Jay Panda gives a “Rasagola Retort” to Bengali Twitterati
Insight Bureau: Odias are generally peace loving people. They choose to remain silent unless provoked. And, when taunted or mocked, they pay back in the same coin. And, who knows it better than motor-mouth Markandey Katju! This time, Greentech Evangelist Prasanto Roy got a taste of Kendrapara MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda’s sweet ‘Rasagola’ retort.
It all started when Jay Panda responded to a tweet, which said all was not lost and West Bengal got GI tag only for ‘Banglar Rasagolla’.
Panda responded, “Ah ha! So the GI tag is ONLY for the spongy, usually canned, variety? We should arrange a head-to-head tasting against the succulent, brown, nuclear-attack-on-the-taste-buds varieties from Salipur, Pahalo, & dozens of other places in Odisha with centuries’ longer tradition”.
Prasanto Roy could not take it lightly and hit back in an aggressive manner, slighting Odisha and Odias, “What! The Odiyas stole the nalengur rosogolla too? Do they even have anything of their own?”
What! The Odiyas stole the nalengur rosogolla too? Do they even have anything of their own? https://t.co/Ve0Eq8StI0
— PKR | প্রশান্ত | پرشانتو (@prasanto) November 16, 2017
Jay Panda, who always bats for Odia pride whether on Twitter or any public forum, retorted in his usually witty style:
“Yes, we do: the Jagannath temple. At Puri, remember? Where pilgrims from a neighbouring state flock in the millions. And where for millennia, even before the present temple was built, rasgula has been served. Long before, ahem, said neighbouring state came into existence”.
Yes, we do: the Jagannath temple. At Puri, remember? Where pilgrims from a neighbouring state flock in the millions. And where for millennia, even before the present temple was built, rasgula has been served. Long before, ahem, said neighbouring state came into existence 😉 https://t.co/NRptEnQQMN
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) November 16, 2017
It was a gentle, polite, yet sarcastic reminder to Bengalis that they throng Puri Jagannath Temple in huge numbers throughout the year and that belongs to Odisha and Odias first. That is the same place where Rasagola has been served to the deities for centuries, much before it was introduced in West Bengal or even that state was formed.