“Wear your heart on your skin in this life.” - Sylvia Plath
“But with summer round the corner, I am looking forward to getting some new ink and spending time doing things I love. I also enjoy travelling.”
“Of course I’m looking forward to getting some more tattoos!”
On Her Story Of Ink & Skin...
“I have 4 Sak Yant tattoos on my back,”
“The ha thaeo, which usually goes on the left shoulder, the 5 rows for luck and success - line one prevents unjust punishment, favours me in grey areas, clears unwanted spirits and offers my home protection. Line two protects against bad horoscope constellations and bad luck. Line three protects me from curses and prohibits me from cursing people, line four stands for success, luck and fortune in my future lifestyles and ambitions. Line five is for charisma and attraction and the gao yord - a nine spire on the centre top - represents the 9 peaks of the sacred Mount Meru with boxes containing letters related to various protecting spells. The panjamukhee or five Deva faces are to ward off illness and danger and the twin tigers, to represent power and authority."
“I will definitely get more, Sak Yant in Cambodia or Thailand - getting inked is an addiction really, once you get one tattoo, you almost always get a few more. I don't regret any of them; they still mean the same to me and are a part of who I am.”
25-year-old Aditya Ashok is a drummer and a music producer, who just got back from a month-long tour of Europe with his band Skyharbor, and has been working on a bunch of new songs for a new OX7GEN EP. He also plays with a local band called Colour Compound and they’re all set to open for Alt-J as part of the ‘Emerge Festival.’
Aditya has four tattoos in all, the first of which he got five years ago in 2010. As for more ink in the future, his answer is an immediate, “Most definitely.”
On His Story Of Ink & Skin...
“The last one I got was of my balcony grill,”
“I have an immense personal connection with my balcony and any of its regular visitors (friends/musicians) will probably say the same. It's been an area of celebration, relaxation, contemplation or just a perfect place for a good hang with friends. When I moved out of my house in 2012, I decided to get the grill tattooed onto my leg just as a reminder of all the good times, and now I'm back in the very same house, but the sentiment is only growing.”
“It's probably the only tattoo I have that is a bit subtle and not very easily visible which I quite like,”
“I try to get out of town as often as I can. More often than not, on my Harley-Davidson Fatboy.”
On His Story Of Ink & Skin...
“My first tattoo is the story of Lord Shiva,”
“Because my name is one of Shiva’s names. I got this when I was living in London. It’s faded slightly over time, because of all the time I spend on my motorcycle riding in the sun.
“This tattoo has been a conversation starter on hundreds of occasions, even with strangers. I’ve been stopped by people who want to take photos of it, which is embarrassing. And then there’s a friend who took a photo of mine and went to get it replicated by an artist here in Bombay!”
“I was looking for a tattoo artist who could create a tattoo that looks like a painting. Having scoured the web, I found an Argentinian artist called Dalmiro Dalmont, whose work I loved. At the time, he was based in Norway, but coincidentally moved to London’s coolest tattoo studio (The Family Business) a month before I was relocating from London to Bombay. An even stranger coincidence was the fact that he was reading the Shiva Trilogy at the time.”
“50-60? I don’t really know, I have a body suit so you can’t really classify some of them as individual tattoos. How bout one - one big one? I would love to get as many as I can...I believe tattoos are an outlet of your expression, so why not?"
The Tale Behind the Tattoo
“I got the face of a Eurasian eagle owl tattooed on my throat about two months ago,”
“The owl metaphorically symbolises guidance through dark times; when things look bad, the owl is my angel to guide me to the light. The owl has a silhouette of a man in its eyes which represents me.”
“I got this amazing piece of art from my friend Sameer Patange, whom I have had the privilege of being tattooed by for all these years. There was no doubt in my my mind about who I wanted this tattoo from, and I will be forever grateful to him.”
On His Story Of Ink & Skin...
“On my left forearm, I have tattooed three mourning bands,”
“Nothing fancy - just three black bands across my forearm that people don’t even realise are tattoos till they take a closer look. Traditionally, mourning bands are worn in the memory of the dead. Mine are in the memory of my three ex-girlfriends, in memoriam of the relationships. We live in a world where everybody seems intent on hating what's gone by. But I treasure it. The relationship may have died, but the love I have had for these people in my life will always be there. These relationships have been a precious part of my life and I treasure them - they have made me the way I am, so they are very much a part of me.
