‘Get Inked’ at Café Live n Loud

GANGTOK, 07 Nov: ‘Get Inked’ by Sikkimese tattoo artist Mik Lepcha at the tattoo and painting exhibition underway in the capital. The ten-day exhibition is the first of its kind being held here in the state.
The exhibition began at Chullah restaurant near Krishi Bhawan, Tadong from 01-04 November and then at YOLO at SNOD Complex from 05-07 November. The exhibition has now moved to Café Live n Loud on Tibet Road.
Mik who hails from Namchi in South Sikkim is currently based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is back in the state for a short while to exhibit his talents and promote the art of tattooing here.
Pema C Bhutia who is the organizer of the ‘Get Inked’ event and also one of Mik’s clients says, “I wanted to do this event because he is one of the most promising talents Sikkim has to offer. It is high time we support our own local talents and appreciate them. We have to understand that a government job is not everything. Why can’t we turn our creative talent like Mik into a profession and earn a good living out of it”.
Setting up a tattoo studio in Sikkim is next to impossible as the concerned agencies do not issue license to run such establishments, it is informed. This is the reason why Mik moved to Nepal.
“Tattooing license is allowed everywhere in India except Sikkim. It is even allowed in neighbouring Darjeeling, Siliguri, Kalimpong and Kolkata. People here think that tattooed people are all drug addicts or alcoholic. It is high time people changed their mindsets. We are living in the 21st Century after all”, says Mik.
The organizer, Pema C Bhutia informs that a low scale private event is allowed so they are hosting the event in that manner. “I request the government to help and foster our local talents and set rules and regulations where people can get license to open up tattoo studios which might also help tourism here. And people would not need to travel to anywhere else to get a tattoo”, she added.
Mik’s first client today was Rinchen Thendup who was impressed with the tattoo he got, ‘Yabdud’ a local deity on his left shoulder.
“This is my first tattoo and I thought it would be very painful but it was not like that at all. The only thing you need to have is patience to wait for hours to get the tattoo completed. I saw photographs of his work on Facebook and I was quite impressed. From now onwards I will go to him first if I want another tattoo,” he added.
Mik does traditional, tribal, old school, realistic, dot works, portrait, new school etc types of tattoo & paintings.  His tattoo idols are Bob Tyrrell from US, Kate Von De from California, Nikko Hurtado from US and Mohan Gurung from Nepal. Although the price of a tattoo depends on the design and duration of the work Mik usually charges his clients Rs 2000 per hour.
Anybody interested in getting a tattoo from Mik can go to his Facebook page ‘Mik Ink’ or contact 7872062340.
[fotos and text BISHAL CINTURY]