the sadder and more impactful legacy of a dye is Indigo - which is not lost or forgotten. It was in such great demand that Europe funded explorers like Vasco D

the sadder and more impactful legacy of a dye is Indigo - which is not lost or forgotten. It was in such great demand that Europe funded explorers like Vasco Da Gama specifically to discover the source of Indigo. Named after India, it was one of the incentives for colonisation and indeed the Great Bengal Famine (which affected 30 million people). It became one of the most remarkable peasant movements of Indian history against the British. It came to be called the Neel Bidroha or the Indigo Revolt. The Indigo famine drama script that was created by the Anglican priest James Long and Indian writer Dinabandhu Mitra - Nil Darpan (Indigo Mirror) - was the root cause of the creation of the National Theatre in Kolkata. The British banned the play in England saying it "slandered British women for desiring the Indigo dye". The National Theatre (and the Indigo play) in Kolkata kickstarted the Indian commercial performing arts industry...eventually culminating in Bollywood.