A dragon heart, carrying his family initials in it.

A dragon for good luck and prosperity.

Dolphin with a personal meaning for a very special girl.

Cover-up

'Life's roughest storms prove the strength of our anchors'

Happy Maattu Pongal!!

For the love of the R! :D

The tattoo says it all!

A Polynesian cover-up tattoo

A Paper plane for the childish wanderlust in her.

Under-19 Asia Cup rowing Gold medalist!! Once a Champion, always a Champion!

"Tathastu" a word in Sanskrit that means "So Be It".

Birds set free!

Looks like she dipped her finger into a pot of stars

The Hamsa, to watch over you

'If I had a spirit animal, it would be the fox'

A Winner all the way!

She is a professional singer who traveled all the way from Karaikudi to Madurai, determined to get her musical tattoo done. She walked into my studio by chance and I had the wonderful opurtunity to meet, talk and do the tattoo for her. She performed on stage the next day and sent me this picture

The wheel of dhamma

This lady client sustained a traumatic injury to her hand, which then required extensive reconstruction. She wanted this lotus, so that when she looks at her hand, she remembered that she survived, and that life is beautiful.Now, instead of hiding her hand, she flaunts it.

A Tribal Scorpion for a Scorpio boy

A musical cat for a classical dancer

Faith tattoo. A cross with flowers.

Vetri 'Nila'van. Nila in tamil means moon

Shiva!

A wheel of blades for a martial artist

A Shuttle cork for a national level badminton player

I was touched to do these tattoos for a mother-daughter duo. The messages say it all don't they?

Aries

The compass is one of my favorites.

A camera for a photographer

My first compass

The Lotus

Nila in Tamil means the moon. Her name is NIla.

Names of her children.. In their handwriting.

Ma & Paa (For his parents)

Musically yours!

For a cat lover

A large tribal tattoo for a dancer

Faith tattoo. A cross with flowers

She proudly wears a stylized version of her lifestyle store logo on her skin! This custom-designed tattoo is full of buddhist motifs - the lotus stands for the lotus sutra, and the infinity knot signifies the human mind's endless potential for compassion and wisdom

A symbolic representation of names

A die hard Bharathiyar fan

I love how the delicate, fragile wings have come out.

A sweet "dad & I" tattoo. Again silhouettes ensure that even small tattoos convey a lot of atmosphere and meaning.

A small but interesting backpacker tat for a trekking enthusiast. I am finding that silhouettes are a good option for those who want small tattoos that convey a lot of detail.

The Rosary beads were fun to do. And faith tattoos are always so satisfying.

"thou art that". Profoundly philosophical, "mahavakyas" such as these make great spiritual tattoos.

Simple, elegant.

The ever popular sun and OM.

Tat tvam asi, with a raising sun.

For a cycling enthusiast, and a first rate human being.

A cool brushstroke style OM for a really cool lady.

A Sagittarius symbol on the outer calf.

Rowing scull for an avid oarswoman

Baby footprints with his daughters' names. My friend Rachel drew this design for her husband.

A feminine variant of the traditional Damroo and Trishul

Chinese fonts are ever so cool, and perfect for spots like the forearm. This one reads "friendship is love".

a Buddhist version of the Mahakala, God of time. The southeast Asian style is always arresting, and perfect for black packing.

"I am". Need I say more?

I love this minimalist version of Subramanya Bharati, placed strategically over Sinory's "acchamillai", "fearless" in Tamil.

"Sri Sri".

Danny's Manta - to commemorate his incredible diving experience near Bali, where he got to dive with ten manta rays. It was his first sighting of the beautiful creatures, and he had to have the tattoo! I designed this specifically to fit his experience and memory of the place.

Koi fish.

a beautiful religious motif- a starkly outlined lotus with an OM underneath it.

I love this piece. Fresh idea, lovely experience. A very Indian, henna-style design that I think would look lovely on a lot of women.

This solid, intricate Polynesian-style tattoo constantly leads the race for my favorite work so far (There are still no winners!) The sun, mountain and sea motifs in the central piece symbolize Varsha's passion for the seaside and the great outdoors. The mid-section of the forearm is an unusual choice for a bracelet, and I think it works out great for big, bold designs like this one. If you want a cuff design but not sure how about a tattoo on your upper arm, think about getting it on the forearm, just under your elbow. It can look terrific

A traditional indian design on my mom's forearm. I love doing Indian motifs, and I am glad interest in them is slowly resurfacing.

Hammerhead shark. Daniel is a diver, and wanted this piece for his first tattoo

A bold tattoo, but still simple, with stark black packing. These are all-time-favorites for most tattoo lovers.

A red fairy surrounded by words of inspiration. So many women want tattoos that express freedom and independence in some form or the other. I find this a heartening trend.

This was done for a lady who felt a leaping deer summed up her personality. I tried it out using pointillism - filling and shading done using dots. This is a great technique that produces truly unique tattoos.

