This is where the process really slows down and gets intricate. The success of the indigo extraction is all down to the indigo cook: in this case, Shankar’s eye and knowledge.
Once the cotton strainers have been hung for 1-2 days, all the excess water has naturally dripped away to leave a condensed sticky blue paste, which looks a bit like very soft glistening butter.
Each of the strainers are weighed, which continues Tarai Blue’s meticulous record of the yield for each season’s crop and cut.