My story begins at 17 an age when most people are still figuring out what they want to become. I had just completed my 12th board exams when I took a leap into something completely unconventional: I joined Sam Tattoo India as a tattoo student. At the time, I didn’t know this decision would become the turning point of my life but it did.
Just five days after starting, the world changed. The pandemic hit, and a strict lockdown was enforced. The studio shut its doors. But for me, that pause became a silent forge. I didn’t let the isolation stop me. Every single day during those 4-5 months, I practiced sketching and line art at home over and over again. I wasn’t waiting for life to resume I was preparing for it.
When the studio reopened in September, I walked back in not as a beginner, but as someone hungry to evolve. My formal training restarted with a 3.5 to 4-month intensive course that covered everything: basic and advanced sketching, live object studies, and eventually tattooing on fake skin. From delicate linework to hyperrealistic shading, I absorbed it all with full focus and a growing love for the craft.
Then came a day I will never forget: February 1st, 2021-the day I was hired as a tattoo artist at Sam Tattoo India by Saiyam Patel. That moment wasn’t just the beginning of my career it was the first public step into a path many girls from traditional families are never allowed to walk.
Because I didn’t walk this path alone.
Behind me stood my parents and my family—my biggest support system. In a country like India, where societal norms and cultural expectations are often heavy on daughters, choosing a career in a male dominated field like tattooing is almost unthinkable for many families. But my parents were different. They stood by me when everyone else questioned them.
Relatives doubted, judged, and even tried to persuade them against letting their daughter become a tattoo artist. They said things like, “Yeh ladki tattoo banayegi? Is that even a career for a girl?” But my parents never wavered. Their belief in me was unshakable. They didn’t just allow me to chase this dream they protected it, even when the world didn’t understand. And that emotional, unconditional support is the reason I stand where I am today.
Since then, my journey in this industry has been full of fire and fulfillment. I’ve spent 4.5 years growing in a space that is still mostly male dominated. It hasn’t been easy. I’ve had to work twice as hard to earn respect, to be seen not just as a “female tattooist,” but as an artist in my own right. And slowly, I’ve built a reputation for creating art that connects deep, personal, intentional.
Today, clients come to me because they trust me, because they connect with my art, and because they know I’ll give them something that’s truly theirs. That’s what fills my heart. That’s the reward I cherish most.
No, I haven’t participated in conventions yet. I haven’t won awards not yet. But I’ve won something more meaningful: the trust of my clients, the love of my family, and the courage to keep creating in a space I carved out with my own hands.
This path didn’t begin with a spotlight or applause it began in the quiet of a girl’s room, with a pencil, a dream, and a world in lockdown. From silent sketches to skin, from doubt to determination, I’ve turned every challenge into a chapter of my story.
What started as a spark in the hands of a 17-year-old girl has now become a fire that refuses to dim.
And trust me the ink has only just begun to flow.
