If you ogled and gasped over Priyanka Chopra’s ‘Daddy’s lil girl’ or the ferocious Bengal Tiger tattoo on Angelina Jolie’s lower back, then it’s time for you to raise your eyebrows as the city’s young girls take to the trend big time. Be it for looking pretty or to get a prized possession, girls seem to go gaga over this body art as they get their desirable designs inked, often on bizarre places. Let’s gets candid with some of them to find out what got them enticed by the needle.
For Dipikashi, a freelancer anchor and producer by profession, a tattoo is one that stays with us life long. So, it should be something we believe in and can relate to. She says, “I don’t like girlish stuff. I wanted a tattoo that would be totally different and bold. I own an ambigram of ‘Anbe Sivam’ which means ‘Love is God’ in Tamil, on the left of my chest below my neck. The other one is ‘Karma’ which is imprinted on my left arm.”
The art of tattooing, which is existent since time immemorial, is becoming a rage among youngsters these days. In a pursuit to look cool, hep and funky, the idea that primarily drives these young girls to turn their body into a canvas is nothing but to show off, turn those heads and draw in all the attention. Mark, a tattoo artist from Tantra, the Art Factory in Besant Nagar recalls, “ I have been in this profession for almost 12 years now and have more girl customers to my credit than guys. Though, initially the girls preferred tattooing their names on the wrists, for the past six years their choice of places has gone haywire.”
So, wondering which are those places on her body a woman never minds exposing when comes to getting a tattoo done? Well, even though the wrist and legs still happen to be the most preferred areas, today’s girls often do opt for the weirdest places like the bosoms, lower back, shoulder or that well-toned tummy. The reason they cite is that these places can easily be concealed when they don’t want to flaunt it. But no matter what the place is, these girls are particularly choosy over the designs or patterns they select for the tattoo. While some go for ethereal beautiful designs, others prefer to tattoo the name of their beloveds on their torso.
Naveen, a tattoo artist from Irezumi, the first professional tattoo shop in Nungambakkam claims butterflies, fairies, angels, flowers, stars and delicate abstract designs are an all time favourite among girls. However, for 22-year-old Keya, who has a tattoo that represents the outline of a dog with a crown on her right ankle, claims that’s the symbol of her strength. She sighs, “ I got the tattoo when I was 18 in remembrance of my dog that had just passed away. Whenever I feel dejected about myself, this tattoo reminds me of my faithful companion who always stood by me through thick and thin.” For most of the others, the inspiration to get a tattoo popped out is to do something out of the box or to follow the footprints of their friends. Nikkitha, a CA student says, “Being a spiritually inclined person, I got the symbol of ‘Om’ inked on my left hand.”
Hence, if you thought getting a tattoo would categorise you as a ‘punk’, it’s better to drop such prejudices and take the plunge for the city girls who surely know how to do it. Pratiksha, who recently got a tattoo below her shoulder on her back, says with a smile, “ It’s true that I was scared in the beginning, but I now find it really sexy.”
So, all you girls out there, its time for you to shed those inhibitions and follow what Sylvia Plath had rightly said, “Wear your heart on your skin in this life.”
(The cost usually depends on the design you choose. It generally starts from Rs 1200-2000 and can go upto 25k to 30k in case of a full hand sleeve tattoo.)