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DINDIGUL, INDIA, December 29, 2002: Bharathan cannot resist crushing a flower or fruit that he chances upon. His experiment with 426 plants and natural substances for over 15 years has resulted in 120 color-fast, eco-friendly, natural dyes. The 39-year-old’s passion for natural colors began in school. Bharathan’s pictures stood out for the brilliance of the turmeric’s yellow, the red from beetroot and the black of charcoal. “In our culture, color is associated with regions, seasons, religions, festivals and emotions,” he says. “It is difficult not to be taken in by it.” Bharathan was raised at Sowbhagya Illam orphanage at Gandhigram in Tamil Nadu. In 1986,with a postgraduate in economics, he started work at a mill in Kumarapalaiyam. Here he learned to make and use dyes, but the chemicals in synthetic dye production often caused his skin to break out, and he quit the job. He found work as a textile technician at the Gandhigram Trust and continued his experiments with natural dyes. In 2001, the Central government’s department of science and technology funded a project to establish a Center for Documentation, Research and Training in Natural Dyes and persuaded Bharathan to join the project. Bharathan helped perfect a technology where natural dyeing could be done without the use of mordents (mineral salts such as tin chloride for fixing colors). “What sets our venture apart is that it is eco-friendly,” says Bharathan. His shades have attracted traders from Japan, Italy and the USA.

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