Indigo Blue
Indigo is from young leaves of the leguminous indigofera tinctoria plant harvested during the annual monsoon. The leavers are soaked in water for a day and are removed once the water is blue with indicant. Lime is then added to turn the dye green; only in this reduce form will the indicant adhere to cotton. Once the time has settled the water is decanted off; some traditions use this water as the dye while others use the indigo white. As the cotton dries the indican oxidises becoming blue once more.