Mandala (Dedicated to my girlfriend)


By Tsering Tenzing Ghale @ Story Of My Tattoo
¨An early bird gets the worm.¨
This is the phrase my dad often lectures me. He did not make it neither did I. But it´s a very powerful and practical phrase that I am certain. And it's the phrase that I have never been able to put into practice till date. I wish I could. Sometimes life isn't the way we think and hope for. In my life, nothing happened the way I wanted. Funnily, every plan that I made and designed never worked as planned. I wanted to go to the United States in 2012, it went half way but never happened. Then in 2016, I had the ghost to go to Australia this also never happened. Is it not funny and crazy somewhere??? I do.
Like I said, I never got my worm because I never woke up early. But today, I got something. Before I finished the last bite of my sandwich a group of young boys in their middle twenties came to the roof for breakfast. We greeted to each other, ¨Good morning¨. They had the loudest voice. I could hear nothing beside their voice. Maybe it is the early energy or maybe something else. Maybe they had a good night because they all spoke about the last night.
I took my last bite and turned my head. One guy was topless. When he turned his back, I saw a tattoo. The day I had started writing, I had became so into tattoo that whenever I see one I always asked questions like what it is, where it was inked, who inked it and why this particular tattoo? I am quite confident that I have annoyed a lot of people in the last 3 months. But it is okay, is it not???
¨Hey bro, nice tattoo.¨
¨Thanks man. I really appreciate it. I will take it as a compliment..¨
¨I am Tse-ring. Nice to meet you.¨
Joe had a little hard time to pronounce my name. Who would not after all it's a name from South Asia and it comes from a tiny country that exist or not. Okay, Tibet has been taken away and now it´s called Autonomous Region of China or something like that. People around the world knows The 14th Dalai Lama but not Tibet. His Holiness was born in Tibet and grew up in India. His Holiness travels the world to spread peace and love. Joe pronounced my name something like this, ¨ Tear-ring, T-ring, Ta-ring, Chu-ring,.......¨
Joe tried his best to pronounce my name. Finally, he got it after 10-12 tries. I broke the words into two parts that made it easier to pronounce ¨Tse-ring¨. I am glad he tried his best to get the exact pronunciation.
¨Joe, would you mind if I ask you few things about your tattoo?¨
¨Yes, sure.¨
¨Is it a mandala?¨
¨Yes, it it. I got it in Myanmar. It was in a tiny little city…..I think it´s called Yangon City. The studio was something like Ghtree Studio. I do´nt know remember the artist´s name, sorry!…..¨
¨Not a problem bro. Did you design it?¨
¨Nope, I gave my idea to the artist and he made it.¨
¨What message does the tattoo carry?¨
¨Well…..it is a protection tattoo. Every monk in Cambodia must get it inked. It is their cultural but mine I got it for two reasons. Firstly, I like the design and it represent my admiration for tattoo. Secondly, it is dedicated to my girlfriend. Overall, I got it because during my travel I had come through many obstacles. Sometimes, I had been cheated and sometimes robbed. I feel that it will protect me during my travel from the bad things because I still have another 5 months to travel around South East Asia…..¨
¨Are the writings in Myanmar?¨
¨Not really. It is written in Khmer (Cambodian Language) that I am told. I don't know the exact meaning. But the artist said that it carries very powerful prayers and scripts….I trust him 50-50 (Laughing).¨
¨Aye. Very nice. Can I look at it closely if you don't mind?¨
¨Yes sure. Wait a second I will come closer…...Here you go (turning his back towards me).....¨
¨Wow..it´s lovely bro..you have an amazing taste for tattoo. Is this your first tattoo?¨
¨Thank you! Yes, it is. I wanted to get one a long time ago. But it kinda took me a little while to decide. But when my girlfriend who is half Cambodian visited me in Myanmar, I got it right away. It was the best moment of my life.¨
¨Ahuh...¨, I said in a low voice. We had been the center of attraction this whole time and I had no idea at all. Neither did Joe.
¨By the way, why do you ask about my tattoo man?¨
¨Ahm….I write about tattoos. Basically, I write why people have tattoos, the artist who inked the design and why specifically that particular tattoo. I believe that every person has a story behind their tattoos and feel that they need to share it so that other people have an idea why they want to get inked and what they want, exactly……….¨
¨That is very good. Keep up the good work brother.¨
¨Can I write about your tattoo too?¨
¨Yes. I would be glad to be a part of your story. Thank you!¨
¨Thank you to you too bro. I wish you a good day.¨
And, so I went off with the information I had collected on my notebook (mobile phone). Well, maybe the above mentioned phrase was not practiced but I was lucky that I got a story to write about. Am I not?

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