Nidhi gets inked at the new tattoo shop on Boring Road on Friday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Brendon McCullum has one on his arm. English footballer David Beckham has them all over his body. Saif Ali Khan, too, has one on his arm.

Tattoos are a rage with celebrities. They ink names of their loved ones and all things sundry. Residents of the state capital now have one more place they can ink themselves, like the stars they look up to.

Patna has got tattoo shop at Dumraon Palace on Frazer Road already.

The new shop — G7 Patna Tattoo — was inaugurated at Saachi Palace in the Boring Road area on Friday.

Owner Manoj Singh, a passout from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Mumbai, said: “The concept of tattoos is still new to Patna but the people are slowly accepting it.”

On its first day, G7 Patna Tattoo registered a good flow of customers.

Nidhi Chadda, a final-year student of bachelor of business administration (BBA) at Magadh Mahila College, said: “Many of my friends have tattoos and I was eagerly waiting for the right place to ink myself too. Finally I got a tattoo today (Friday). I would love to have a butterfly tattoo on my right arm as well.”

She added: “I think a tattoo is the best way to express yourself. I really like Kangana Ranaut’s tattoo on her neck — a sword with wings.”

Nidhi’s friend Swati Nandan, a student of Indian Institute of Fashion Technology (IIFT), Jamshedpur, also inked herself on Friday. Her choice of tattoo — Goddess Durga.

Swati said: “I used to think tattoos were harmful for the body. But after consulting with many people, including a doctor, I got to know that they are absolutely harmless.”

She added that the final result was worth undergoing the physical pain of getting a tattoo.

Ramesh Singh Gupta, another resident who got a tattoo on Friday, said he has been fan of the art since he saw actor Ajay Devgn’s Shiva tattoo in Singham. The actor’s tattoo also has daughter Nysa’s name inscribed within it.

Ramesh chose to emulate Devgn’s tattoo and chose to get a Shiva on his right arm.

He said: “I am ready to bear the pain of getting a tattoo. I have chosen the right place to get my tattoo, as the artist (Manoj) advised me the where is it best to get one. He told me that the pain from getting a tattoo depends on where it is placed.”

While customers can choose from a range of designs like swastika, lotus, angel, dragon, lion and zodiac signs, through his tattoo shop, Manoj wants to popularise Madhubani paintings.

“Though Madhubani painting is famous across the country, I wanted to popularise it through tattoo. It is going to be a difficult task as most people want to get dragon, butterfly or zodiac tattoos.”

On his unconventional method of popularising Madhubani paintings, Manoj said: “People know about the art form very well but once people start accepting it in the form of tattoos, it would create more awareness.” He added: “Getting a tattoo involves a certain amount of pain, as the ink is injected into the skin with the help of a needle. We do not use chemicals but natural colour, which are safe. Before getting a tattoo on their body, one has to understand that it cannot be removed easily. Tattoos are permanent and surgery is required to remove it.”

One should be very careful about healing a tattoo, which takes from three to four days, as if it comes in contact with water or any other thing it can be infected, also added Manoj.

The price to get a tattoo at Manoj’s shop is Rs 800 per inch. Manoj said: “The rate is pretty reasonable and it is quite normal in metros.”