Bhubaneswar, Jan. 1: Football stars Messi and Neymar have set the trend and our very own Bollywood stars have also flaunted theirs with élan. Some have done it on their napes while others on their legs, ankles, waist or arms.

Taking a cue from their favourite stars, youngsters here are also making beeline to tattoo studios to get personalised tattoos that reflect their passion and interests.

Sid Tripathy, a wildlife photographer based in Shanghai, got a huge tattoo on his left arm today to etch his obsession for travelling.

The tattoo, which was done by artist Om Acharya, took around 11 hours to complete. The tattoo is an assortment of images connected to his passion such as camera, compass, ship and flight apart from pictures of tiger, lion and eagle, representing his interest in wildlife photography.

"I wanted to bid goodbye to 2015 with a customised tattoo to engrave my passions in life. I travel a lot as it helps me make a lot of memories and remain healthy," said Sid.

Moreover, he wanted to get the tattoo done in India. "I came to know about Om through a common friend. I kept a track of his work and decided to get one done in my country. There could be no better time for this than the New Year," said Sid.

Tattoo artist Om Acharya says that he had done around 40 customised tattoos this season. "A number of youngsters here are going for customised tattoos that tell a story. I did a tattoo for a girl who wanted to ink her passion for music while another woman got engraved the story of the birth of her child," said Om.

Jyoti Bothra, an 23-year-old singer, got an interesting designed inked. "The most beautiful thing happened to me this year is the tattoo that describes me totally. I got a pink ribbon done that symbolises breast cancer awareness and on it I got a tanpura as it signifies Indian classical music. It also has the image of Buddha's head symbolising peace," said Jyoti.

The youngsters who are getting the tattoos are from diverse backgrounds. Some of them are tour operators, photographers, dancers, theatre artistes, while some others are IT sector employees.

The latest tattoo instrument in the industry is Cheyenne tattoo machine that professional artists are using to ink the customised tattoos.

"The machine is skin friendly and are useful in making intricate designs. The needle and the tip of the machine are clubbed together which causes less pain also," said Sunil Kumar Sahoo, another tattoo artist. He has also done around 10 customised tattoos around the New Year.

Tattoo artists say that the customised designs are mostly sized over five inches. "As the tattoos are based on a concept, these are generally big in size. While men prefer to get it done on their arms, girls prefer it on their back," said Om. Steps are also taken for the hygiene and the aftercare of the tattoos.