Sonal Lewis, 23, got her first tattoo done by Mumbai-based artist Vikas Malani a few days ago, and the image was like nothing Malani had done before. “It is a half woman-half tiger. It looks as if the woman is coming out of the body of tiger. I used to be a dancer and was nicknamed “Cat” in my dance class. The idea was to get something completely unique, something feline and wild but not vicious, something essentially like me. We’ve heard of mermaids, my tattoo is a tigerwoman,” says Lewis.

Mike Cowasji, who’s been running Mike’s Body Art studio for the past six years, is excited about the kind of designs tattoo buffs have suddenly developed a penchant for.

“Previously, it used to be a small tattoo as people played it safe. Now, they want big tattoos. I’ve been doing a lot of black and grey washes, bringing out different shades of black, with water effects, images of mermaids, dragons, phoenix and even pagan symbols,” says Cowasji, 40. As an artist, he enjoys the new challenge to think big and ink big as well.

Apart from new washes and MJ tribute tattoo, there’s a hot demand for ‘Biomechanical’ tattoos, images of body parts drawn with a bizarre twist. So expect to see a lot of eyes and hearts painted on shoulders and bare torsos. While biomechanical art rides high on its morbid appeal among locals, foreign tourists, says Verma, usually ask for “elaborate wedding-style henna motifs and intricate Madhubani designs”.

Funky Monkey tattoo studio in Gurgaon says the god Shiva has become a hit. “We do about four tattoos every day of the week and approximately seven during weekends. Big pieces of Shiva are in demand and we have a steady stream of women who want their children’s names tattooed as well,” says Hardy Mitra, 40, who started the tattoo studio eight years ago and has new outlets planned in Delhi and Kolkata. Younger girls, who come accompanied by parents, seem to have fallen in love with mythical animals like the unicorn and want one on themselves. The more bizarre, the better!