Jamshedpur, Jan. 15: Youngsters spend quite a sum these days at fancy parlours to get tattoo designs.

The tattoo artists at the Tusu mela are no less popular with the visitors. The team, which has come from Bhagalpur, is quite a hit with the young and some not so young ones, too.

“The tattoos, which are most popular, are the religious motifs of Ganesha, Om, swords and the damru. Foreign tourists to the country have a high level of fascination for Indian motifs,” said Ghanshyam Prasad Sharma, a villager from Bhagalpur, who practices this art from his home.

Armed with a modern tattoo kit, bright colours comprise his colour palette and every time an interested customer comes to get his arms adorned, he gets busy with the right needles.

“Contrary to popular belief, permanent tattoos, the way we make it, are quite hygienic. We change the needles for each customer. There is no scope of any communicable disease finding its way from one person to another. The art of designing tattoos on the arms takes these experts anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending strictly on the design being etched.

“It does hurt a little. The machine has to pierce the body along the dotted lines,” added Sharma.

The initial impression is made by a pen, which then gets a permanent mark.

Business is good, but the designers say it could have been still better, had the awareness level been higher.

“There is a huge dearth of enthusiasm in people willing to get their arms tattooed. We are not getting enough youngsters,” said Sharma.