Watch Sandeep’s art work and his motivational message
Many young people fancy tattoo these days and a considerable proportion longs to have one, inked on their body.
Surviving in a name-conscious society where your parents want you to be academic scholars like doctors or engineers, with a fire of an aspiration to be a tattoo artist deep in your bowels without a pint-sized support from anywhere is just as hard as building a house of matchsticks. Nonetheless, few survive the hardships and live their dreams.
Youth legend heartily admires those and is pleased to share a story of one such person- SANDEEP BAJRACHARYA, a 23 year old young tattoo artist.
Sandeep, born in Patan and has been in the business of tattoo for 8 years now. Sandeep, who, nowadays also does helmet painting (a pioneer at it), oil painting, wall painting, and handicrafts, was always a talented kid, innovative enough to build his own robot while in 8th standard, albeit being academically back lashed.
Kudos to his innovatory brain!
PEEKING THROUGH HIS STRUGGLE
When he shared his story, he sounded like a Hero of a full fledged Bollywood Movie.
His story has passion, dream, fight, struggle, love story and never giving up attitude like a protagonist of the movie.
Fascinated towards sketches and tattoos since childhood, Sandeep earned his first number, Rs 20, at the juvenile age of 11 by making a tattoo from ball-pen while doing schooling at AVM in grade 7.
He was fascinated towards creativity and practical knowledge rather than theoretical books taught in School. He created Robot and won inter school competition when he was in grade 8.
But, he could not pass theoretical exams of School and was never appreciated for his creativity both in School and Home which leaded him to frustration. Yet, he could not leave his passion towards art.
He used to create tattoo machine with the resources he had and ink people. Always an art savvy Sandeep earned his professional income, Rs 300, as a 15 year old tattoo artist.
From a financial support of a person named Atit, he bought a real tattoo machine, made chairs, tables by himself through old unused woods and furniture. Unfortunately, tattoo machine got stolen after three months.
Like typical middle class family of Nepal his parents wanted him to be academic scholars like doctors or engineers and could not understand his real passion towards arts.
Due to increasing dispute with family members, midst cold winter night he left his home. He spent a night, roaming around, sleeping in the bench, shivering and sharing his story with street children.
Then it was, when in an advice of a friend, he decided to set off to Dharan, all compassionate and ambitious to the brim, to give wings to his tattoo fervor, pocketing Rs 12000, despite his family’s disapprobation, at the age of 16.
“Leaving everything and going to unknown place with the new hope and dream, I was scared but deep down I also felt like the hero of a movie.”
“Having to survive on Daalmoth, Chiuraa and coffee for four days and nights due to financial rundown, remains a memorabilia”, shares Sandeep.
“The sight of a huge school of people awaiting outside the lodge I was staying at, to get inked by me, the other morning I earned my first income by tattooing a local in Dharan was heart-warming enough to make me feel like a creature saved from drowning”, adds he with a content expression.
Life of busy-bee cum then-well-known-tattooist Sandeep was rolling when his parents went to Dharan to bring him back after which he returned to Kathmandu and set his own studio up at Banepa with a cottage cafe.
“Ah! Another unforgettable incident that happened in my life during my two months stay in Dharan was me falling in love with a girl there”, smiles Sandeep. However, he remembers it as a beautiful yet tragic sentiment, since it didn’t have its fairy-tale-happy-ending because her family did not approve our relation as I was only a struggling teenager back then.
Since then, setting up his own studios, organizing conventions and shows, moving through highs and lows and sweating hard to prosper in this field are what Sandeep has been busy at.
One liner with Sandeep
LIFE: Battle and struggle.
LOVE: Backbone.
HAPPINESS:Sorrow. There’s no happiness without sorrow.
MONEY: Destroyer.
PERSON I ADMIRE MOST Albert Einstein.
LIFE MANTRA: Frustration is the key to success. Move ahead not by pulling other’s leg but by seeing positivity in hardships.
BEFORE I DIE: ( Never thought of it seriously haha) Ummm, May all my wishes be granted.
1. Who is Sandeep Bajracharya for you?
Ma euta Chautaarako peepal bot hun, sadhai sthir. (I am a Peepal tree of a Park, always still). Different kinds of people come under my canopy and I shelter them be it just for few hours or days.
2. How do you see tattoo as?
Tattoo is the feeling of my clients that I feel and express on my canvas, that’s my client’s body.
3. What kept you going despite the struggles you faced?
People, I believe, need to be like a lizard, able and willing to change with time (gesturing towards his lizard tattoo on his thigh). One should accept what situation gives him and take it positively. That’s what I did to not let my passion deter and now I am who I am today.
4.What did you learn from all that you went through?
One cannot experience happiness until and unless he experiences sorrow so, sorrow is important in life. I would have committed suicide as well, had I not controlled my emotions and taken my frustrations as the key to success.
5. If you have to recall one funny incident, what would it be?
A person once came to me to get a tattoo of a Chinese letter, saying that he saw it on a hoarding board somewhere on the alley of Thamel and liked it so much that he wanted to ink it on his body. 2-3 years later of getting the tattoo, he realized it meant- Yaha mo:mo, chowmein paainchha ( Mo:mo, Chowmein available here) ( Bursts into laughter).
6. What is your future plan?
To make tattoo art renowned. Tattoo has a cultural history, that came from Newar and Tharu community. Many mal-practices like drug addiction are befouling the art. I want to take it to a new height.
7. What message do you want to leave to young generation?
Don’t direct your frustrations in a wrong path. Think positive and be positive.
Youth Legend wishes Sandeep Bajracharya a progressively bright future ahead.
WRITER: ASHMITA KARKI