From Temple Flowers to Indigo, Tan & Marigold: Traditional Dyeing Craft of Bodhgaya, Bihar

Colour at Studio Ek Inch begins long before it touches cloth. In Bodhgaya, Bihar, we witnessed a world where colour is not manufactured — it is grown, nurtured, and transformed through time, community, and nature.

At the heart of this revival stands Praveen Chauhan, the visionary behind the Matree Foundation. His work reimagines natural dyeing not only as a craft, but as a movement of sustainability, livelihood, and cultural regeneration.

In this ecosystem, temple flowers and local plant materials become the source of living colour. Nearly 30 kg of flowers yield just 1 kg of pigment, enough to dye 55–60 meters of fabric. Blooms that once ended as waste now form the foundation of natural indigo, tan, and marigold.

 

The process is entirely natural. Colour emerges through a slow fermentation technique, guided by microbial life — a living dye similar to the making of yoghurt or kombucha. Fabrics are dipped, dried in the shade, and dyed again through multiple rounds to build depth and tone. Each piece becomes unique, marked by the gentle irregularities of handmade work.

 

During our visit, we saw how beautifully handmade fabrics, especially Khadi, respond to these natural dyes. Their open weave and breathing fibres welcome pigment softly, allowing colours to settle with an honesty and warmth impossible in chemically dyed textiles.

But the story of Bodhgaya is also a story of people.
Under Praveen Chauhan’s guidance, the village of Ghoghwa — once rooted in handloom — is slowly finding its rhythm again. Plans are underway to provide Amber charkhas to 250 women, connecting them to self-help groups and long-term livelihood opportunities.

The flower-collection initiative, supported across the state, transforms temple waste into natural dyes, incense sticks, and organic compost. Every step of the process is circular, sustainable, and deeply connected to community wellbeing.

What we experienced in Bodhgaya was not just a dyeing practice.
It was vision meeting tradition,
craft meeting community,
waste becoming colour,
and colour becoming livelihood.

From temple flowers to indigo, tan, and marigold — this is the quiet, powerful craft that inspires Studio Ek Inch.

Indigo is an ancient colour, but it feels new each time we witness it bloom.
This is not just dyeing.

This is remembering.