While tattoos might be the mainstay of hipsters and rock stars in today’s world, in India, the tradition extends over hundreds of years. For Mumbai-based tattoo artist Shomil Shah, the affinity for this art form is literally etched in his DNA. His great-grandmother from Kutch, Gujarat, had unique dotted tattoos on her hands and neck known as “trajva”. These markings are commonly found on people belonging to the Mer/Maher or Rabadi tribes of Gujarat or Rajasthan and were used in lieu of jewellery for those who couldn’t afford any. Three generations later, Shah has taken on the onus of creating a “visual archive of the tattoo traditions indigenous to the subcontinent” and celebrating this fading art.
Shah’s journey to reconnect with his culture evolved into a showcase of the history of the country’s ink. He travelled across different states of India like Maharashtra and Gujarat to uncover all the different tattoo traditions prevalent in the region. His first story featured 70-year-old Babli Bai, from Mumbai who got her first tattoo when she was 10 years old. Both her arms are covered with ‘godna’ markings from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and several other states. These godna markings are applied either as a rite of passage or as symbols of natural and spiritual elements that make up the tribe’s cultural identity. Babli Bai’s left arm had banana plants, a snake and a lotus motif while the fingers were dotted with many markings including a scorpion and a crescent moon. The other arm sported motifs of Lord Krishna’s milkmaids and motifs of her and her husband’s names. Her face sported a few dots as a way to ward off the evil eye. Soon enough stories started to roll in at a steady pace and the page kept growing. Alongside, people’s inclination to study their region or tribe’s tattoos increased and curious about these patterns, they even started replicating these motifs on their bodies.
Listen to his story here!
