Getting Inked — First timer. Tattoos have always fascinated me but I…
By: Aakash Mallik
Tags: First Time, Life, New Things, Tattoo, Varanasi

It might be obvious why I chose them, I like going minimalist. They are simple geometric shapes with a good deal of meaning to them so I was okay with my choice.

Where to get it done?

As I was a first timer, I had a lot of options to choose from. Now here is where you need to ask yourself, do you want this tattoo to be your identity or something that you look at when no one is around. What I mean by this is, if you are getting it done for the purpose of some internal commitment and you want it done just because you want it for yourself, then you should pick places that are concealed in a casual posture — lower wrist, biceps, chest, etc. If you want the tattoo as a personal brand then go for well exposed places — fore arm, fingers, I don’t know, forehead may be.

I was getting it done because I wanted to experiment with my body at the same time get something meaningful out of it in the end. So, I went for lower wrist extending all the way towards my elbows. So it is something I could hide using a simple full sleeves shirt. Plus my designs were not something that could get me killed in jail so I was okay with showing them off if I had to. So I was golden.

Picking an artist…

Be very picky about this. This is not your grocery store. If you wanted plastic surgery done, would you just ask a few friends for a plastic surgeon. Of course not. So do a proper research. If you are not satisfied with the guy your research yielded, then wait for the right moment. Always remember, the ink is going to stay.

So I did my research well and being in Varanasi has its merits. The place I went to is called Tattoo Adda. The place is a well known spot for tattoo enthusiasts. Here are the contact details just in case you feel like getting a tattoo done.

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Mobile number: +919369140551 ( Akash )

It is pretty easy to find ( 5min walking distance from PDR Mall, Varanasi )

So I contacted Akash directly regarding the art work I wanted, to which he replied promptly. The questions you should ask are how much will it cost. It would be nice if you have the pictures of the design handy because he will ask for it to give you an estimate. The minimum charge for any design would be 1K INR ( 1–3 sq inch ). If you smartly plan your tattoo design, you can get a big design in under 2K.

A thing to note here is, even though it might seem that Akash would be the one inking you, that may not be the case. It is a tattoo shop and there can be more than one artist working there, so chances are you may end up with a different artist. But I would say, trust your gut like I did. If you feel that the guy is confident and knows what he is doing then go for it. If not, cancel your plans. The person who inked me was Vishal Dwivedi and I can vouch for him. I will show you his work at the end of this article.

Pros:

They are professionals

Hygiene is maintained throughout the process

He will give you a thorough set of guidelines on how to maintain your tattoo and keep it from losing its sharpness.

Cons:

The place is a bit small, and I was hoping for a dedicated tattoo work room, but that was not the case.

The place was loud, really loud music. For which I will advice a few things later in this article. See, they too need to enjoy their work so you cannot expect the place to be dead silent just because you don’t like loud music.

Welcome to the world of hurt…

Probably the most important part of this article. The pain, the agony, the torture. The question that I used to ask, the question that everyone asks — Kitna dard hota hai? ( How much does it hurt ). I will be very honest with you. It is all in your head. Had I gone through this process 4 years back, I would not have been able to sit through that painful procedure but some how I have lost the fear of needles in my 2nd year of college when I went through a Rhinoplasty. Since then, I have never looked away when I was being pricked by a needle. I don’t wish to sound cocky, but I enjoyed the pain. Bring in some music that you usually enjoy and play it on a loop and sit back and chill. If you control your mind well enough, it will feel as if a cat is scratching you. If you don’t know how to get your shit together, you’ll probably won’t last a minute. I repeat — It is all in your head.

Actual image of my tattoo process

But truth be told, when the needle hits you, you’ll know it. When they do a round 2 on your tattoo, you’ll feel as if your skin is on fire, but keep a straight face and listen to your music. May be curse your ex for making you get this tattoo done while you are at it.

By the way, this is the music I kept playing a loop with my earphones on https://soundcloud.com/axelthesleff/red-sun

Yet another actual image of my tattoo process

The procedure itself

Just to give you an idea of what the process involves:

Firstly they will shave off all the hair from the target site.

They will apply a local anesthesia gel to numb the place a bit.

They will use something similar to a carbon paper to get the design on a sheet of paper, which is then transferred onto your skin to give them a guideline to trace.

Then comes in the needle gun. If you are into sketching, you’ll see something similar here.

An occasional application of Vitamin A and D is done to help you heal faster.

And occasional soap spray is done to clean up the artwork.

Finally another healing spray is applied and the whole tattoo is wrapped in a cellophane sheet which you are supposed to remove in an hour.

Finally the artist will give you tips on how to take care of your tattoo which I will mention in detail later in this article.

Pro tips: Do a proper breakfast before the session, keep a few chewing gums and use the restroom if you have to.

Science rules all

So being an engineer, it is a habit of mine to do a good deal of research on what I am getting myself into. Here is a good video on the working of a tattoo gun.