Medusa

¨I inked my sister (Goma Dulal a.k.a Samita Dulal) at home. She was my first client. She does not like tattoo. She didn´t want to get inked at all. But somehow, she got distracted and got inked. It was a cherry blossom.¨, shared artist Kamal Dulal (Ink´s Inc. Tattoo, Thamel).

Artist Dulal inks about 400–500 clients annually. The number of clients are rising for him every day. At the moment, one have to get an appointment to get inked from artist Dulal. He believes the more time an artist get to design, the better is the output.

¨At first she disagreed with me. But I was positive. I followed her everywhere till she allowed me to ink her. The funny part is that I told her; if I become popular or my story gets written (we both laughed) I did take her name. I think the reason she gave the opportunity was because she saw the potential and my passion in this art.¨, continued artist Dulal.

Artist Dulal had interest in the tourism industry since his higher secondary school. ¨Nepal is a tourist destination. We have the mighty mountains and abundant amount of natural resources. We are rich in nature and beauty. Tourism has huge potential here and we can generate huge income. That was why I always wanted to join the tourism industry…There is good income…respect…friendship development…¨, said artist Dulal with much confidence. And so after his higher secondary he joined Travel and Tourism program (NATHM). He completed the degree with good grades. After his graduation, he worked for a travel agency in Thamel where he also worked as a city guide. But not long enough.

¨When did you meet artist Binay Gurung?¨, I asked with much curiosity. Now you may think why or how I know the name, right?? I am in artist Gurung´s Studio since the last 3 days. I got several stories from the studio including 2 travelers with awesome story. Moreover, yesterday we read ¨THE EYE¨, the story of artist Kovit Rai whose story have reached thousands of readers around the world and it´s still rising. Do not forget to read the story or you will miss a lot.

¨Well….Binay Dai´s (Brother) office was next to my office. It was about 4 years ago we met. In the beginning it was very causal meetings. Our relation was fast and quick; maybe because we Nepalese develop brotherhood real quick. I visited his office quite often. The more I visited his office the more I got into it. I hanged out in his office more. Sometimes I even cancelled my city tour just to be in the tattoo studio. I just like it and in time I asked Dai if he could teach me. Funny thing is that his reaction was completely different. I thought he would reject me instead he was really happy that I wanted to learn the art. He was more happy than I was…..¨, replied artist Dulal.

Every time he said the word ¨Brother¨ he was very respectful, polite and thankful. He truly appreciates all the good things done to him by artist Gurung. He believes that it is a gift from artist Gurung who helped him to polish his talent and skills.

Artist Gurung has inked artist Dulal on his left arm and leg. The most catchy designs is the GREEK GODDESS MEDUSA. Artist Dulal dedicates this art specially to artist Gurung. He said that he finds artist Gurung´s work really inspirational and beautiful. ¨It is not the work I go for, it the trust, the friendship and soul of the artist I look for and all this I find in Binay Dai..¨, said artist Dulal.

¨Why did you ink Medusa?¨, I questioned him with a smile. I went blank with the word Medusa. I do not know what it is and where I have heard. I have heard it many times, But I cannot remember it now.

¨I like lady figures....Maybe because I am a boy (laughing out loud)…the broad concept is that females are in the higher power than men, isn´t it???? The earth is considered as mother earth…..the universe too…..and greatest of all ¨our mother¨….females can digest the greatest pain in life for example the pain in giving birth….this is my highest respect to our female friends….and also my attraction towards female party….¨, he said.

We both laughed out in the waiting room of the studio. We were so loud that the whole room went silenced. Everyone´s attention was towards us. We had become the center of attraction. When we turned our heads the manager was there. The manager was not happy, I must say. We apologized to the manager and continued our conversation.

¨The reason I inked Medusa is because I find it very inspirational. To many she may be the devil. But before that, she was the most beautiful person anybody knew, even the lords. To me she is the goddess of beauty and independence. I also like her attitude. She has this attitude of not giving up on what you do…she reminds me that I should keep doing what I am good in it and be happy with what I have….one most important lesson I have learnt from her is that we can also learn from our negativity...we can put it this way, we always learn from our mistake, isn´t it????????¨, he concluded about Medusa. At this point I did not know what I could say. So I just stayed in silence and speechless. I tried to think of one best answer to his question but sadly I could not. This time we were softer. We were so soft that we could hear the others clearly. But we did not get distracted and kept our voice as it was.

There are various other signs inked like love and affection, protection signs, Perseus, etc. on his arm. He said that each one has its own meaning but not personally related to him like Medusa.

¨What difference do you find now and back in the tourism industry?¨

¨Hmmm….now I feel more happy….I do not have any sort of regrets…I like the career as an artist…I meet daily interesting people…sometimes you met really good people who becomes your true friends….some of my clients are my close friends now…when I was a city guide I enjoyed meeting people (new culture, new faces and new language) but it was very seasonal…nothing was stable…sometime you get many tourist, difficult to handle while sometime you do not get even one…moreover, everything was schedule like get to the office at 9:00 a.m., daily book-keeping, tour the clients, and so on…the opening hour was fixed but the closing hours were never fixed…sometimes you reach home late night sometimes not at all…But now I do not have such schedules…I come to office in time, do my work and go home early…Binay´s Dai is very understanding and professional person…He never orders me like in my past offices…here I get my freedom in my work and my art…and I happy that Binay Dai is always behind me…He guides me every single day not just with work……¨, said artist Dulal.

I, myself found the calmness and patience of 74 years old Bob very interesting as well as fascinating at the same time. Bob was a hippie looking man. His concept was to get inked in every country he visits. ¨Hey, Bob if you get this message do not forget to message me back because I want to write about your story, your ideas and experiences…I am sure you have a lot with you….¨

I got all the information from him. We then chatted about the funny things we did in the past like me splashing colors on the class walls and drawing all the naughty signs on the doors and walls. I do not know whether it is funny or not but we laughed because we found it was funny and hilarious. And, a group of young American girls entered the room. They all came for a tattoo. Everyone had different ideas and designs. But, there was one girl who had different concept. She is another Bob. She is called katherine. Her plan is also to get a tattoo from each country she visits.

Katherine and me, we became friends in Facebook. Soon I will write about her story, hopefully because her schedule is very tight. They have come in a huge group around 50 in numbers all of them are in their 20s.

Findings:

Medusa was originally a golden-haired, fair maiden, who, as a priestess of Athena, was devoted to a life of celibacy; however, after being wooed by Poseidon and falling for him, she forgot her vows and married him. For this offence, she was punished by the goddess in a most terrible manner. Each wavy lock of the beautiful hair that had charmed her husband was changed into a venomous snake; her once gentle, love-inspiring eyes turned into blood-shot, furious orbs, which excited fear and disgust in the mind of the onlooker; whilst her former roseate hue and milk-white skin assumed a loathsome greenish tinge.

Seeing herself transformed into such a repulsive creature, Medusa fled her home, never to return. Wandering about, abhorred, dreaded, and shunned by the rest of the world, she turned into a character worthy of her outer appearance. In her despair, she fled to Africa, where, while wandering restlessly from place to place, young snakes dropped from her hair; that is how, according to the ancient Greeks, Africa became a hotbed of venomous reptiles.