Colour Me Indigo

Rising demand has revived indigo cultivation in India and abroad.

- Kundan Pandey

A hundred years ago, indigo symbolised colonial oppression. Now it marks high-end fashion products. Though the natural blue dye never lost its sheen, its production in India under the British saw a tremendous decline after the development of synthetic indigo dye by German chemist Adolf von Baeyer in 1878.

Farming of indigo was at its peak in the late 19th century. India produced nearly 19,000 tonnes of indigo in the 1850s and almost all of it was sent to Europe where the textile industry was experiencing a boom following the industrial revolution. The demand for natural indigo declined after German chemical company Badische Anilin und Sodafabrik started commercially producing synthetic indigo. Unlike natural indigo, whose colour depends on the climate of the area where the plant grows, the synthetic dye gave uniform results which were of benefit to the industry. By 1914, the production of natural indigo had reduced to 1,100 tonnes.

The synthetic indigo still rules the market. But there is now a renewed demand for natural indigo worldwide as people are becoming more healthconscious. This has prompted farmers to once again embrace the blue gold.

Its revival is particularly evident in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, where hot and humid climate is conducive to the crop. In fact, during the Colonial period the kurpah (Cuddapah) indigo grown in the Madras region was quite popular in the international market because of its high colour content.

S Kamalnathan from Vellupuram district, Tamil Nadu, is one such farmer who shifted from moringa, a major cash crop, to indigo two years ago. He makes a profit of around R2 lakh per season from his 3.6 ha farmland. “The leaves, which are processed to extract the dye, can be harvested twothree times a year. Besides, it requires less water and inputs,” says Kamalnathan.