Tattooing is an art of patience, endurance, skill and time. While most of us love tattoos and some have even got a few in some parts of their bodies, getting a body suit done is not what people often dream of. From eyeballs, to skull and every other part of the body, tattoographer Karan has got himself totaaly inked. Interestingly, its just one tattoo he has which covers his entire body. That's indeed some real love for tattoos!
Speaking of Karan, he has not just got inked everywhere, but has also done quite a number of body modifications as he proudly claims, "Every body modification that exists on the planet, I've done it- starting from head to toe."
In a conversation with ABP Live Podcast, Karan opened up about his journey on tattooing and piercing, sharing some nerve wrenching experiences.
Piercings On Karan's Body:
Talking about the piercings he has done, Karan said, "Firstly, I have done every kind of piercing that exists. I have got pierced at least 250 times, and out of that almost 150 times, its me who has done it on my body myself. Every part of the body, including eyes and ears also, there is a piercing."
"I cut my ears from the top and its pierced from below- so they are modified," he added.
He has also modified his skull and said, "In the skull, I have got silicon implant which gave a modified structure to my face. So, eyes, nose, ears... I have split my tongue as well. I removed all my teeth and have got metal teeth implants."
His Love For Tattoos:
Karan happens to be fond of tattoos since he was a child. From getting his first tattoo in class 8 to full-flegedly diving into the profession of a tattoo artist, Karan's journey has come a long way.
Talking about how his love for tattoos began, Karan said, "My father had a tattoo. So, in my second standard, I used to wonder what is this thing that is permanent on skin. I was in 8th standard when I got my first tattoo, which on on my neck. When I was a 16-year-old boy in 11th standard, I started getting tattoos done. When I was in college, studying hotel management, I had opened by studio as well and used to do both things simultaneously after which I full-flegedly dived into this."
He also shared how this thought came to him to become a tattoographer.
Karan said, "Tattooing is meditation and at the same time, it's like very creative. You have to put your mind, body, heart- everything to it. And, as a person also I am like that only- for me it's either zero or hundred. I love black and white, my studio is also black and white, all my tattoos are black- and that goes with my nature as well. Jo karna hai sab kuch usi mein karna hai yaa toh karna hi nahi."
As the conversation continued, Karan shared about Rishabh- the person from whom he gets his tattoos done.
"Presently, my tattoos are on hold. But, the ones I have done earlier, I got it done from Rishabh, who is based out of Chandigarh. I have gotten tattoos done in UK as well. The tattoo in my eyes were done in New York, by an Australian artist. When I started doing, private part tattooing, it felt awkward initially, but eventually I was okay with it. I couldn't sit for about 2-3 weeks after that."
He also shared the longest tattoo session he has done saying that he used to do 10 hour first day- 10 hour second day, 10 hour third day.
"So, three continuous days of tattooing they would do on me and then I would take a month or a month and a half, or two month break and then we would repeat that 3-day session. On the third day, I would have a blackout, I would go unconscious and only then we would stop. My sugar levels would drop. When I realised this later on, I started eating chocolates in between my tattoo session," he said.
Tattooing On Eyeballs:
Karan has gotten his eyes black to suit his full-body tattoo. He went on to share the interesting tale behind it.
He said, "So, me and my artist Rishabh, I used to keep taking appointments from him when I decided to get inked on my torso and half body- so he said 'full body suit ka plan karte hai' He said that no one has done a full-body suit before, so I took up that challenge of doing it. When the black work started, I thought that if I have my eyes also black, it will go like a full package."
"I thought that when my body suit will get completed, then I'll get my eyes done. It took 7-9 years to complete full body suit. It takes ages. I started doing my reseasrch and came across this person who had invented eyeball tattooing, who I thought would be my safest person. He was an Australian but I didn't have visa for Australia. I had a visa for New York and luckily he was travelling to New York after some time. So, we planned to get the tattoo done there- both the eyes, and then two days break and again both the eyes," he added.
Tattooing in the eye has a big risk and its only natural that Karan too was skeptical.
He said, "I had my concerns regarding this, most important of which was that I could go blind. So, at home I used to blindfold myself and do all the work, so that in case I go blind, I will still be able to manage. I practiced this for three months."
"When the tattoo was done, my eyes were swollen- it was out of my eyelids and I could not see light because they would burn and water all day. So, I was there in New York for 15 days after which I came to India. Then, it took three and a half months to heal. For those three and a half months I had to stay in my dark room as I could not see light. I could not work out and in that duration of three months anything could happen, which I did not know," he said.
Talking about how he felt on seeing himself in the mirror after the tattooing, Karan said, "On seeing myself in the mirror, I was very happy and the thought that came to my mind was that 'ye mujhse koi nahi chheen sakta'"