Kathmandu

An idol of Gautam Buddha at the entrance along with some art pieces on its (idol’s) left welcome you at Heritage Garden — a new venue at Sanepa that is a host to the seventh edition of International Nepal Tattoo Convention.

On the first day of the three-day fiesta, that started in the afternoon on March 31, the premises of the venue was happening with tattoo enthusiasts — they were seen sitting on the stairs leading to the convention hall and chatting, showing their tattoos to one another, enjoying lunch in the food court and so on. The ambience would take anyone present there to the world of art.

The artistic vibes got more evident as soon as one entered the main hall — the buzz of tattoo machines, artists busy inking clients in their respective booths, showcase of various cultural elements reflecting Nepalipann, the first day was a true showcase of art.

In the 97 artists’ booths, tattoo lovers can get their body inked from artists from Nepal, the United States of America, Sweden, France, Thailand, Italy and Australia, among various others. And there are various stalls selling tee-shirts, skateboards, tattoo inks, jewelleries, among others.

“This is a platform for artists to show their skills and it has been an excuse for people to come to our country,” shared Bijay Shrestha, one of the directors of the Convention. The organisers expect some 5,000 people to visit the Convention in the three days.

An occasion to unite people from different parts of the globe, here are some of interesting things on the first day of the Convention:

Collaborative efforts

One interesting thing to notice at the venue was the collaboration of tattoo artists. As soon as you enter the venue and look to your right, you can see husband-wife duo Sabita Maharjan and Pralhad Shrestha inking a client’s body together. They were focused on making a large tattoo — featuring mandala and realistic style — on 25-year-old Anish Shakya’s back.

“It is comparatively easier to work together. We can finish the work quicker when we work together,” shared Pralhad who is good in realistic work. “And Sabita is good in mandala and garbha designs. The fusion of our skills will lead to a unique design,” shared Pralhad.

“It helps in creating new patterns and designs,” added Sabita.

Working together is fruitful. It helps to finish the work early and also helps in learning from one another.

“One can look the art work from a different perspective when you work with a partner. Art work of two people can be viewed at a time in a single work. It is faster too, though it depends upon the designs — simple or complex,” shared tattooist Bipin Maharjan of Freak Street Tattoo.

Bipin was working with fellow artist of his studio Dinesh Maharjan to ink the thighs of Tshering Chambel Sherpa.

“We work at our own speeds and try to give the best as much as we can. There is no feeling of competition with the partner you are working with. If you can collaborate, you can make something unique,” added Dinesh.

Sensitive body parts

While the artists were busy tattooing designs on their clients, there were tattoo lovers brandishing body art. Among them were the crazy tattoo lovers, who do not mind inking their intimate parts. Though unusual to find them, the Convention was attended by many such tattoo enthusiasts.

Lattu Shrestha, 26, currently residing in Thamel, is one of them. Passionate about tattooing, he managed to get his right buttock inked some 45 days ago.

“I wanted to get a tattoo on my butt because I feel tattoos are not only for display — it’s also an art form,” shared Lattu, who got “the dotted pattern tattoo” inked at a tattoo shop in Thamel.

Lattu, who learned tattooing in Pokhara, and practised for sometime is taking a break now. And he wishes to get inked on his left butt too. He has dedicated a tattoo to his parents — the letters ‘Khshema Garidinus Mero Galtiharu’ (forgive my mistakes) are inked on his throat. “This one is for my parents — I am asking for their forgiveness for the mistakes I have made,” he added.

There is a colourful neo-traditional tattoo on the chest of 29-year-old Neena Jay, who was working at the booth of Devil’s Tattoo, New Delhi, India. A glowing red heart with a pair of parrots flying are inked on her chest.

“It’s comparatively painful to get inked in sensitive areas like chest as working on a body part near the bone

is painful. But you just don’t care about pain when you really want to do it,” Jay expressed.

Interested in tattooing since her teenage days, she has plans to get tattoos in spaces available on her hand and legs.

Nao from Japan has tattoos in his groin area. “I find it interesting to get inked,” shared Nao, who was getting his tattoo completed on the first day of the Convention. His big piece of tattoo starts from his neck and extends to his groin area — “I was interested to get a big tattoo” which is why he chose to ink his intimate part too.

Aurora Oz, a 24-year old US citizen, has a tattoo on her chest that has extended up to the nipples. Inking the mandala design Oz “wanted it to be like that of the warrior”.

But why intimate parts?

“Inking isn’t to show to others. When you do it, you do it for yourself,” she shared.

Split tongue

Ivan Schmid, a 28-year-old Swiss citizen, is one visitor whose tattoo ‘13’ inked behind his ear grabbed the attention of this reporter. The scarification on his arms was another thing.

“The number 13 was inked during Halloween some five years ago. I was interested in tattooing since I was 10 years old,” shared Schmid, whose scarification read ‘LOVE AND HATE’.

“I had a tragic experience regarding my love life. I was affected, and as I was young I did this scarification. I don’t regret but looking at this it reminds me of the time then,” Schmid added.

As he started talking, he brandished another body modification — his split tongue. Two centimetres of his tongue is cut and stitched.

“When people see my tongue they ask questions about why and how? I wanted to do it because it was something cool to do. I watched a few videos in YouTube and did it. Though it was difficult to pronounce and eat in the first month, there isn’t any problem now. People are surprised to see the split tongue. It’s like that of a snake, people comment on it but it feels great to have a split tongue,” Schmid shared.

New venue

One of the changes in the Convention this year is its venue. Being held at Heritage Garden, Sanepa, the spacious venue allows people to roam around freely. And on the first day, though some people seemed to face problems regarding its location, they managed to find the place. “We followed the Google maps and as we were coming, we saw some foreigners with tattoos and followed them as we were quite sure they were coming to the event,” shared Lattu.

Being in a new venue was like having shifted to a new house for some. “We were used to previous venue and knew everything about it. But here it is like you have shifted to a new house. You need to spend some time to know things,” Chetan Salhotra, founder of Itattyou, India shared. Yet they seemed to be enjoying the change.

What: 7th International Nepal Tattoo Convention

When: March 31 to April 2

Time: 11:00 am to 7:00 pm

Where: Heritage Garden, Sanepa (Old Gyanodaya School)

Ticket price: Rs 200 per day; tickets available at the venue on the days of the event

For more information log on to www.nepaltattooconvention.com