KATHMANDU

As the needle pierced the skin with the buzzing sound of tattoo machine, some endured it comfortably, some let out a shiver, and some just created different facial expressions to tolerate the pain.

'It's painful,' said Nirmala Tamang, who was getting inked at Sakti Tattoo representing Cambodia at the 11th International Nepal Tattoo Convention on its second day on April 6, and her artist was Arthur Akal aka 'Arth' all the way from Malaysia.

She was being inked on the right half of her right foot. A regular at the Convention for some years now, Tamang has been inked before. She got her full sleeve done at the last Convention.

The 22-year-old had nothing particular in mind this time and let the artist explore his creativity. She had chosen the 44-year-old Arth, who specialises in tribal tattoo patterns, as her artist because she found his work unique. 'He was doing hand tapping, using bamboo and not machine. As it is a traditional work, I wanted to do it,' said Tamang who shared that she found tattoos cool in the beginning.

Flaunting tattoos on different parts of her body, this tattoo enthusiast said she loved the Convention because no one judges you here. 'When I come and see other people with tattoos here, I do not feel out of place; I feel I am on the right path.'

This feeling of being connected, warmth and positive vibes is something that this Convention is known for not only amongst tattoo enthusiasts from Nepal, but from across the world.

Like Tamang, many visitors seemed to enjoy the festival by getting inked as well as soaking in its ambience that had a showcase of diverse cultural aspects of the country - from shaman performances to cultural dance shows and musical performances.

The warmth of the Convention seemed to equally affect the artists, both local and international.

Arth, who is in Nepal and the Convention for the first time, is one of them. 'People are very warm and welcoming, the vibes at the Convention is nice and warm,' explained the artist who had always wanted to come to this Convention because 'I have gone to many places and heard a lot of good things about Nepal'.

He is here with his girlfriend - a Spanish tattoo artist based in Cambodia - and both have their booths set up at the Convention. As he arranged a quick break from tattooing Tamang, he also talked about his style of tattooing - tribal tattoo patterns.

Arth comes from Orang Ulu (people from up river) tribe of Malaysia and has chosen to work using the hand tapping method of tattooing called 'tedak kayan' in his language, though he works with machine too.

That's because 'I am working to reviving this art of people. This tradition has been dead for 60-80 years now. This disappearing is because of colonisation' as per the artist who also revealed the significance of tattooing in their tribe. 'It has something to do with afterlife - when you die, the only thing that you can bring with you is the tattoo. This tattoo is like torch in the afterlife that leads you to your ancestors,' he explained.

One could see one more artist from Indonesia opting for hand tapping method of tattooing, while the dominance of machine and its sound was abuzz in the venue.

And it was evident at the booth of The Wall Tattoo representing Macao. Candi aka Neuro Tattoo from Macao was here with her teammates who were busy tattooing while she took some time to share her experiences about the Convention.

This is not her first time here as an artist, though 'putting the city of Macao in this Convention is the first time' shared she who has a tattoo studio in Macao and also works with Xhead Tattoo Inn of Pokhara in Nepal. 'For almost seven years I was going back and forth, sometimes Nepal sometimes Macao after I met people from the Xhead while travelling to Nepal,' recalled the artist who is now mainly staying in Macao.

Mainly interested in the ornamental style, more like tribal, black and grey works, she managed to tattoo a small piece of work for a girl on the first day of the Convention.

The artist has been coming to this Convention every year because she really likes it. Why? 'Because this is like a small gathering, and the artists are so much connected, and friendly. It is always good vibes here.'

Nepali artists are in no less love with this tattoo fiesta, and Soonil Xhead from Xhead Tattoo Inn is one of them. 'This Convention is my family, and it feels like Dashain is here when it is on,' shared the artist who will soon be departing for Frankfurt, Germany to take part in the Gods of Ink, one of the biggest tattoo conventions of the world. And Nepal Convention serves like a nice warm-up run for him who also revealed it will be his second time in the Gods of Ink. 'I feel conventions like this are bigger platforms and I feel really good that I am representing Nepal in such a big convention.' He has already received pre-booking of three clients.

But this has not stopped him from working in the Nepal Convention where he did one piece on the first day, and he is doing a back piece that he had started back in Pokhara.

Interestingly, along with tattoo enthusiasts, some visitors were at the venue to root for their favourite artist. Ruku Dulal, the mother of artist Kamal Dulal, who had set up his booth at the

Convention, was there along with her daughter-in-law (Kamal's wife) Srijana Rai 'to see the kind of work my son does'. She had watched her son's work happily though she did not understand much of the work. Yet she said she was proud of her son because 'he is working, making money, making friends from different parts of the world at the time many people are unemployed'.

The only thing that this caring mother is worried about is that her son's eyesight might weaken and he might face back problems in old age as he needs to work under light and his job requires him to bend a lot.

So, was she ever dissatisfied with her son for choosing tattooing as a profession? 'Never,' shared Ruku though she got to know about him getting into this profession only a year after he had started. 'We let him do what he wanted,' said the mother who herself has two miniature tattoos on either side of her jaws that she made on her own as a child. 'It's the design of the moon. When I could not get it right on one side, I made it on the other side,' she explained while revealing that she and her friends would do such works using goat milk, charcoal and needle. But she has not done anything after that, and neither is she an artist.

'None of my family members has art background,' Kamal added to that while sharing that it was totally unexpected for him that his family agreed to his choice of profession with ease and he did not need to convince them given the stereotypes and taboos related to tattoos in our society. He seemed happy that he had been able to convince his parents to visit the Convention this year though they were unwilling in the beginning.

Meanwhile, his wife is a regular at the Convention who said, 'I like his passion for this art, I enjoy this Convention, but basically I am here to support him.'

The Convention also featured sale of merchandise related to the tattoo industry.