“But at the same time, I need a reminder - to tell me that it is dead. That it is in the past now. And for a person like me who finds it really difficult to let go, such a reminder is necessary. Because no good ever comes out of raising the dead back to life. So love it, honor it, cherish it, treasure it, BUT don't let it interfere with your life in the present. Much like the respect for the dead.”
“My mourning bands are a reminder of that.”
“Oh, hell yeah! I have already planned out #2 and #3.”
On His Story Of Ink & Skin...
“This tattoo brings together all of my passions and inspirations in life; music, science, art and my mother,”
“Here's a breakdown of what this means to me: Music is in my DNA. I learned how to play the piano briefly before moving over to bass and guitar when I was a kid, and I have been playing ever since. The notes do not represent any particular tune - rather it is intentionally random, and represents the nature of improvisation and the entropy of the universe itself. In the tattoo - Treble clef = guitar, Bass clef = bass, Ø = jazz
(I love jazz, and this is used mostly in jazz music to represent an half diminished chord)
“Science - I am major physics, astronomy and biology geek. Hence the double helix with 13 lines representing the base pairs. The solid line represents a sine wave - one of the most basic waveforms. To get a little geekier - the double helix can also be seen as an electromagnetic wave representing light, energy and everything around us. And the Ø symbol looks like a side view of Saturn with its rings. As if this was not geeky enough - the day I get my DNA sequenced, I will add in my actual base pair combinations to the lines; T-A, C-G, etc.”
“And finally, my mother - she was the driving force behind all of the above. She passed away six years ago and every time I look at the tattoo, it reminds me of her and that I am who I am, doing what I am doing because of her. And it makes me smile.”
“This was done at Mission Ink in San Francisco by Dawn. She is a genius - she took the time to not only draw out my design perfectly but also got to know more about me and the meaning of the tattoo before starting.”
On Her Story Of Ink & Skin...
"The sleeve grew into what it was by being a cover up to a cover up. I initially had some lyrics put on my arm. They're still very dear to me, but I wanted them covered as I felt they grew extremely private for me over time, and I didn't want to answer questions about them,"
"I found an artist to create a wing as a cover up, and once it was done, I was devastated as I loathed it."
"I made a trip there, met Senthil who owns it and he assigned one of his best guys - Madan - to the job. Two years later I'm overjoyed with the ink on my arm. It's a beautiful combination of Native American art and Indian mehendi designs. I've also incorporated flowers, butterflies, text that's important to me and a deer."
“Oh man, of course I will! I always tell my friends, who are getting their firsts, that tattoos are so, so addictive. I am sure I can say this for most people who have been inked, and mostly for myself, that getting a tattoo is really not about jumping on to the ‘cool’ bandwagon. It comes with the idea that you can preserve and celebrate a feeling, a moment, a thought, or just something that you love and let that reflect what you choose to be seen as.”
On Her Story Of Ink & Skin...
“If I had to pick one, I'd say that my latest tattoo that I got in Feb means the most to me,”
“I got it on my Sternum, and it is about 2 inches by 1 inch. It is the silhouette of an aircraft with 4 stripes near its wings.”
“I got it to remember my Dad for the man he was, and for all that he loved. He came from one of the smallest villages in India and dreamed of becoming an IAS officer. But he came from a very poor family and could not pay for his education. So he came to Bombay, in the early 80’s and slept on the train platforms, while struggling to look for a job. He finally did start working as an air-steward and went on to do his flying. He was the only person to get his hours (flying jargon) within six months, and all this, while he took care of me. He'd always tell me that he was glad that he didn't go down the IAS route, or in his case, couldn't, because he could never love it, or anything else more than he loved to fly. When he was diagnosed with Cancer, it wasn't so much the illness, but the fact that he couldn't fly anymore that broke his spirit.
“So I always want to remember him as the man in uniform with his four stripes, because that man was the bravest man I knew,”
“Yes, I will. All my tattoos hold a certain significance to my life, so the next time I achieve something or cross another hurdle in my life, I'll get another tattoo.”
On His Story Of Ink & Skin...
“My favourite tattoo is the warrior on my right arm, it was the first tattoo I got,”
“It was my gift from my first salary and I got it done from a studio in Delhi called Devilz Tattoos. Since then, I've got more work done around it and still have a little more I'd like to get done.”
“From that point till today, a warrior epitomizes my personality holistically. The qualities of a warrior are persistence, hard work, survival and the ability to beat the odds to win. Hence for me, personally, the tattoo is a symbol of the journey till date, and the road that lies ahead. It reminds me to keep going everyday, and to do what I do best: play football.”
