezvous for old, retired men and unemployed youths. Its attraction, the unsold sweets which they would enjoy at the end of the day. However, they encouraged Nobin Chandra to introduce a sweet different from the customary sondesh - a soft, succulent sweet as against the dry and hard texture of sondesh. It was at this opportune moment that he struggled towards this end, but every time he tried to boil the casein balls in sugar syrup they disintegrated. At last, he discovered the presence of an enzyme in the casein to which he ascribed a vernacular terminology that played the trick. Nobin Chandra finally succeeded in creating the soft, spongy and syrupy "Rossogolla" for the discerning Bengali palate.

It was the ultimate delicacy. In the absence of advertising as we know it today, it took its time to become popular. Nobin Chandra waited patiently until Fortune smiled on him at last. One fine morning, a magnificent landau came to a halt at his shop. A wealthy timber merchant, Raibahadur Bhagwandas Bagla was in the carriage with his family. One of Bhagwandas's children was thirsty, and the carriage had stopped in search of a drink of water. Nobin Chandra offered his usual hospitality. The little boy was given water to drink along with "Rossogolla". The child was delighted with this unique delicacy and offered his father a share. The father was equally ecstatic, and immediately bought a large quantity for his family and friends. This unorthodox ‘word of mouthful’ proved immensely useful. Nobin Chandra and his "Rossogolla" became famous in no time. Contrary to the advice of his friends and admirers to take out patents, he taught the intricacies of Rossogolla-making to numerous sweetmeat makers. He believed that his creation could only gain popularity if available in all sweet shops across the country.
Source- Wikipedia

Dipankar Chandra 54 months ago

Nobin Chandra Das was a Bengali confectioner, entrepreneur, businessman and sweet Maker.