Why Chandannagore’s Jolbhora sandesh received a GI tag: The story behind Bengal's iconic sweet

One of the things that you cannot separate from Bengal is the love for sweets. This led to the state being the inventor of various sweets, with a slight push from cultural colonisation. One such sweet is the Jolbhora sandesh which was first prepared in Chandannagore and became a crowd favourite since then. However, another feather to the cap of this much-loved sweet is that now it has been given GI tag recognition. As the city and Bengal rejoices this achievement, here’s a quick look at the roots of this acclaimed sandesh.

All about Chandannagore’s Jolbhora Sandesh which just earned itself a GI tag

The origin story of Chandannagore’s Jolbhora sandesh actually starts with a practice that began a few kilometeres ahead. When the Portuguese colonised the city of Bandel, their cultural nuances mixed with traditional Bengali culinary techniques. This gave rise to Indians using chenna/ paneer/ cottage cheese to make sweets. This formed the base of any sandesh, including that of Jolbhora.

A prank that made history

But this is only half the story. According to local legend, Jolbhora was invented in the 19^th century by Surya Kumar Modak who ran the eponymous shop in Chandannagore. Now, it is of course run by his descendants. The story goes that the wife of the Telinipara Zamindar wanted to prank her son-in-law. She went to Modak to rescue her of this situation and asked him to prepare a sweet that had not been made by anyone so far.

After much trial and error, Modak prepared the jolbhora sandesh. When one looks at the item, on face value, it seems like a huge solid chunk of sandesh. But once you bite it, you realise that it’s actually hollow from the insides and is filled with a sugary syrup or nolen gur. In his times, it is said that Modak created the sandesh shaped like a palm fruit or taalshash with sugar syrup inside. An unsuspecting son-in-law of the zamindar took one bite of this delicacy and spilt the syrup on his clothes, leaves the family in splits. Since, then, there was no looking back and Jolbhora sandesh became one of the most loved sweets of Bengal.

What a GI recognition means for Jolbhora sandesh and sweet makers?

Decades later, it is still one of the traditional sweets that make their way to most occasions like Durga Puja, birthdays, Jamai Shoshti, and more. However, it is not untouched by experimentation. Today, instead of nolen gur, the hollow is filled with seasonal goodness like mango pulp, litchi pulp, chocolate, gondhoraj etc.

While for years this has dominated the dessert platter in every house, the GI recognition has now further cemented its status in the society. Not only would people immediately recognise its place and story of origin, but it would also boost the lineage of sweet makers who toil day and night to produce some of the best sweets of the state. Moreover, it helps preserve traditional sweet-making techniques and supports international exports, boosting the economy.

And while you visit Chandannagore to lose yourself in the French history and architecture, now, more than ever, is not the time to skip on Surya Kumar Modak’s delicious invention.

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