April 2020

Ankur
I got to meet Ankur through a mutual friend. I still remember the day he messaged me about the tattoo he wanted. He sent me the design of the hawk but unlike anyone else, using his great photoshop skills, he had the design placed on the torso of a man so that I could see exactly how he wanted it – both from the front and the back. That clearly showed the innate detailing and care that Ankur stood for.
We had some great fun inking the hawk. I convinced him it needed to be bigger. We also did some interesting bits. The design was created in such a way that the wings went over the left shoulder and to the upper back with one plume converting into an “Om”. The other bit was of the plumes extending across the chest and onto the left arm. Yet if one were to lift the arm, the tattoo from the left chest extends onto the ribs in such a way that either way there is a continuation of the wings. If all this wasn’t enough, the plume on the arm joins a Shiva tattoo in the form of Goddess Ganga flowing out of his matted hair.
We took four sessions to complete the entire concept. Ankur loves his tat. It’s definitely an eye catcher and if one were to ever see him bare chested, you can’t miss the distinct lines of this beauty. Ankur has more than repaid for it by helping create a beauty for me – the cover page of this website. Can’t thank him enough for the mark (pun intended) we both have left on each other.

Shiva

Shiva is a die-hard tattoo enthusiast. He met me through some mutual friends and since then he has always wanted to be inked with whatever I thought was good for him. He wouldn’t even want to see a design and would insist I draw freehand directly on him.
I have always been a fan of Maori tattoo designs and in Shiva I found a fit person to carry a rib tattoo, given his lean tall figure. When I mailed him this design, all he said was “Uncle when do I come”
We completed the tat over two sittings with Shiva bearing the pain. Without a doubt, the ribs are one of the most painful areas to get a tat on and I dare to say I wouldn’t be able to take the pain myself. But Shiva being Shiva, even though we were through nearly 4 hours of inking, he wanted me to continue and finish the tat including the shading in the second session itself.
The result has been truly magical. Shiva believes the tat has been bringing him luck (it symbolises blessings, love, progress and prosperity) and he has been doing exceptionally well in college from the tat this lovely Maori tat adorned his body.
Wishing Shiva all the best and many more lovely tats in the years to come.

A jujitsu expert, a self defence trainer and a tattoo lover all weaved into one – that’s what Vignesh is.
Vignesh came through a reference . The first thing about Vignesh that one notices is his very calm composed self with total clarity of what he wants . When he called me up and shared the design he wanted inked, it was clear that here was a person who had done a lot of research, browsed through hundreds of pics, before picking up exactly what he wanted. If that wasn’t all, he had written to the artist and taken his permission to ink this on himself. It was a chest piece with a Japanese tat design of Oni – the Japanese demon. As I gazed at the design one could only admire it .
A year later Vignesh was back for more. This time it was a beautiful koi fish for his arm. As usual his meticulous search was evident. Interestingly, whenever Vignesh has shared the design he has wanted, I have never even felt the urge to offer options as they are always so perfect. He shared how over time he would like to have all this tattoos to be connected to form a half side tattoo coat. Vignesh’s love for Japanese tattoos is evident. I believe this is a start and honestly I am waiting for the day when we would have completed the tattoo coat.
To Vignesh , tattoos are an extension of the self. Here’s to seeing him extend his potential, his strengths and his inner confidence and we at Silver Phoenix consider it a privilege to be in some way connected with his progress and growth through life.

Rayomand (Rayo for short) was one of those who hunted me down. Originally from Kolkata and studying in Hyderabad, Rayomand happened to see a back tattoo that I have done for Zico ( Tattoo of the Month Jan 2013). He immediately decided that he wanted me to ink him.
A go getter that he is, Rayomand called me from Hyderabad wanting me to ink him. It was about 4 months later that Rayomand landed in Bangalore and gave me a call. We had a great discussion, had a look at his existing tattoo, and enquired what he really wanted. To my surprise Rayo was non-committal on the design. He insisted that he would go by whatever I thought was the right one for him.
Honestly that puts more pressure. Rayo is a hard metal fan. I decided to create something for him which was gothic in look and feel and yet has a very positive future outlook. The design is created in a manner that the lower half is macabre and ghastly while the upper half is full of hope and positivity. As I put the various parts together, we had skulls, smoke, barbed wire and clouds but we also had rays of light, roses, angelic wings and one eye for the Almighty, all assembled within a tribal ensemble. . I whatsapped him the pic and had an immediate “Yes”.
The tat was inked in one sitting of 4 hours. Rayo is one easy guy to get along with. We chatted in general, got to know him better and all along the design started taking stage. We finally had what we had always wanted. Rayo is extremely happy to have his arm adorned by this huge tat. He was even more thrilled that his family too found it artistic and attractive.
Rayo has started pestering me for one more – and again as he says – “it has to be something you want to ink”. Wishing Rayo all the best with his tattoo and many more to come

