The Hindu (India's National Newspaper)
- Saturday, Apr 22, 2006

A way of expression

They either make a fashion statement or convey a message. deepa H. ramakrishnan on the art of tattooing

In times of yore, tattoos were used to identify a person, whether he was a tribesman or a king. Today, they are being used to make a fashion statement or convey a message.

This trend has caught on in Pondicherry and Auroville, with more and more people going in for tattoos.

Josephine Le Gouvello from France, who has a tattoo on her arm, says, "When I came to India, I chose to tattoo because I was in conflict with myself. As women, we can't express ourselves the way men do, and we feel restricted. I guess the tattoo is a kind of expression of myself." She chose a line from "The Tempest" — "Wild waves whist" — for the tattoo that's transliterated in Bengali.

Josephine is in India to study inter-cultural anthropology of Indian contemporary art. "I constantly learn Shakespeare's verses. When I came to Kolkata, I saw a strong similarity between the city and Paris because of its intellectualism. The food, the people and the bookshops made me connect with the city," says this 23-year-old, who spent two and a half hours at Philip Pierre's Ritual Tattoo Studio (on the road to Auroville from ECR) on her birthday to get the tattoo done.

"All kinds of people come here to have tattoos done. Foreigners prefer tribal art and tattoo signs from the Red Indian and Polynesian tribes. Indians, on the other hand, like to have the names of lovers, images of the Indian Flag and the map as also religious symbols," says tattoo artist Philip Pierre, who has innumerable tattoos on his body, including one on Siva in a dancing pose on his back, images of monkeys on his legs and scripts and tribal tattoos on his arms and chest. He even has a tattoo on his lower lip!

Serious business

However, he doesn't encourage tattooing names of lovers because most of the time, the relationship does not last, and he has to tattoo something on top of the name to hide it. "One must think twice before going in for a tattoo, for it is serious business," says Pierre, who has been making tattoos for more than five years now.

"We change the needle for each person and use natural ink from France. The needles are soldered to a long steel rod, which is sterilised every time with spirit and Dettol. A tattoo takes about a week to heal. After tattooing, you must avoid swimming in the sea and sun exposure for a month," says Veerammal, his wife.

Pierre's studio has several catalogues of designs to choose from but if you have something else in mind, you can take it to him. The cost of a tattoo depends on the size. Pierre can be contacted at 93455-35557.

Krishnan, who is doing his BSc Visual Communication, has a tattoo of his own image on his back. "The drawing is important to me and it's purely out of personal choice that I had it done. It has nothing to do with my being part of a band that plays heavy metal," says Krishnan, who plays bass guitar in a band called Nerverek.

However, it is those who are into rap, metal and pop, who seem to be drawn towards this art. Take the case of R. K. Badrinarayanan, a second year BTech student, who is into pop and metal music. He has an "Om" tattooed on his back. He also sports a different hairstyle from time to time. "I am not religious but I think it's about not forgetting who and what you are. I could have had a tattoo of a dragon or something else but this is more Indian. Earlier, I thought the concept was to show off but later discovered it was something deeper and that it will stay with me for the rest of my life," he says.

There are exceptions to the rule. Like Siddhartha, who organises the Sec Sat music jam at the Alliance Francaise in Pondicherry. He says, "I am not into tattoos because I hate any kind of blings, be it tattooing or junk jewellery."

Sources: hindu.com