Temporary tattoos are in vogue

Tuli Banerjee & Devanshi Joshi.Ahmedabad/Vadodara.DNA

Monday, September 22, 2008

Navratri is a festival when revellers are often laden with jewelleries and other accessories. In the last few years, however, many young people can be seen having temporary tattoos during these nine nights. “My business doubles up during Navratri. These days, I do more that 20 tattoos every day,” says Sonal Patel, a tattooist who is in the business for last 10 years. It is mostly people in the age group of 18-24 who go for tattoos. “In fact, men prefer tattoos over other accessories,” says Sonal who charges Rs250 per tattoo, be it a big or a small tattoo. “Temporary tattoos are also preferred by working women and school-going kids as they are easily removable and save time,” says Raja Solanki, a tattooist at Law Garden. Temporary tattoos are made of fabric paints mixed with a lot of fevicol. At times, glitters are also added to make them look sparkling. “They are easily washable and thus I can have a new tattoo every night that matches the colour of my chaniya choli,” says Reema Shah. In Vadodara, enthusiasts this year are going for coloured shimmer along with tattoos. The girls are also in a mood to experiment with the placing of tattoos on the deep lower part of the back.Sharma, a tattoo artist at Sayajigunj, said, “Tattoos in the lower back project sexuality. A tattoo at the bottom of the spine, just above the buttocks, can look stunning.”Archana Verma, a Navratri lover, says “I like to have a tattoo on the back designed as a flower, a freehand motif or sun. Everyone notice it.” Verma said she either paints them or gets stickers of tattoos now available in plenty at most outlets.”“The charm of the temporary tattoos is that you dont have to worry about needles and other devices. Besides, they are temporary and washable,” said Darshana Shah a tattoo artists at Karelibag.