Line drawing of a castle, with arabic font carrying a personal message. I love it when people take tattoos just for themselves, and not so much for other people.

Bharat is a Sagittarian, and wanted his sun sign for a tattoo. This design turned out just right, because the archer makes for a powerful image all by itself, without being obvious as a sun sign

This lotus turned out to be a stunner, and Devi Krishna knows just how to flaunt it!

Anitha Raghothaman's tribal, ocean-themed anklet

I love designing these tight, intense tribal designs for people. This one is loaded with meaning for Sugu, with each element representing a loved one

Om and ganesha motif

Tree of Life done on Abhi's arm, with a subtle message that has private meaning to her

Peacock with Vel - a religious themed tattoo that I designed for a lady client

Vinitha wanted a flaming phoenix on her upper arm, along with the name 'Vinitaksh'. I learned from her that 'Vinitaksh' is the indian mythological parallel to the Phoenix!

A small but striking phoenix that I executed in Bangalore for Gowtham

Dragon in flight - a large, roughly 7 inch tall piece for Dr. Bala's arm

A chinese character that has a private meaning to the client

A pretty little twin-heart design that I executed for Subha. Tattoos on the back of the hand are getting quite popular, because they are a great way to make a fashion statement

I designed these twin tattoos for a lady client who wanted a representation of the contradictions in herself - a tender heart, but also a fiercely protective nature. The thorny rose sits on her chest on top of the heart, while the gentle-faced lion sits on her back, on the upper left side. The idea is that her heart is somewhere between a lion and a rose.

Naren is a music lover. I created this Illustration-style audio cassette with Naren's music-themed message for his forearm

Sudhir Rao's Tao-themed tattoo. Sudhir wanted his tattoo to speak about striking the balance in life - between his roles as a provider and protector, and the nurture of his individual aspirations and passions. I based my design on the Yin Yang symbol, in which the upper 'day' section shows a bird protectively hovering over its nest under gathering clouds, while in the lower 'night' section, the eagle soars over a sea of aspirations, flying towards the moon.

Ganesha on Prema Srihari's forearm

This client wanted his daughter's name on his forearm

A bold, solidly packed Trishul & Damaru on Vijay's upper arm

Mrs. Prabha is 65 years old and a staunch devotee of the Goddess Lakshmi. She wanted this lotus on her forearm, and you will love the reason. Traditionally, there is a belief in India that, after you die, your favorite deity will receive you, and since you can carry nothing beyond the grave, your tattoo is the only thing you can offer to him or her. Mrs. Prabha wanted this lotus - Lakshmi's favorite flower - so that she can offer it to the Goddess when she meets her in the afterlife. Prabha aunty, you rock!

A delicate vine-and-flower done for Suganthi. She chose to have it done just above her ankle -an interesting and unusual place for the tattoo, but it turned out perfect for this design

A Yin yang sun symbol on Karthik's arm, to symbolize brilliance, and balance

Swapna wanted a tattoo to commemorate her relationship with her beautiful baby girl. This mother & child tattoo shaped like the infinity symbol was perfect for her

The outer edge of the forearm is becoming a popular spot for its high visibility. If you are looking to flaunt, pick something cool and linear, like this birds-in-flight design

Here's another great style for commemorative tattoos - a charms bracelet (or in this case, anklet!) With a little charm representing the people or places important to you

A cute little pixie on the upper arm of a college girl

Trishul with damaru - for a change, a bit of shading. This was done on the forearm.

This phoenix in flight is on Rathna's arm - symbolizing strength, resilience and courage, the phoenix is a big favorite amongst tattoo enthusiasts

An Indian style Peacock, done on the thigh. I love working with Indian motifs, because they are fresh and so full of potential.

A bold tribal-style ganesha, along with the ganapati mantra, executed on the upper back, just under the neck.

A stylized deer head, done on the forearm. Deer represent peace, family and fertility.

St. George slaying the dragon - I was excited to do this religion-themed piece on the forearm of a male client. I love the medieval look of the tattoo, with the coloured section standing out starkly against the black.

A deeply meaningful tattoo for a person who lost his baby girl a year ago. Sarah sleeps in heaven now.

One life indeed! Make the most of it!

A mother and baby elephant, with a private message below, executed for a young lady who loves wildlife, and elephants in particular

Phoenixes are immensely popular, but no two need be same, or even similar. This is a large line drawing piece that I did on a male client’s upper back, behind the shoulder.

The stars of her life – initials of family members in stars - done on the forearm

A tribal tattoo - a unique way to symbolically represent family members

Ganesha, made up of eight OM motifs, done for an infinitheist.

I love the simplicity and elegance of this tattoo. Perfect for the spot the client chose - the outside of the wrist.

The Eiffel tower on the foot of a girl who is a true globe-trotter.

This teddy bear and the private message under it was a lady client's gift to her husband on his birthday

Atheos - Greek for 'atheist'

This client wanted a popular tribal bull head for his arm