Blood Ink 2.0

The much awaited post is here. If you’re one of my ‘millions’ of readers out there, you will know whats this about from the topic itself. Yes, I did get my 2nd tattoo and the pictures below will prove them. Previously, I had posted about the 2 options I had on which tattooist to go to. I took into consideration a few things, mainly money and decided to go with the Shop 2. I personally the tattooist, Sergei working and I liked his work. Most importantly, I felt really comfortable talking to him. Think there is something with vegans that make them really easy to get along with. Also, Sergei reduced the price the 2nd time I visited him. Think it I was just meant to get it inked from him.

Let me show you the design.

There are 2 parts to the tattoo. One obviously is the sanskrit saying with 2 phrases to it and the other is the heart chakra. The literal translation to the saying is

न चोर-हार्यं न च रज-हार्यं न भ्रातृ-भाज्यं न च भारकारि।
na chorahaaryam na cha raajahaarya na bhraatrubhaajyam na cha bhaarakaari |

व्यये कृते वर्धत एव नित्यं विद्या-धनं सर्वधनप्रधानम् ॥
vyaye krte vardhata eva nityam vidyaadhanam sarvadhanapradhaanam ||

English;

Not stolen by thieves, not seized by kings, not divided among brothers, not heavy to carry. The more you spend, the more it flourishes always – The wealth of knowledge is the most important among all kinds of wealth.

I know this is gonna be hard to comprehend but it is something that I’ve always believed in.

The heart chakra or also known as Anahata, is the 4th chakra of the seven and I chose this one after doing a few chakra test online, the heart came out top and I also really liked the design compared to the rest. I can’t really find any other explanation for that. So there it is, the design explained.

So appointment made. I was nervous about the whole thing. Was really hoping that Sergei wouldn’t mess it up. The day came and I was up and early to leave. At the shop, Sergei was waiting with the printed design and surprisingly with vedic chants and mantras playing on the speakers. Seems like this guy is into these kinda songs. Cool. After some changes to the size, we proceeded with the inking.

Mind you, it has been a while since my last and I kinda forgot how it felt. The moment the needle hit my skin, it all came back. The sensation is neither pleasurable or painful, or so I thought. As he moved from the sides to the middle, the pain also too increased. Never felt pain like that before, or so I thought again. After going over twice on the saying, he begun with the chakra. As this was located on my spine, the pain was extremely excruciating. Every time he filled in the shading, it was like someone stabbed a knife in your back and kept pulling it back and forth, slowly. Fuck that hurt like a bitch. As Sergei worked on the tattoo, he also started singing along with the song which is just awesome. Its not everyday that you’ll get a sanskrit tattoo from a Russian/Ukrainian with vedic mantra playing on the background while he sang along with it. After 2 1/2 hours, the work was done and I was fucking glad. Looking at the pictures, I am really happy with his work.

As promised, here are the pictures and a short video of the pain I went through. Thanks to TT for them. Wanted to compile the videos and pictures together but Windows Movie Maker was being a fucked up bitch. So I just uploaded direct to youtube. Check it out and let me know what you think. Cheers!

 

Anahata

Cutting the crap and getting to the point, I’m getting a new tattoo. Like the previous one with all the drama, this too has it’s share. After admiring my first one for a while, I begun to itch for another. So I did my usual thinking which mostly happens in the toilet, bathroom and bed which are also good for other purposes. And since I’m pro Indian and shit, sanskrit was the choice. Location chosen; back.

There are a few conditions to this tattoo.

1. want it big, but not too big, tacky or gangster
2. want it done by a Russian to remind of my med school years
3. want the design with shades and not just solid black unlike my first one
4. and that’s about it.

After I got the design sorted out, I needed to find a proper tattooist in Moscow. Asked a few friends and some Google-ing, I got 2 shops. Did my research on both of them and paid them a visit.

This is what I have gathered.

Shop 1

• classy, well furnished, posh and large.
• websites packed with info and they even have a forum for discussion and inquiries
• award winning tattooist with awesome work
• seems to well equipped and very clean

Shop 2

• small and a decent shop with the basics
• websites seems decent with enough info
• don’t know much about the tattooist except he looks thin, a vegan and that a few of my friends tattooed with him with good results, but he makes you feel comfortable and at ease.
• has the necessary equipment to run a shop

You may begin to wonder why do I even bother with Shop 2 when Shop 1 seems so good on paper. The reason being that Shop 1 also cost almost 3 times as much to tattoo than Shop 2. A difference of almost 300 dollars. Yes, I’m talking american dollars. The malayalee blood in me is telling shop 2 but we’re talking permanent markings for life and I’d rather go professional, if I can get the cash. I’m still hoping for negotiations with the price as I await the tattooist from Shop 1 to get back to me with his sketch and price.

There is also another issue. I haven’t exactly informed my mother about this. It took years to convince her with my first and I can’t be waiting that long again with this one. I did though throw in the idea during summer just to check the waters and came back with a tsunami. I don’t usually go against my parents’ wishes. But then again, there is always the first time. I’ll just have to see how it goes. Maybe the next post would come with a tattoo, just maybe. Cheers!