Getting Tattooed..

I kept this part out of the last post on the Goa trip because it certainly deserves mention separately. We decided to meet this friend of a friend who is incidentally also a tattoo artist to score some 'maal'. One thing led to another and we found ourselves checking out his books on tattoo designs and wondering which one to get done and what part of the anatomy. Also vital was the need to budget since getting a tattoo wasn't part of the original plan and it was necessary to know how many meals and beers would be sacrificed in order to adjust a tattoo into the equation. Fortunately being good with numbers all was well and I selected my design promising to come back the day before my departure to Bombay and get myself inked.
The day of judgment dawned and I was forewarned by my tattooed friends that 'It's gonna hurt' with an expression that brought to mind the look sadists probably give when they're just about to start cutting you up. But the 'joints' were being rolled enthusiastically and I was offered to 'spark' the first one and dull myself to the pain that I was about to endure. The tattoo artist by the name of Noel asked me where I wanted to get it done and I chose the left side of my chest as the spot to be permanently tainted. I thought it was an apt spot since the tattoo would not look right elsewhere as you can observe from the picture. It just seemed like the right place. Noel proceeded to warn me with a slight laugh that 'It's gonna hurt there man, haha". Just what I needed; some more encouragement and this coming from the tattoo guy himself.
He drew the outline on my chest with a pen after shaving away the hair from the area that was to be tattooed. I was quite dulled by then and ready to be subjected to the mercy of his needle. When he started I found the pain bearable although when he got to the parts near the bony area toward the center of my chest is when I knew what pain he was talking about. I could feel the vibrations travel through my spine and tingle the tips of my fingers! Finally, two and a half grueling hours later he was finished and just when I had had enough of it. But the whole process gave me the kind of high that can only be felt and not put into words. I've already told myself I'm going to get my next tattoo done from him. It is an experience that stays with you for life. Literally..