“I got my first one around three years ago, and I just got my new one quite recently.”
“Hell fucking yeah, my body is a canvas! I don't think a person would ever be satisfied with just one tattoo, or ten, for that matter. Getting inked is like an addiction. I believe a tattoo takes you back to that particular moment or time in your life that actually changed you as a person, or something that will always make you feel special.”
On Her Story Of Ink & Skin...
“Well, the story behind my latest tattoo is finding harmony within oneself,”
“It starts with the Kundalini chakra which is the root of spiritual enlightenment. There are three triangles... The first one is for the body, the second for the spirit and the third is the soul. The Spirit Triangle is an inverted triangle which is the symbol of a woman to remind myself to be the strong, independent and balanced woman my mother raised me to be. My mom has constantly supported me in doing the things I love, and opening myself up to new things that I wasn't sure of myself.
“In between the body and spirit triangle, there is a sand time dial - this is to constantly remind myself the value of time, something my father always emphasised when I was growing up. He has always explained the importance of time to me, and the harmony that managing it well would bring bring to one’s life.”
“At the right time, my body and spirit will harmonise with the knowledge that I've received (the tree is the Knowledge Tree) when my soul will be created - which will happen when I completely open up my soul and become one with the universe. That’s when my eyes see what they couldn't before, and my heart feels what it has never felt . When I get to that point, I'll know that I've risen above all the negativity within me and only filtered the good thoughts inside me (represented by the dream catcher).”
“These guys are amazing they'll convert your thoughts into beautiful art,”
“The tattoo is really special as it reminds me to find that harmony in life.”
“The only thing I like attached is a bathroom.”
“Only an amateur counts the amount of drinks consumed,”
“The goal of every new piece added to my skin is to become one with the previous one. My journey under the needle started in 1990 in Chicago - the only reason I remember this date is because I consider it my date of birth.”
“Fuck yeah. I got heaps more to go!”
On Her Story Of Ink & Skin...
“The snake biting its tail (Ouroboros) is a symbol of wholeness or infinity,”
“It was in the early 80's when Bruce was ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and Michael Jackson was ‘Beating It’,”
“I was in my teens, and all my attention was diverted to the opposite sex. My school, like any other Indian school, had no sex education and all my questions were fixated on what the ‘male genitalia’ looked like. In my dreams, I envisioned boys with dragons and snakes and swords tucked away in their pants. I'd find myself staring at their ‘packets’ - sheepishly of course - and wondering how the hell the snakes fit in their pants.”
“Well, there were no dragons or snakes or swords. No siree, just a dangly, knobby thing that hung in hope.”
“A swayamwar, if you will,”
“Rumi said it best - ‘Be empty of worrying, think of who created thought! Why do you stay in prison, when the door is so wide open?’"
“I have eight tattoos in total, and I’m getting my ninth one soon,”
“I got my first tattoo when I was 15, and I definitely plan on getting more - no lie that it's an addiction.”
On Her Story Of Ink & Skin...
“My hawk wing tattoo is definitely my favourite,”
“Firstly, it’s extremely original, because people get angel wings, eagle wings etc. for sure, but not hawk wings.”
“I remembered exactly what the wings looked like,”
“After a couple of days, there was this one hawk - I thought it was a kite at first, but it wasn't - that kept appearing outside my window rail and it would just sit there for hours and stare at me. It was really freaky, but I felt comforted, safe. After a few days, I saw that there were a bunch of them circling around my window, and a couple would just sit there and chill afterwards. I later found out that a hawk is my spirit animal and they come to you usually during difficult times.”
“I love this tattoo, because the presence of the hawks makes me feel really safe and happy and for me, wings of any sort symbolise freedom.”
“Al from Al’s tattoo studio in Bandra did this one for me - he's done most of my tattoos, he’s a great artist.”
“It's an Archaeopteryx on my arm. If you don't know what that is, you're not alone. Only two people have seen my arm and instantly recognised what it was. With the rest I like to have fun saying it's a Sneagle (half snake, half eagle) or my dead dog with angel wings. I even convinced one chap once that I'd asked for a butterfly and passed out from the pain and woke up to find this on my arm.”
“I'm in the process of getting one more. Each time I think I won't get any more tattoos and an interesting philosophy catches my eye, and I absolutely have to get inked. I don't worry that I'll tire of my tattoos because I believe that when you get a tattoo, you need to find something that will remind your future self of who you were and how far you've come.”
