Getting inked, these days seems to be in vogue.[break] Although many people take tattooing as a means for creating a style statement and looking hip, there are also those who believe that tattoos signify more than just a style.
Arin Shrestha, 17, inked a tattoo as a birthday gift to his little brother. This, he believes is a way of proving his love for his brother. He says, “My brother always thought that I never bothered about him. He would always remain sad and hurt. That is why I made this tattoo for him to let him know how I feel.” Many like Arin associate tattoos with human-feelings. These tattoos sometimes even tell a story and they might also have spiritual values.
While there are those who get tattooed to show their love and devotion toward something or someone they deify, there are also those who believe that a tattoo makes them feel audacious and self-assured.
A person will almost always spend a lot of time mulling over what design to get inked, as a tattoo has deeper meanings than most people realize. Besides, deciding what tattoo to get is not as easy and hence cannot be done capriciously.
Sudin Shrestha, 19, says, “It took me around two weeks to decide what kind of a tattoo I wanted. I finally got one of guitars and Stevie Ray Vaughan, the artist I adore.” Having been influenced by blues, he has a tattoo with blues guitars delineating his love for the music. While asked about the trend and his views on what the older generations think, he says, “It should not have such negative impacts unless it is not done decently. The tattoos we make should not give wrong meanings.”
Shrestha, however, is aware of the fact that family and relatives are not as open about his getting inked as he would like them. “I think the older people should view it positively,” he says. According to him, he wanted to pursue into the field of music, so his tattoo showed nothing but his devotion to what he idolized.
However, there are also those who do it only because they believe that it makes them look good. Sabita Maharjan, a tattoo artist who runs Tiki Jhyaa tattoo studio, says, “Mostly people come to get tattoos for the mere purpose of show off and good look.”
People belonging to the age-group of 20 to 35 are the most interested ones in tattooing, informs Prahlad Maharjan, another tattoo artist. According to him, only about 15-20 percent have their stories linked with it. Maharjan further says, “Generally, people just drop-in and choose their designs from the studio´s catalogue itself. There are even those who first get tattoos and then ask us to find some meanings for them.” Hygiene is another factor to be considered when it comes to getting inked. “We use sterilized needles, machines and colors. We have always been using inks extracted from vegetables,” says Mohan Gurung, a renowned tattoo artist. He further adds, “Besides, the customers are fully responsible for the post-tattoo care.” He advises freshly tattooed people not to indulge themselves in drinking at least for sometime. The chances of getting infected arise if someone happens to neglect such things.
Talking about the designs one can choose from; tattoos have a lot to offer. They cover deities, old Japanese bios that include fish, birds, to even the CJK (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) characters. Although with thousands of designers available, many studios being opened up and even the hygiene factor taken care of, getting tattoos is popular only in some parts of today´s society. What our older generations think may differ from what we believe. Also there are youngsters who consider tattoo-making as inapt.
Rochak Dahal, 18, puts it this way: “Whatever a tattoo may portray at present, may not mean the same in the future.” He believes that a tattoo which means a lot today might not hold any valuable meaning in the future, leaving one to be regretful of it. “Besides, tattoos are permanent and getting them erased is way more expensive and painful than having one.”
Getting tattoos could be good or bad. Also, it does not necessarily need to have a meaning. Even small ones that you do just for fun, like a butterfly or a star are just fine. However, if someone gets one that is meant for criminal identification, or is disrespectful of any symbol that is specifically meant for indigenous individuals or a similar group, then it is clearly objectionable.
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