(From top) Kaushiki Desikan, Amala Shankar and Ajoy Chakraborty at the K.C. Das outlet; a platter of Trinayani and a jar of rasogollas. (Anindya Shankar Ray)

A good 143 years after Nobin Moira had invented the rasogolla sitting in his slip of a shop at Bagbazar, K.C. Das, named after his son, celebrated its 75 years on Sunday.

The talk expectedly turned to the rasogolla even as the latest innovations the Esplanade shop has come up with, like Trinayani with a chocolate and chhana base and the three eyes of goddess Durga in sandesh icing, were served.

“I am so proud that the family is from Calcutta. They have revolutionised the confectionery business. No one can make the rasogolla spongy and tasty like them,” said former Indian soccer captain P.K. Banerjee, one of the invitees.

The shop, bearing Krishna Chandra Das’s name, was opened in 1935 by his son Sarada, who loved the sciences and was C.V. Raman’s research assistant at Rajabazar Science College.

Sanjib Chattopadhyay recounted, like the College Street Coffee House, the shop was a meeting place for writers. “K.C. Das is very, very special to many of us who were struggling writers in the late-1970s. We would unfailingly turn up here every day except Sunday. Bimal Kar was the only one among us who was established.”

He added: “Discussions used to revolve around the future of Bengali literature but the sweets, needless to say, were major attractions at these sessions.”

Others who attended the programme included danseuse Amala Shankar, minister Firhad Hakim, singers Ajoy Chakraborty and his daughter Kaushiki and inspector-general (law and order) Surajit Kar Purakayastha.

Everyone wanted to know what sets the K.C. Das rasogolla apart. The current director of K.C. Das, Dhiman Das, said his great great grandfather Nobin Chandra had perfected the art of making chhana balls that did not disintegrate in hot sugar syrup.

“Nobin Chandra always had the passion to create a completely original sweet. He came close but the chhana balls would disintegrate in the hot syrup. He had to experiment for a long time before success came his way,” said Dhiman.

“Other confectioners use binders like flour or semolina (suji) along with the chhana so that the balls do not break in the syrup. This affects the taste,” he added.

Even after 23-year-old Nobin had perfected the rasogolla, success did not immediately come his way. The young man, who had fought against his family to make sweets, even had to distribute his rasogollas free to create a market for them.

“Nobin Chandra’s luck changed one day when a timber merchant’s son asked for a drink of water at his shop and he offered him a free rasogolla. The boy told his father how much he had loved the sweet. The merchant then ordered a large consignment of rasogolla for his friends and family,” said Dhiman. Soon after, Nobin Moira became a household name.

Buoyed by success, Nobin Chandra came up with many other innovations including the aata (custard apple) sandesh, kanthal (jackfruit) sandesh and the Dedo sandesh, which was a favourite of Ma Sarada. The sweet is still sent as an offering to her erstwhile residence.