[ Mingkeng Osik ]
Tattoos are often associated with spirituality, power, and gender. In many indigenous communities, tattooing is a part of their culture and it is done on men, women and sometimes on children too, signifying a different meaning to different members of the society.
Today, it is one of the trending vogues as tattoos are found on many people for various reasons. People get tattoos because the tattoos mean something to them, or sometimes they love to get tattoos etched for their loved ones as a sign of affection. Having said that, it is artistically appealing and alluring for some people to decorate their bodies with something permanent.
Marking his way up in the tattooing business, Kaling Tatak, the 24-year-old lone tattoo artist from Sille village in East Siang district, has been making the rounds. Based in GTC, Pasighat, Tatak has been running his Infinity Ink tattoo studio since 2016.
Hailing from Sille village, Tatak has till now tattooed more than 500 people and counting. He did his tattoo course from Guwahati (Assam)-based Ink Hysteria tattoo studio.
Speaking to this correspondent, Tatak said: “It has always been my passion to be a tattoo artist. I choose tattooing because it’s an art form that one creates with compassion. We visualize your clients’ imagination and turn it into reality.”
“With tattooing as a career, I keep my hope and hustle high and consider every day as a fight for change, and hope that one day this profession will also be respected like that of doctors and engineers, and will be given much importance, as well, in the near future,” he added.
Tattoos are still not acceptable to some sections of the society. The taboo comes about from the type of people who would historically get tattooed, ie, gangsters or criminals. But viewing it that way now is an outdated thing, much like sexism, homophobia and racism.
We as a society should evolve and change our mindset because as long as tattoos don’t hurt anyone’s sentiment, they shouldn’t be a bother. Most importantly, we should try to pave a way for professions like this for the younger generation who are interested in fine arts or artistry as a career.
