8 Indians Share The Personal Stories Behind Their Own Tattoos [Volume III]

Most marks humans uncover on their skin—scars, wrinkles, freckles, tears—don’t always start out as well received. But there are always those that learn to love them, embracing each as an identifier, the tiniest speck of something that makes them who they are. And then there are those who purposefully, painfully even, endure needles and shrill skin-stabs to tell their own personal story.
Tattoos or ‘creative forms of self-mutilation’ aren’t a new form of self-expression. The oldest known one dates back to the late fourth millennium B.C., and ever since, reasons for tattooing oneself have ranged from basic self-identification within communities to anti-Semitism and racially-biased branding. So why do we mark ourselves today?
Inspired by Isaac Fitzgerald and Wendy MacNaughton’s lovely book titled ‘Pen & Ink’ (a collection of illustrations and stories based on people’s tattoos) we set forth to collect tattoo tales of our own from people across the country and were enthralled to uncover that the millennial of today have far more individually motivated reasons for their ink.
Chefs, entrepreneurs, bloggers and other mavericks. Join them as they lay claim to different chapters in their lives through the ink on their skin.
[For those who missed the previous edition of this series, do read Vol. I. and Vol. II]

I. Ankit Chawla

This 28-year-old from New Delhi is a portrait photographer and a story-teller who tries to frame the simplest joys of life into an indelible memory. He specialises in making portraits for newborns, children, expectant parents and families. He has been getting tattoos for two years now, and plans to get more in the future.

His Story of Ink and Skin:
“I got myself inked on my last birthday. For me, the idea of getting a tattoo was to keep reminding myself about the importance of being ‘here and now’ all the times. I gave it a lot of thought before I finally decided to get myself inked. I realised that the word ‘now’ reversed becomes ‘won’.”
The Artist:
“I carefully chose the font of both the words, on internet and went to a tattoo parlour in my neighbourhood called Hunk Tattoo and decided to get inked on my fingers.”
 

II. Bidisha Kohli

 29-year old Bidisha is a Fashion Stylist in Mumbai. She’s been in the business for 9 years. She currently has 3 tattoos with plans for more in the future. Her first one was done 6 years ago.

Her Story of Ink And Skin:
“You keep me safe, I’ll keep you wild.” Those are the words neatly typed out just below the nape of Kohli’s neck.
She explains, “The thing about me is I love to travel, party, roam the world and have a great time. I sometimes feel I become a little oblivious to safety and put having fun on a higher pedestal than to keeping myself away from harm. This is not just for a boyfriend or husband but even for a friend, which is that when we are together we may be doing crazy things but then I need that person to keep me/us safe. And when we are together we will definitely have a crazy, fun, wild time.”

III. Nimisha Khanna

 This 24-year-old, Mumbaiker is a freelance model and intends to pursue a qualification in Fashion Management later this year. She also runs a fashion and lifestyle blog called ‘Local Ladki’. This is her first tattoo but she intends to add at least two more soon.

Her Story of Ink and Skin:
“My tattoo is a map of Kenya and a map of India overlapping each other, with dotted lines around the cities of Nairobi and Mumbai. My father has always been away from us for work. He spent almost a decade in Kenya, Africa. So growing up, my mother and I would travel back and forth between Mumbai and Nairobi. My mother works for a leading airline and they luckily granted her a two year leave so when I was about 8 years old, we moved to Kenya. Those two years were the most beautiful years of my life. Bitter-sweet actually. A lot of first-time experiences, good and bad. And dealing with that obviously made me realise a lot of things at a young age. So, Nairobi will always be close to my heart. It’s probably been the only time the three of us have lived together as a family and spent quality time. ”
The Artist:
“I had been contemplating a tattoo for a very long time and initially, wanted to get an ambigram of my parent’s names. But I thought it was too cliché and wondered if there was something else I could do and that’s when it struck me - why not get a map of Kenya and India? It would depict all the times the three of us have shared, individually and together as a family, in both these places. I got this one in March this year, in Auckland (New Zealand) at the Genuine Hustle Tattoo Shop. The artist’s name was Timothy.”

IV. Rashila Lobo

 At 22, Goa native Rashila just graduated from a Hotel Management school in Shanghai, China. She then decided to take a year off to concentrate on her art (you can view it on her instagram) and figure out what she wants to do. Since June 2015, she has had acquired two tattoos and she would like to get more later, provided they are unique and mean something to her personally.

Her Story of Ink and Skin:
 “I can’t remember when exactly I decided that I was going to get one but I have always thought that this form of body art, if properly thought out and executed, could add to the beauty of the body. I got this tattoo on the left hand side as it is closest to the heart, and since it relates to family seemed appropriate. The tattoo itself relates to my family name as “Lobo” means wolf in Portuguese and Spanish. Each wolf represents one of us siblings based on our personalities. The first, the howling one, is myself as I am a loud person and always have an opinion or something to say and don’t usually keep quiet when I do. The middle one which is in a playful stance stands for my sister who is the baby of the family, and the last is for my brother who is more reserved and observant. I decided to go with geometric wolves since it looks very clean and uncluttered and since I am very petite something heavy wouldn’t suit. Geometric also because I absolutely love stripes and lines. In fact a lot of my own artwork is lined. I definitely plan on adding to it but I haven’t decided how yet.”
The Artist:
“I got it done last year in June with Kelsey Anderson who runs the Kraayonz Tattoo Studio, Goa branch.”

