Getting inked the meaningful way

BODY ART

Most youngsters today believe that a tattoo is a way of marking an important event in their lives or expressing their individuality. A lot of thought goes into getting a tattoo and most of them signify the beliefs of an individual.

Time is spent contemplating on its significance and until one finds a good enough reason, the very thought of inking oneself seems pointless. ‘Metrolife’ asks tattoo artists and individuals with tattoos in the City on why they like sporting a tattoo.

Prathap Menon, a second year BBM student says, “I met with an accident about eight months back. I broke my femur and was in a lot of pain. If you look closely at my tattoo, it represents my fractured femur bone and the crushed arteries, bones and veins.


I got my tattoo done as a reminder of those difficult times. It is pretty inspirational actually, because it was a tough phase and the tattoo reinforces my belief in myself, reminding me that if I could go through that phase in life, I can face anything.”

Others sport a tattoo as a reminder of what is missing in their lives. Rajat, a media student says, “My first tattoo was a yin yang. Getting a yin yang is supposed to create a balance in life. I got it done as I felt that my life lacked balance then. My second tattoo was a symbol of love and faith. It emphasised on having faith in love. My third tattoo reads, ‘Live today like it’s your last’, a statement I absolutely believe in.”

There still exist people like Chahana, who got a tattoo just because she wanted to get one. “I really liked the design and since the time my sister got one, I had also wanted a tattoo,” she adds. Tripa, on the other hand, sporting a heart with love written on it, says the tattoo describes her personality — loving.

Senthil Arcot, a tattoo artist says, “Unlike a couple of years ago, people spend a lot of time deciding what kind of tattoo they want. Of late, people have been getting tattoos with a lot of meaning in them. We recently had a customer, who believed in good and evil, so we had an angel’s wing on one of his arms and a devil’s on the other. Both were interlinked into a biomechanical system as he believed that everything revolves around machines.”