GUWAHATI: The tradition of inscribing tattoos is quite common among the tribes of the northeast - be it the Apatani and Singhpo tribes of Arunachal Pradesh or the Konyaks of Nagaland. But in Assam, tattooing, while being sometimes considered as taboo or as socially unacceptable, took time in gaining popularity. And to keep this momentum going, one young man, Bhagyaraj Baruah, popularly known as Akash, is making a unique attempt so that tattoos gain more popularity.
Akash runs a tattoo studio in Panjabari area at Guwahati named “Xclusive Tattoos.” He focuses on tattoos based on Assamese culture and traditions. "Assamese cultural tattoos are my way of contributing towards the state," said Akash.
Akash said that he is trying to introduce a particular style of tattooing in the state to make it more popular among the people and to change their mindset. He added, "Assam is rich in cultural heritage, so why not use those stories and mythologies in tattoos?"
It all started in 2015, when Bhagyaraj Baruah aka Akash began working on Assamese script tattoos after he received a request from a client to do a tattoo of a rhino. That’s how he began working on these types of tattoos.
"One particular guy asked me if I can tattoo a rhino on him and it was a really strange request for me because people usually ask for Chinese, American and Japanese designs. It was different which I really liked and after that I got a rhino tattoo for myself as well because it represents my state. Soon it struck me that we have so much to draw inspiration from. Say the Gamocha, Gohona, Lachit Borphukan, Sukapha, Bir Chilarai, we have so much to draw inspiration from these things. So why not use them in modern style of tattoo?" said Baruah.
Bhagyaraj was initially a painter; he drew inspiration from his late grandfather Sonit Kunwar Gajen Baruah who was an eminent artist and a cultural icon of the state. He said, "It was very unfortunate that I never met him.
But while I was growing up, I was surrounded by his paintings and artworks in all rooms of our house and I drew inspiration from those for the first few years of my life."
"As I gradually began working on the tattoos, I started getting good responses from people. They began accepting this new style of tattooing and I was getting requests for these tattoos, which gives me hope of a better future for the art," said Baruah.
Baruah believes that bringing culture into an art form like tattooing will slowly change the mindset of the people in the state and remove any stigma that might continue to be around it. “I am a painter and I still paint. But 90 percent of the time I am tattooing because I love it. Some people have this thought that people with tattoos are social evils. That’s wrong. A guy who is in a suit might be involved in anti-social activity and a guy with a tattoo might be doing some great social work. If you have a tattoo and you are a bad person, not having one doesn’t make you a saint either. So, that is mindset and the stigma that I want to change in the current society through this kind of cultural tattooing,” said Baruah.