V. Ridhi Dhar

At the age of 27, this globetrotter has already seen her fair chunk of the world. She was born in Dehli, raised in Moscow, then returned to Dehli before moving to Pune where she worked as a primary school teacher. I also make art, sing and want to pursue a Phd. Masters in Sociology, B.Sc in Home Science and a B.Ed in History and English. As of now, she has two tattoos, which she started getting from the age of 23. She also plans to add a full sleeve in the future but admits that she “just isn’t in the zone yet. I’m very particular of what I get. Aesthetically it should be pleasing and it should definitely mean something to me, philosophy wise.”

Her Story of Ink and Skin:
“I had been going through a rough time. Don’t get me wrong, everything around me was great.  Relationship, good. Work, good. Health, good.  Friends, good.  But somehow I would spiral into this self-doubt; you see I like inviting melancholy, subconsciously. Anyway, I was reading Autobiography Of A Yogi, and I found myself in a good space. And then, was born the concept of a blooming lotus upon which were the different phases of the moon. The lotus signifies the blooming of the ever-expanding consciousness and the phases of the moon symbolise how life has highs and lows; well lit nights and dark ones too. It’s on my back to remind me that everything is a phase leading to my growth. I can be negative and say nothing contributes to anything and life is as random as a peacock in a bucket of ice but I think I’d like to keep myself grounded.”
The Artist:
“I got it from a guy a Pune named Andy, great tattoo artist. His place is called Ink-A-Lab. Right after I got it, I thought it looked like weed and I was a bit amused but I guess it was the tattoo equivalent of a Freudian slip!”

VI. Siddharth Karnani

At 23, this Mumbai resident has completed my Masters in Strategic Marketing from London School of Business and Finance. He is currently working with Times of India in Bombay Times Department as an associate in Social and Digital Media. He has two tattoos at the moment and is considering a third.

His Story of Ink and Skin:
“You Don’t Learn To Walk By Following Rules. But You Learn By Doing And By Falling Over”, this quote from the famous documentary on Johnnie Walker which showed how bad the situation was when the company was in a period of heavy loss. But with a smile on his face and a little hope, Mr. Walker just kept walking all around the world and attained success. The struggle that he went through to help the company accomplish its goals shows that life will throw curveballs at you, it will humble you, it will attempt to break you down and just when you think things are starting to look up, life will smack you back down with ruthless indifference. So never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about. The logo of a faceless man whose motto was ‘keep walking’ did appeal me because of its sheer attitude. I do see myself in this logo.”
The Artist:
“I got the tattoo done from my Friend Abhay Joshi and his studio is in JB Nagar, Andheri.”

VII. Tanya Maheshwari

22-year-old Mumbai resident Tanya is a recent graduate of FLAME University. She got her first tattoo in April 2015 and has added three more since then. She plans to get many more but all small, subtle pieces that can be hidden if necessary.

Her Story of Ink and Skin:
“I have always wanted a tattoo! I asked my mum repeatedly since my 13th birthday and she always told me I have to wait till I’m 21. That’s when it all began. This particular tattoo was my second one, and I got it because I was reading the sequel to “The Secret,” which reveals certain laws of the universe, where the power and purity of Love rules all. The author suggested I find a symbol that is close to my heart so that every time I see that symbol, I am reminded that I need to rise above negativity. I chose musical notes because, well music is everything! I live, breathe, function music. I can’t wake up without music, and music puts me to sleep. It is everything! I was reading the book like a guide--I was looking for something more, because at that time I was unable to strike a balance with all my daily activity, whether it was work, partying, eating, smoking, etc. The symbol’s details include- the beam note and the flag note, placed together. The Beam note is a faster beat, while the flag note is a much slower one – so put together it symbolized balance, which is something I was striving for. Interestingly, my grandmother who also loves music the way I do (maybe more) was intrigued by my idea and decided that she too wanted a similar tattoo! She was 69 then. She also sings, and is a part of many music groups. Thus, we got the tattoo together.”
The Artist:
Pravin, Ink Me Tattoo Studio, Pali Naka.

VIII. Yash Soni

This 26-year-old from Mumbai is in the music industry and in events. He also freelances as an artist manager. He has two tattoos with definite plans for more in the future but he’s in no rush. “Ink will follow me to my grave, so no rushing and no regrets later.”

His Story of Ink and Skin:
“To other people, my tattoo just looks like another attractive design but for me, it’s a part of my identity. It has elements which connect to me and also never fails to inspire. My design has taken overall 3 years before it got on my body, including a selection of elements, sketching them into designs and analysing the final design for a year. Honestly, I don’t like having a name as a tattoo. I like more authentic designs and meaningful symbols. Combining both, I chose Polynesian concepts as they have always attracted me. When I got this piece inked on me, I believed in my elements to make me a positive person. Well it has changed me as it has always reminded about its multiple qualities involved and shall motivate me further. Tattoos are for yourself. It could be as small as a water drop, but it’s true worth is only if it means something to you.”
The Artist:

“I have been inked by Micky Malani, Owner at Body Canvas and Sudhir Rao, an ace tattoo artist at Body Canvas. This art piece demanded two artists back to back, in one sitting for six hours.”

Research by Tanya Maheshwari