What do the following have in common: a college student, a middle-aged professor, a reputed doctor, a housewife and a journalist? They all have tattoos.
This motley crew is far removed from the cliché of a rebellious young adult, seeking to reinforce his or her cool quotient, or a punk rocker flashing his tattoos from under black leather. Today's tattooed crowd comes from all walks of life and all age groups, ranging from 18-year-olds to those in their sixties. The City of Nizams may have been sidelined for the more established tattoo parlours in Bangalore and Chennai, but times are a-changing.
“Everything is different today, from the number of people getting tattoos to the types of tattoos,” says tattoo artiste Lloyd of Lloyd's Tattoos & Piercings in Secunderabad. “Tattooing was taboo in the city until a while ago.” Lloyd has been in the business for five years, having shifted from being an artist to a tattooist, after learning the tricks of the trade in Bangkok. On the preferred designs, he says, “Dragons, butterflies and yin yangs might have been cool ten years ago. Today it's about religious and tribal body art.”
Sameer of Envy Tattoos on P.G. Road agrees. “People know what they want. They have their own designs, usually based on zodiac or tribal symbols.”
Getting a tattoo is something that is intensely personal. Twenty-five-year-old Sharath Prasad had known for months what his dream tattoo was. “It's the mighty Mjollnir, the hammer of Thor,” he says. “I had dislocated my right shoulder, and he who has the hammer has the power of Thor. It's a symbol of strength that I'd want to carry around my entire life.” Architect Ahaladini S., now 23 years old, also knew what she wanted. “My cousin and I got lotus tattoos for our grandmother, whose name is Padma Jalaja, meaning lotus,” she says. “As an artist, I designed my own tattoo.”
Brash and over-the-top cool are being replaced by meaningful and spiritual. “My customers come in and I customise around what they want,” says tattoo artiste Amin, formerly with Blanc but who has now set up his own studio Jazz. “A girl once came in, saying she had gone through a lot in life and wanted something symbolic. I gave her a girl in a yoga pose, wearing armour with a bow and arrow behind her. It was a warrior, and that's what she is too.”
Of course, the biggest paranoia surrounding the decision to get a tattoo is the pain and the permanency. You might want a rose just above your breastbone as an 18-year-old, but will you want it when you're fifty? “We provide a good deal of counselling,” says Lloyd. “Especially with respect to the location and type of tattoo.” Amin agrees. “You might think a large tattoo on your neck is cool, but what about when you're going for an interview? These things need to be thought through.” All three artistes speak with conviction of the sterility of the needles, which are used on a use-once-and-throw basis. Prices are either based on charges per square inch, or depending on the intricacy of the design of the number of needles required.
As for the pain, like everything else, it's all relative. Twenty-two-year-old media freelancer Kripi Sharma got two tattoos — an elaborate K on her shoulder blade for her name, and five stars on her left ankle, one for each of the four members of her family and the fifth for “a higher spirit, or God.” She compares the pain to “threading my eyebrows initially, like a sharp stinging discomfort. However, after the first few minutes you become numb to it. It's bearable. It's just the fear of the needle that frightens people.”
Acceptability is slowly coming to the fore in the world of tattooing. The simplest example shines through on one of the newest advertisements on television. Young college girl comes in while her mother is cutting vegetables, and hesitantly lifts her kurta to reveal a winged tattoo emblazoned across her lower back. And the very typically South Indian mother nods her head and says, “Very nice.”
Very nice indeed.
Things to think about
Don't act on impulse when getting a tattoo. Do the following first.
l Visit the tattoo parlour in advance to clear queries and interact with the artiste for comfort
l Reassure yourself with respect to hygiene
l Research your prospective tattoo. It may take a while but remember, it's permanent. Go online and talk to people.
l Do not get your tattoo while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They thin the blood and are unsafe.
Contact Amin at 9985157654, Sameer at 9885520009, and Lloyd at 9849673196 for more.
