Bhagwandas Bagla

Bhagwandas Bagla was the first Marwari shekhawati millionaire and was a very wealthy timber merchant. He was originally from Churu Rajasthan but he even proceeded his business to Burma and settled in Rangoon. In the 1960s, the military regime nationalized almost every business in the country. They seized the property of hundreds of thousands of Indians and forced them to leave the country Bhagwandas Bagla's family being one of them.

Sethani ka Johara (The Reservoir of the Wealthy Lady) was built by his wife which is some 3 km west by the Ratangarh road, as a relief project during the terrible ‘Chhapan Akaal’, the Famine of VS 1956 The water attracts birds and mammals such as ‘Nilgai’ (blue bull – a large antelope.) .

A well-known story relates the manner in which Bagla made Rossogolla popular in and around Bengal. One day Bhagwandas Bagla, an opulent businessman, stopped at Nobin Chandra Das's shop while driving by. His grandson was thirsty. Bagla asked the helper-boy of Nabin's shop to fetch a glass of water. As was the custom of the day, the boy offered sweetmeat along with water. It was the special 'Rossogolla' of Nobin Chandra's shop served on a dish. His grandson was delighted to taste this unique sweet. Seeing this, Bhagwandas Bagla himself tasted the 'Rossogolla' and was fascinated. Soon, the fame of this special sweet spread like wildfire and within a short span of 6/7 years, Rossogolla won the hearts of millions in and outside Bengal.

Many schools/colleges/temples have been setup by Bhagwandas Bagla in his hometown Churu and in Rangoon and roads have been named in his memory.

• Bagla School Road, Churu, Rajasthan 331001
• Bagla High School, Churu, Rajastjan 331001
• Bhagwan Shree Satyanarayan Temple, Churu, Rajasthan 331001
• Shri Satyanarayan Temple in Yangon’s Pabedan Township
• Vishnu Temples in Mandalay and Mormin, Myanmar