Nobin Chandra Das
Nobin Chandra Das was a Bengali confectioner, popularly referred as the "Columbus of Rossogolla".
Early life and career
Nobin Chandra was born in 1845. In 1864, driven by poverty and with little provision to complete his education, he initially started working for the Indra family, confectioners from Shantipur in the Nadia district of Bengal. They were distant relatives of Nobin Chandra's mother, and their shop was located on Chitpur road in Bagbazar, Kolkata. Nobin Chandra was reportedly humiliated by the Indras, left the job and, aged 18, started his own sweet-shop at Jorasanko. Being respectable and prosperous sugar merchants, Nobin's family were initially unsupportive of his decision to run a small neighborhood corner shop. They even labeled him "moira". Ironically, the word has evolved to evoke a positive connotation, even admiration.Nobin Chandra's Jorasanko business failed as he fell out with his partner and Nobin Chandra had no resources to offer credit to his customers, which competitors had begun doing. In 1866, he opened another shop on Chitpur Road directly across his first shop in Bagbazar. Most sweets were either the "Sondesh/Sandesh" variety, and made exclusively for the affluent or sweets made of "dal" or flour from various grains.
Creation of ''Rosogolla''
In 1868, Nobin Chandra modified the original recipe of "Rossogolla" that increased the shelf life of the sweet. This was to be his arguably most significant creation. Nobin Chandra christened this creation the "Rossogolla". It was a popular sweet of his time which was affordable across all economic segments of society. It took some time for Rossogolla to become popular in the absence of advertising and media as we know it today.Legacy
Nobin Chandra left his legacy to his son Krishna Chandra Das.In 2018, director Pavel made a film Rosogolla on the life of Nobin Chandra Das. Actor Ujaan Ganguly portrayed Nobin in the film.