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Show me your tattoo

Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

Body art A trendy fashion statement

Skulls, dragons, angels, stars and more. There are many designs to choose from, for those who want to indulge in some body art and tattooing. Body art has now become the latest way of expressing oneself. Gen next has taken tattooing to a whole new level. It’s no longer about gangsters, bikers and sailors. Nor is it limited to the bizarre and the downbeat anymore. Tattooing has become acceptable and cool among today’s youth. It has become an art form where the body is the canvas.

“I got an angel tattooed on my ankle, about a year back,” says Rupa. “It was spontaneous and I had not even prepared my parents for it.” To her amazement, her parents were fine with it. “In fact they wanted to know more about it.”

Tattooing is done manually with the help of a needle and then ink is filled in. It is also done with the tattoo machine, which is far simpler and easier to handle. The machine has a tube and needle system. The needle punctures the skin and penetrates to the dermis layer, and forms a design or pattern. And the tube fills the puncture with the desired ink colour.

But for those who can’t take the puncturing, there are temporary tattoos, which last for about a week. The new spray tattooing method is hassle free as it takes only a couple of minutes.

Youngsters love funky tattoos which marks their individuality and make a fashion statement. For some, it has emotional symbolism, while for others it may be just a defiant act. For most, it is just about being trendy.

Can tattoos be removed? Yes, with a laser treatment says Dhaval a tattoo artist. “But it is ten times more expensive and painful than the actual tattooing.”

A tattoo looks best when one’s skin is taut and firm. But with age come wrinkles and loose skin resulting in a shrivelled and smeared tattoo design. Surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to worry the youngsters — looking good today is all that matters.

Presently, tattoo parlours are catching up in the urban towns, including Coimbatore at Upbeat in R.S Puram. Apart from tattooing Upbeat also does piercing. And stocks clothes. It is youngsters between 18 and 25 who frequent the store to ink their bodies.

Dhaval, of Upbeat, took up tattooing as a hobby. After training in Thailand, he opened his tattoo parlour in 2004. “When I started I didn’t have too many people coming in, but today I have at least one customer every day. And, weekends are very tight,” says Dhaval.

He will soon be tying up with the Naturals beauty parlour too. “Usually, people ask for tribal tattoos but bio-mechanical tattoos – a fusion of wild life and machines are now in vogue.”

Getting a tattoo can take up to several hours. “Tattoos are very expensive and artists usually charge per square inch”, says Dhaval. When asked about the craziest place he has tattooed he smiles and says, “It’s quite common amongst the youth to tattoo private parts and I have also had a couple of girls coming in to tattoo a beauty spot.”

So for those who are bored and sick of mehendi designs, tattooing is another option. But before putting your skin beneath the needle, make sure you know what you are doing.

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