Adds Uzramma, a member of the research team: "The irony of the matter is that our erstwhile colonisers, who were instrumental in introducing chemical dyes in the country and corroding the very fabric of our textile industry, have begun to ban chemical dyes themselves."

Thus in certain cloth-dyeing centres like Sanganer in Rajasthan, or Tirpur in Tamil Nadu, natural dyeing is undertaken on a limited scale and the products are meant "100 per cent for export, whereas all the cheap clothes we wear are chemically coloured", Uzramma points out.

The same is true of other export-oriented units in Ahmedabad, Nashik and Pune, which have a tradition of eco-friendly vegetable dyeing, but their works are never seen in the local market. "International trade compulsions have turned the tide against chemical dyes," explains Vinita Amre, an exporter.

"The European Union recently banned the import of Indian clothes using chemical dyes," she elaborates. "So these centres and the Indian textile industry in general are scrambling around, searching for all our hallowed old natural dyes like harda madder and indigo."

The problem however, has deeper roots and is more economic in nature than of mere convenience or easy availability. For, as any dyer will point out, the price differential between natural dyes and synthetics is between Rs 250 and Rs 400 to a kilo.

For instance, it takes Rs 600 for a farmer to grow and process indigo (in present market conditions), for which he gets around Rs 800 from the retailer. Against this, synthetic German indigo is available at Rs 500 a kilo and other varieties of chemical dyes, even cheaper.

"Why hasn’t the government protected indigo cultivators by levying duties on German indigo," demands Uzramma. "China has already done so. In fact, it has gone a step further by banning all indigo imports such that its local farmers feel protected. So today, nobody complains of dying craft traditions in China."

What is true of indigo, applies to all other natural dyes. In some folk painting forms like kalamkari and patachitra, artists have altogether stopped using organic extracts and switched to bottled chemicals as colouring material with greater efficiency and skill.

"Who has the time and patience to extract lamp black or soot when black poster paints are available?" says Amre. "Similarly, where do you find tribal or folk artists painstakingly preparing paints from different plants, flowers, fruits... even rocks? They are getting their paints off the rack or delivered at their homes."

"In the process, the authenticity of a work of art becomes open to question," explains Shiela Ganguly, a research scholar in folk art forms in Mumbai. "So long as you cater to gullible tourists or the export market, nobody is complaining. But if you are looking for genuine stuff, the scenario is pretty disturbing."

Uzramma and her team have suggested a variety of ways to revive and promote organic dyes, if only to ensure the preservation of an art heritage. Besides, there is the ecological angle as natural dye-producing communities can effectively manage natural forests, protect the local soil, water and plant growth.

"Natural dyeing can be a powerful tool to regenerate local flora," agrees Ganguly. "We have seen this in the few tribal and rural areas where natural dyer and weaver communities still thrive, such as Kutch in Gujarat and the Kalahasti area of Andhra Pradesh where vegetable dyes are still widely used."

— MF