If I could pin point the craziest tattoo fan I’ve ever known, it would be Raunak.
I met Raunak about the time I had just started inking. He approached me through a mutual friend for a tiger tattoo on his back. He also wanted some Japanese or Chinese text but wasn’t sure what. Working with Raunak was always fun. He was and is a paradoxical mix of ultimate reverence and wayward carefreeness. Based on our discussion and the artistic licence he gave me to come up with whatever I wanted, we finalised on a design of two tigers on his back – one on the right top near the shoulder blade and the second around left waist. Tigers to Raunak stood for fearlessness, energy and alertness. The design also have Japanese text running down the centre of his back . Translated in English it meant, “The Spirit of Life “. I should say the impact of the tat was great but true to Raunak, he wanted something more. “Uncle can you add some tribal to this – anything you want. I want you to directly ink it on me” he would keep requesting. What we finally had was a beautiful back piece with a Tribal abstract interlacing the Tiger piece. Raunak has named the two tigers Illa and Bela.
Over time Raunak has had many more tats inked. His left arm is inked from top to bottom with Maori designs . When he was permanently moving out of Bangalore he came one last time to ink just that little bit of skin that still showed . Raunak still reminds me of raw energy and a never say die attitude. I am still in touch with him and true to his words, I know he will find one excuse or another to come to Bangalore for more tattoos.
Wishing Raunak a great future and success through life. God Bless.

Nevazar had wanted a tat for quite some time. Often he would browse for the design that he finally wanted inked. He always wanted something spiritual yet something very different from others. Finally he came upon when exactly he was looking for.
Nevazar messaged me from Hyderabad of his desire to get inked. After getting an appointment, he came over to get his dream tattoo inked. One look at the design and I was thrilled to have got the opportunity to ink him. This was the right tattoo to ink and the right complexion to do it in colour.
As you can see the pic is of Asho Farohar, the divine angel and the pic represents the four elements of life – water, wind, earth and fire.
We started inking the tat at 9pm and completed it around midnight.
What I love about the pic is the clarity, the beautiful use of colour and a distinctly different design.
As Nevazar puts it, “Every time he goes swimming, all the Parsi boys including the Coach look at him with envy, waiting for the day they can get one too.
Wishing Nevazar all the best. May the spirit of Good Luck be with him for ever.

There are times when one finds a tattoo design that just captures one’s imagination and all the artist wants to do is find the right person to ink it on – someone whose body type is in sync with the design, someone who can carry your work with pride and élan.
That is exactly what happened when I found a beautiful design of gun and roses. Everything about it appealed to me – the shading in the roses, the intricate work on the butt of the gun, the very combination of evil and good . Even the very artistic positioning of the tat from ribs to hip. What I now needed was someone to carry my pride and joy.
Sudip turned out to be just that fit. His lean muscular body complemented the design. My biggest fear was that Sudip may not like the design as the roses don’t seem to be every boy’s idea of a tattoo design. Thankfully , Sudip liked it instantly and agreed to go with the 21”long tat. He came over to discuss the design but the moment he saw the full size sketch, he wanted to get inked right there are then. And that’s what we did.
Three sessions of 4 hours each later, we had the tat completed.
Sudip loves the tat. As he puts it, it symbolises the good and the bad in each of us. The tat itself is unique for another reason – each rose is the size of an actual real rose. The gun too is made to real size. Sudip is proud of his lovely tat and believes it adds something more to him.
May the tat bring Sudip lot of luck and happiness. Here’s wishing Sudip all the best.

Mishal
Mishal approached me through a mutual friend 6 months back. He had been wanting a Japanese Ying Yang tattoo. He had been researching the subject for some time and met me with a clear request of a Ying Yang tat for his back with a Tiger and Dragon on either side. Seeing his enthusiasm we decided to go for a slightly larger tat. I also did my own additions to the tat . The moment Mishal saw the design he was all for it and we inked it a week later.
Even as we inked the tat, Mishal shared that he would at some time want to include the Japanese body guards into the tat at some time, though he wanted help in terms of its placement and design.
As I stared at his tat, mullying on the idea of expanding it further with the body guards, it struck me that this was an opportunity to create a whole back piece. Mishal was game to go with it and over night I created a design with waves, clouds, smoke the body guards and the cherry blossoms – a la Japanese design. One look and Mishal wanted to come the very next day to start on his tat.
Mishal has been an epitome of patience and strength. He bore up with inking the design, the shading and the total of 9 sessions we took to complete it. In fact the 9th session was five and a half hours long because we were determined to complete it. Mishal adores his tattoo and has been proudly showing it to his friends . Would like to thank Mishal for giving me the opportunity to ink this beautiful tat. May it bring him luck and happiness life long.