On Her Story Of Ink & Skin...
“Ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by the now extinct Archaeopteryx,”
“It is said to be the missing link between birds and reptiles. In essence, it is a creature between two worlds. In many ways I am like that. Between my love for art and copy. Between spirituality and hedonism. Between my corporate ambition and my hippie lifestyle. Between Chennai and Mumbai. It embodies this constant struggle that makes me who I am.”
“Unfortunately, he said Vijay's sketch wouldn't fit on my arm,”
“He asked me to come a week later to see what he could come up with. So I go back, waiting to see something close if not better than the sketch I had. Eric pulls out his sketch excitedly and - oh, the horror! - it was a Looney Tunes style creature with eyelashes and a cartoon mouth. I might as well have pasted one of those Sticker Tattoos you get free with bubblegum on my arm.”
“And oh man, did he nail it! Eight hours later, I was at a New Year's Eve party, ready to start one of the most memorable years of my life with this little creature watching over my shoulder.”
“My first one was on my 18th birthday and my most recent one was in July 2014,”
“More tattoos? Hell yeah, planning on finishing up a sleeve by 2016.”
On His Story Of Ink & Skin...
“My favourite tattoos are on my ankles,”
“It's a quote from a Robert Frost poem titled Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening. My right ankle reads ‘But I have promises to keep’ and my left ankle reads ‘And miles to go before I sleep’. The font is the stylised Deftones font how they wrote their band name on the Around The Fur album cover. I got the tattoo in December 2010 when I was in Tokyo over the New Years’ week.”
“I was with an old roommate of mine from Boston named Kenta Shimizu who is half-American and half-Japanese,”
“He speaks Japanese fluently and has lived there so it was great being in Tokyo with someone who knew all the local spots. He was getting a half sleeve finished up by this dude in Tokyo, who tattooed a lot of Yakuza who like to get their ink done in private. So we didn't actually go to a Tattoo shop, we went to his house where he had all his tattoo gear set up. We were kicking it all day there while he was getting work done on his half sleeve and while I was there, seeing how skilled he was, I decided to get my ankles done too.”
“Being a third culture kid with bi-racial parents and family living all over the world, these lines always resonated with me. It always seemed like I was never done travelling and I always needed to continue my journey to the next place and see my family/work/job/college, and I wasn't going to rest until I got there. At the end of the tattoo, I got a nosebleed and then we all ate pizza! No but really, this hurt a fucking lot, don't get your ankles tattooed.”
“I basically take a lot of scrap metal and weld them into pieces of art and also big metal sculptures,”
“Working on the fashion side of art, such as making metal corsets out of scrap, is something I wanted to try out.”
“I will definitely get more,”
“I’ve just been trying to create something bigger, which is more me in terms of style and design.”
On His Story Of Ink & Skin...
“I have a tattoo on my rib cage of an evil jester holding fiye cards in his hand and the cards are the Ace, King, Four and Seven of spades which stands for ‘AK47’, like the gun,”
“So the whole story behind this is that when I was in college, I was obsessed with playing this computer game called Counter Strike; it had absolutely taken over my life. I used to play that game all the time and wouldn’t even know where and how time just went by.
“So ‘jester’ was my alias name while playing the game, and the cards resemble the gun AK47, which was my favourite weapon to use in the game.”
“The cards also symbolise how life’s a gamble and it’s what you make of it that really counts,”
“This tattoo means a lot to me as it represents the time of my life growing up that I had no other worries, and I was just doing something that I wanted to do and being this rebellious person. I didn’t given my college exams because I was playing this game, and I lost out on a year - and I’m glad it all happened now because I changed my field after that and studied something totally different. In a way, things worked out for me and that's why I had to get it done - as a reminder of a time in my life where it was just about me, and no one or nothing else. Happy times.”
“Unfortunately, we don't have the perfect skin tone to get really intricate tattoos so I was really happy with this.”
“The person who sketched my design is Rohan Joglekhar, a close friend of mine who is an absolutely amazing artist. So he drew it out for me and I flew to Singapore to get it done by this really talented artist Danny Lee, who finished it in four and half hours. It was really intense, as it’s on the rib cage - which is by far, the worst part of your body to get a tattoo done on. You have to make sure you control your breathing and not move, but he really did an amazing job.”
Compiled By: Homegrown Staff
[If you'd like to share your own story of ink & skin, please drop us a line at contact@homegrown.co.in with the subject line 'tattoo story.' We'll get back to you as soon as we can.]
