Rasagola Dibasa is celebrated across Odisha with a lot of enthusiasm and fervour on the occasion of Niladri Bije on Saturday.
After completing their annual nine-day sojourn to Gundicha temple, Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra are all set to return to their original abode Srimandir. After Suna Besha (golden attire) and Adhara pana rituals, the deities are all set to enter Srimandir today and the festival is popularly known as Niladri Bije.
As per legend, Goddess Laxmi gets upset with Lord Jagannath as He took His siblings instead of Her to aunt’s house. So, She locks Jai Vijaya Dwar in a bid to stop the Holy Trinity from re-entering Srimandir. Therefore to please Goddess Laxmi, Lord Jagannath offers Her rasagolas after which the sibling deities would be allowed to enter Srimandir.
The day is also observed as Rasagola Dibasa across Odisha to mark the birth of the mouthwatering dessert in the State. Rasagola Dibasa is celebrated to highlight the story and the glory of the delicious sweet and let people know its history and origin.
The first Rasagola Dibasa was celebrated on July 30, 2015 on Niladri Bije, the day Rath Yatra concluded. Since then Odia people made it a custom to celebrate Rasagola Dibas on the special day every year.
Rasagola Dibasa has grown into a grand celebration in the State bringing together communities, sweet makers and food enthusiasts from all corners of the State and beyond. In houses across Odisha, families make homemade rasagolas. Sweet shops also participate in the frenzy introducing new flavours and variations in the iconic dessert.
The most exciting part of Rasagola Dibasa is rasagola competition in which professional chefs and armature cooks showcase their culinary talents. It’s an exciting day filled with creativity, camaraderie and of course, plenty of sumptuous rasagolas to relish.
The Rasagola Dibasa is gradually becoming famous among people across the globe and gathering a lot of attention over various social media platforms.
Notably, Odisha got a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for its version of rasagola in 2019.