Relationships Talk

When you are in love, no gesture seems too big. But when it comes to permanantly marking your body with the name of your object of affection, you might want to think twice. This is the advice that Delhi’s tattoo artists have for their clients. Remember Deepika Padukone’s RK tattoo which was later covered with a rose? There are many like her who end up getting tattoos of their former partners’ names covered up after breakup. Especially when they are getting married to someone else. In fact, tattoo artists in the city tell us that 40-50% of their clients during the wedding season are there for cover-up jobs. The kind of tattoos being covered up include everything from the initials of a former partner, to even his/her portrait!
40-50% rise in cover-up tattoos during wedding season
You might think that getting your partner’s name – or face – inked is an apt way to express your love, but tattoo artists say they usually discourage people of getting such tattoos. Micky Malani, co-founder, BodyCanvas, tells us, “During the wedding season, we see a 40-50% rise in cover-up tattoos. The most common reason people give for covering up a tattoo is that they have broken up with a former partner, and since they are planning to get married to somebody else now, they need to get rid of the old tattoo.”

Micky adds, “Removing a tattoo completely is a long and painful process that is why people opt of cover ups.” Chetan Salhotra, co-founder of InkSpace Studio, adds, “When people start looking for marriage prospects, they surely do not want the scars of a past relationship on their body. And a new design on their tattoo is also a way to move forward. Covering up a tattoo takes two-three sessions unless it is a very small cover up. We discuss reference pictures with our clients, tell them what possible designs can be made on the tattoos and then go ahead with it. It is a time consuming process because you are making something new on an old tattoo that your client does not want anymore. They had already made one mistake by getting the tattoo in the first place, so we cannot suggest anything random for a cover-up tattoo,” he shares.

‘Prices are double for cover-up tattoos but who is thinking about the money?’

Those trying to cover up an old tattoo do not mind spending extra for it. Max, founder of InkInn, says “When people are in love, they do not think of what will happen in the long run, but when they breakup, they realise that they have made a mistake by getting that tattoo done. When they come for cover-ups, we sit with them and discuss what new design will make them happy. The cost for such tattoos is usually double, but it all depends on the design, size, time and the skin tone of the person, but people rarely care about the money in such cases.”

Ali Burrni from Burrn’ink Studio, adds, “Once a client came in to get his fiancee’s name tattooed and I advised him not to get it done, but he insisted, saying that the girl is his fiancee. Six months later, he came to me and said that he wanted a cover-up. We have a good number of such clients who come throughout the year. Some tell us the reason of their cover-up tattoos, others are just too embarrassed to share the reason. Since covering up requires a lot of work and time, the price for such tattoos is almost double.”

‘Didn’t think too much while getting the tattoo done’

Those who have gotten such tattoos covered tell us that while they were getting inked, they thought that they were doing the right thing. “I was dating a girl for four years and we planned to get married. So I decided to surprise her and got her name inked on my arm. I thought it was romantic, but we broke up a year after that and the first thing that I had to get rid of was that tattoo. My parents wanted me to get married and I could not meet new girls with that tattoo on my arm, so I got it covered with a flower tattoo. Though it does not go with my personality, it is better than having her name. Shaadi bhi toh karni thi na,” says Roshan Singh*, a businessman who lives in Saket.

Simran Chopra*, a resident of Rajouri Garden who works at an MNC in Gurgaon, adds, “I had the initials of my last boyfriend tattooed on my back. Since it was on my back, nobody in my family knew about it. It was a gift that we had given each other on Valentine’s Day and we were pretty serious about each other so I did not also think a lot before getting it done. We broke up in August and now I am getting married in March next year, so I got a crown made on top of my previous tattoo. Thank god, it was only the intials, otherwise I would have to think a lot to get a design to cover it up completely.”

*Names changed